Verse on Case 1: Bodhidharma's Vast Emptiness

Text

Vast emptiness, nothing holy— the approach is far too lofty. Had he known what would come after, he would have shut his mouth for good. But the old barbarian sailed across the sea in vain, and to this day there are those who vainly search for him.

license: public_domain

Attribution

• Attributed To
  Xuedou Chongxian

Lineage: Yunmen

By Xuedou Chongxian

• Poetry and Zensaying
• Verse on Case 6: Yunmen's Every Day Is a Good Dayverse
• Verse on Case 14: Yunmen's Appropriate Statementverse
• Snowy Cliffproverb
• Hundred Cases, Hundred Versesproverb

From Blue Cliff Record

• Body Exposed in the Golden Wind
• The Seamless Monument
• A Flower in a Dream
• Nothing Within, Nothing Without
• Verse on Case 6: Yunmen's Every Day Is a Good Day
• Verse on Case 14: Yunmen's Appropriate Statement
• Blue Cliff Record (Bìyán Lù)

Sources

• contentWikisource — English-language free library

  Blue Cliff Record, Xuedou's verse on Case 1

  Blue Cliff Record: Verse on Case 1: Bodhidharma's Vast Emptiness