Dharma Gates
I.
Dharma Gates are countless—I vow to overcome them!
I take my refuge in the example of the Enlightened One.
"Does the dog have Buddha-nature?"
Josshu slyly replies—'No-Thing'.
Josshu's Zen is so much dog shit!
I have no Buddha-nature—so who is asking the question?
Certainly not the dog.
So, perhaps the dog does have Buddha-nature.
II.
Dharma Gates are countless—I vow to overcome them!
I take my refuge in the Teaching of the Elders.
'What was your original face, before your parents were born?'
There is no face now-and never was.
So, who is answering this question?
III.
Dharma Gates are countless—I vow to overcome them!
I take my refuge in the practice of the Community.
'You are at the top of a one hundred-foot pole—
how to go one foot further?'
The Moon comes down to make friends of men.
'What is the sound of one hand clapping?'
I remember there are many hands.
Dharma Gates are countless—I promise nothing.
10/19/99
