Zen Koan - The Gateless Gate

“When Eka came to Bodhidharma (the founder of Zen), Bodhidharma refused to accept him as a student. All Zen masters do this.

They reject you. And this stimulates you. And so Eka came back stronger and stronger, and Bodhidharma resisted him stronger and stronger. And finally Eka cut off his left arm and presented it to Bodhidharma and said, “Here is my left arm, given to you as a token that nothing in the world matters to me except to find out what you’re all about.”

“Alright,” Bodhidharma relented, “what you want to know?” Eka said, “I have no peace of mind. Please pacify my mind.”

And so Bodhidharma said, “Bring out your mind here before me and I will pacify it.” Eka paused for a long while before saying, “When I look for it, I can’t find it.”

“There…” Bodhidharma said, “…then it is pacified.”

- Alan Watts