In the Gateless Gate (Mumonkan) case 29, two monks watch a temple flag flapping in the wind. They argue back and forth: is it the flag that moves or the wind that moves? Seeing this, the 6th Chinese ancestor, Huineng, intervenes: “It is not the wind that moves. It is not the flag that moves. It is your mind that moves.” Centuries of Zen students have taken up this case. What is mind? What is moving? What is the dharma that shows itself fully in movement and in stillness?

In this talk, Valerie traces the steps of Huineng’s teaching and looks into the question at hand in the context of practice. Busy mind, still mind. What moves? And what remains when all movement has stopped? How might these questions apply to us now as we sit in the midst of a deeply turbulent world?

______

Please consider supporting Mountain Cloud with a donation or becoming a member so we can continue to provide online programs such as this.

Donations: https://www.mountaincloud.org/donate/

Become a member: https://www.mountaincloud.org/about/membership/

Check out our website: https://www.mountaincloud.org/

This talk is offered in gratitude for the life of Johanna Sindelar, a long-time sangha member who dedicated over a decade of service to Mountain Cloud. As a tribute to Johanna, Valerie begins with a look at the Heart Sutra in a rendering by Thich Nhat Hahn that was set to music in harmonies Johanna loved. The talk then turns to case 18 in the Blue Cliff Record, a koan that asks a renowned national teacher, “What shall I do to honor you after you die?” In response, the master implores each of us to realize who we truly are. “Make a seamless tomb for this old monk.”

The koan offers a turning word about love and loss, and about the seamlessness at hand that cannot be divided.

Recorded on February 20th, 2025

In this talk, Scott draws from the Gateless Gate case 13, “Tokusan Carries His Bowls” as a case study for how we can meet mistakes, challenges, and misunderstandings with equanimity.