saying

Great Doubt, Great Awakening

Letters of Dahui

Song

Historically verified

Text

At the place where you cannot get a grip or a foothold, where you are totally helpless—that is where you must exert your full strength. At the place where there is no flavor at all—that is where you must taste deeply. When you reach the point where you feel like a ball of hot iron stuck in your throat that you can neither swallow nor spit out—that is the time to let go of your former knowledge, your clever understanding, your learned interpretations. Great doubt—great awakening. Small doubt—small awakening. No doubt—no awakening.

license: public_domain

Attribution

Lineage: Linji

By Dahui Zonggao

From Letters of Dahui

Sources