Zen Koan – Hekiganroku – No. 94 – The Scriptures

The Case

In the scriptures the World-honored says, "When unseeing, why do you not see the unseeing? If you see the unseeing, it is no longer unseeing. If you do not see the unseeing, it is not an object. Why isn't it yourself?"

Engo's Introduction

As to what stands prior to the Word, not one phrase has been handed down, even by the thousand holy ones. One thread maintains its continuity before your eyes through countless eons. Entirely pure, entirely naked is the white ox under the blue sky. The golden-haired lion stands with eyes upturned, ears erect. Put the lion aside for a while and tell me, what is the white ox under the blue sky?

Verse

Entire the figure of an elephant, complete the image of an ox. To have seen is a defect of the eyes. The wisest have groped in the dark. Do you want to see the golden-headed Buddha? Through countless eons, none is more than halfway there.