Description
As the mind settles and we pass through the usual chatter and obsessions, more space appears and like stars in the relief of dusk, more interesting questions come into view.
Summary
As the mind settles and we pass through the usual chatter and obsessions, more space appears and like stars in the relief of dusk, more interesting questions come into view.
Wondering itself, and the mystery of our own consciousness, becomes less a problem to corral than simply a pleasure to investigate and companion.
Clarity appears and vanishes again, and slowly, slowly, we notice we’re alive and beyond resolution.
One teacher put it like this:
Wuzi said, “It’s like a buffalo passing through a latticed window. Its head, horns, and legs all pass through, but why can’t its tail?”
The tail can be all that remains unanswered in our hearts; the annoying or destructive habits of mind and body we just can’t seem to break. It can be all we wish we’d somehow done differently; but to hold it as a given, and come to know its blessing, is the generosity of practice.
Of this case in the Gateless Gate Collection, Wumen penned the verse:
If it passes through, it falls into a ditch;
if it turns back, it will be lost.
This tiny little tail —
what a strange and wonderful thing it is!
Sunday Zen with Tess Beasley & Friends, February 22nd, 2026 (Deep Sit Sunday Zen)
Includes commentary from John Tarrant, David Weinstein, Jon Joseph, & Michelle Riddle
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