Here then is one of the first koans given to latter-day students. When the Sixth Patriarch was asked by the monk Myo (Ming) what Zen was, he said: “When your mind is not dwelling on the dualism of good and evil, what is your original face before you were born?” (Show me this “face” and you get into the mystery of Zen. Who are you before Abraham was born? When you have had a personal, intimate interview with this personage, you will better know who you are and who God is. The monk is here told to shake hands with this original man, or, if metaphysically put, with his own inner self.)
