禅Dongshan Liangjie

proverb

Not a Stranger

Tang

Traditionally attributed

Text

If you go to find this person, you will fail; the going makes him a stranger. Sit still where you are; soon he will sit down across from you, and you will not be able to tell which is the host.

tr. Zen Lineage editorial

license: cc_by

Attribution

Lineage: Qingyuan line

By Dongshan Liangjie

Sources

  • contentThe Book of Serenity: One Hundred Zen Dialogues

    Cleary, Thomas (trans.)

No per-field confidence has been recorded for this teaching yet. Treat individual claims with the caution appropriate to the source list below.

Attribution status: traditional — see editorial policy for what this means.

1 supporting citation on record (see Sources above).

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