Zen sayings on not knowing
The mind likes to settle things. Zen is unusually fond of questions that cannot be settled, and treats the open, uncertain state they produce as something valuable in itself. These are sayings to stay with, not to solve.
Dizang asked, "Where are you going?" Fayan said, "On pilgrimage." "What is the purpose of pilgrimage?" "I don't know." Dizang said, "Not knowing is most intimate."
Book of Serenity, case 20
Find one thing today you are sure about and hold it a little more loosely.
What is the sound of one hand?
Hakuin Ekaku
Don't solve it. Hold the question lightly for two minutes and notice what the mind does when it cannot reach an answer.
A monk asked, "Does a dog have Buddha nature?" Zhaozhou said, "Mu."
The Gateless Gate, case 1
Mu is not yes and not no. Breathe out on the one syllable and let the question go with it.
What was your original face, before your parents were born?
Traditional, after Huineng
Set down your name, your job and your plans for a moment. See what is still here.
A man hangs from a branch by his teeth, his hands and feet touching nothing. Someone below asks him the meaning of Zen. If he stays silent, he fails the questioner. If he answers, he falls. What should he do?
Xiangyan, The Gateless Gate, case 5
Think of a bind you are in where every option looks wrong. Sit with the bind itself for a while before you choose.
The finger pointing at the moon is not the moon.
Traditional Buddhist saying
Words, methods and apps are fingers. Use them, then look where they point.
The Buddha held up a flower before the assembly. Everyone was silent. Only Mahakashyapa smiled.
The Gateless Gate, case 6
Some things are passed on without explanation. Look at one thing today without describing it to yourself.
The emperor asked Bodhidharma, "What is the highest meaning of the holy truths?" Bodhidharma said, "Vast emptiness, nothing holy." "Who is standing in front of me?" "I don't know."
Blue Cliff Record, case 1
Even about himself, Bodhidharma said "I don't know." Can you rest in that for a minute?
Nanquan said, "The Way is not a matter of knowing or not knowing. Knowing is delusion. Not knowing is blankness."
The Gateless Gate, case 19
Neither grasping for answers nor giving up. Sit somewhere in between.
Shoushan held up his short staff and said, "If you call this a staff, you are caught by the name. If you do not call it a staff, you deny the fact. What will you call it?"
The Gateless Gate, case 43
Look at an ordinary object without naming it. Just look.
A buffalo passes through a window. Its head, horns and four legs all pass through. Why can't the tail?
Wuzu, The Gateless Gate, case 38
What small thing is still holding you back after the big things have gone through?
Songyuan asked, "Why can't a person of great strength lift their own leg?"
The Gateless Gate, case 20
What is so close to you that you cannot see it or move it?
