Not Knowing Is Most Intimate

Text

Fayan was about to leave the monastery on pilgrimage. Luohan Guichen asked him, "Where are you going?" Fayan said, "I'm going on pilgrimage." Luohan asked, "What is the purpose of pilgrimage?" Fayan said, "I don't know." Luohan said, "Not knowing is most intimate." At these words, Fayan had a great awakening.

license: public_domain

Attribution

• Respondent
  Fayan Wenyi
• Speaker
  Luohan Guichen

Lineage: Qingyuan line

From Traditional Zen Encounter Dialogues

• My Mind Is Not at Peace
• Thinking of Not-Thinking
• 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
• This Very Mind Is Buddha

Sources

• contentWikisource — English-language free library

  Jingde Chuandenglu, Fayan chapter

  Traditional Zen Encounter Dialogues: Not Knowing Is Most Intimate