The Mirror of Zen

Commentary

Dharma has no name, and so it cannot be grasped through words.
It has no form, and so it cannot be understood through thinking.
The instant you open your mouth to speak it, you have already
departed from your original mind. When you lose this original
mind, then even the story of the Buddha silently lifting a flower
overhead and Mahakashyapa wordlessly smiling it, in the end,
no better than dead speech to you.
If you sttain the truth within your own mind, then even the
senseless chitchat in the streets and markets are like the Dharma
speech of a great teacher, and even a chiping bird or the wail of an
animal express truth. For this very reason, when Zen Master Paochi
heard the crying of bitter mourning, he awakened to his own
mind and danced joyfully. And Zen Master Pao-shou was suddenly
enlightened to his true nature by the sight of a street fight.
This teaching expresses the depth and shallowness of the
Zen meditation and scriptural traditions, respectively.