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:

Notes

References

Sources

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External links

TriCycle, ''Green Koans case 12: Original Face"''
{{Buddhism topics Zen Buddhist philosophical concepts Kōan