The Gateless Gate

The Great Way has no gate,
A thousand roads enter it.
When one passes through this gateless gate,
He freely walks between heaven and earth.

 

– Wu Men Hui-k’ai

I love Zen koans. They have a way of inviting the gears in my brain to come to a screeching halt.

Gateless gate? How nonsensical!

But allowing myself to consider what the heck a gateless gate might be, or what the metaphor might represent in my life can free me from constricted ways of being and thinking. From a creative point of view, koans help prime my mind for questioning old assumptions, sweeping me into realms of possibility.