On 'Ordinary Mind Is the Way'

byou jou shin kore michi — Ordinary Mind Is the Way.

On the origin

From the Gateless Gate (Mumonkan), Case 19, “Ordinary Mind Is the Way” (平常是道). When Jōshū asked Nansen, “What is the Way?” Nansen answered, “Ordinary mind is the Way.” The same exchange is recorded in the Jingde Record of the Transmission of the Lamp (Keitoku Dentōroku), Book 10, in the chapter on Jōshū.

On the reading

The Way is not elsewhere. It is here, in walking and sitting, eating and lying down. Strain toward it, and the straining has already turned away. Nothing to seek — only the everyday mind, left as it is.

On the garment

The seal for this phrase was hand-carved in Tokyo by the artist Satake Hōsen. The front carries this phrase’s seal; the back and inside label carry the Hōsen seal (寳千), printed in vermilion.

The garment is Bella + Canvas 3001 (short sleeve) or Gildan 2400 (long sleeve). A vessel for the word, not the subject itself.

― hosen, tokyo