The Star That Does Not Move

Text

When Vasumitra was about to transmit the Dharma, he asked Buddhanandi: 'A star shines in the north that does not move while all other stars revolve around it. What is this star?' Buddhanandi said: 'Every star is that star.' Vasumitra said: 'And what revolves around you?' Buddhanandi said: 'Nothing has ever moved.' Keizan's verse: The pole star holds its place / not through effort but through stillness. / Ten thousand thoughts arise and pass— / the one who watches does not stir.

license: public_domain

Attribution

• Speaker
  Buddhanandi

Lineage: Indian Patriarchs

By Buddhanandi

• Where Does the Bell Sound Go?saying

From Denkoroku

• The Robe That Never Wears Out
• The Fragrance Without a Flower
• The Mind That Is Like Space
• The Auspicious Cloud
• The Wine Jar and the Dharma
• Entering the Gate as a Householder
• The Vow of Pārśva
• The Debate That Ended Without Debate
• Meeting Nāgārjuna
• In Praise of the Perfection of Wisdom

Sources

• contentZen Editorial Overlay - Originals Curation

  Zen project editorial

  Denkoroku, Case 9

  Denkoroku: The Star That Does Not Move