Zen Koan & Mysticism – Mumonkan – Case No. 8 – Keichu the Wheelmaker

The Case

Zen master Gettan said, "Keicha, the first wheelmaker, made a cart whose wheels had a hundred spokes. Now, suppose you took a cart and removed both the wheels and the axle. What would you have?"

Mumon's Comment

If anyone can directly master this topic, his eye will be like a shooting star, his spirit like a flash of lightning.

Verse

When the spiritual wheels turn, Even the master fails to follow them. They travel in all directions, above and below, North, south, east, and west.