The Lotus Flower

Text

A monk asked Zhimen, "What is the lotus flower before it has emerged from the water?" Zhimen said, "A lotus flower." The monk asked, "What about after it has emerged from the water?" Zhimen said, "Lotus leaves."

license: public_domain

Attribution

• Speaker
  Zhimen Guangzuo

Lineage: Guiyang

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

  Blue Cliff Record, Case 21

  Traditional Zen Encounter Dialogues: The Lotus Flower