The original face is a term in
Zen
Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...
, pointing to the nonduality of subject and object.
Origins
The phrase "original face" originates in Huangpo's Chuanhsin fayao (857) and the Hui-sin edition (967) of the
Platform Sutra
The ''Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch'' ( or simply: ''Tánjīng'') is a Chan Buddhist scripture that was composed in China during the 8th to 13th century. The "platform" (施法壇) refers to the podium on which a Buddhist teacher spe ...
:
This question appears in case 23 of the
Mumonkan
''The Gateless Barrier'' ( Mandarin: 無門關 ''Wúménguān''; Japanese: 無門関 ''Mumonkan''), sometimes translated as ''The Gateless Gate'', is a collection of 48 Chan (Zen) koans compiled in the early 13th century by the Chinese Zen mast ...
:
This
koan
A (; , ; ko, 화두, ; vi, công án) is a story, dialogue, question, or statement which is used in Zen practice to provoke the "great doubt" and to practice or test a student's progress in Zen.
Etymology
The Japanese term is the Sino-J ...
is transformed in the question
Interpretation
The "original face" points to "the nonduality of subject and object":
Comparable statements are: "Look at the flower and the flower also looks"; "Guest and host interchange".
It is not "pure consciousness", as it is often understood in western thinking, reached by "cleaning the doors of perception":
Comments
Zen masters have commented on the original face:
Artistic impressions
Philip Whalen
The American poet
Philip Whalen
Philip Glenn Whalen (October 20, 1923 – June 26, 2002) was an American poet, Zen Buddhist, and a key figure in the San Francisco Renaissance and close to the Beat generation.
Biography
Born in Portland, Oregon, Whalen grew up in The Dalles fr ...
has written a poem, ''Metaphysical Insomnia Jazz Mumonkan xxix'', inspired by the Original Face-koan:
Keith Kumasen has commented on this poem.
Stuart Davis
The American Buddhist musician
Stuart Davis has recorded a song called "Original Face". The chorus goes:
See also
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the Five Ranks of Tozan
Notes
References
Sources
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External links
TriCycle, ''Green Koans case 12: Original Face"''
{{Buddhism topics
Zen Buddhist philosophical concepts
Kōan