Huanglong's Three Barriers

Text

Huanglong asked every student who came to him three questions: "Everyone has a place of birth—where is your place of birth?" "My hand is like the hand of Buddha—what is the hidden meaning?" "My foot is like the foot of a donkey—what is the secret?" No student could answer all three. Huanglong said, "If you cannot pass through these three barriers, your practice is like a tree without roots, your sitting is like water poured on stone."

license: public_domain

Attribution

• Speaker
  Huanglong Huinan

Lineage: Linji

From Traditional Zen Encounter Dialogues

• My Mind Is Not at Peace
• Thinking of Not-Thinking
• Not Knowing Is Most Intimate
• The Boat Monk's Transmission
• The Sound of Bamboo
• Vast Emptiness, Nothing Holy
• Ordinary Mind Is the Way
• Nanquan Kills the Cat
• Wash Your Bowl
• The Oak Tree in the Garden

Sources

• contentWikisource — English-language free library

  Jingde Chuandenglu, Huanglong chapter

  Traditional Zen Encounter Dialogues: Huanglong's Three Barriers