The Sixth Patriarch Leaves Home

After receiving the Dharma and taking leave of the Fifth Patriarch, the Sixth Patriarch came upon Master Yinzong at Faxing Temple. One evening, as the wind stirred the banners at the gate, he heard two monks arguing—one said the wind moved, the other said the banner moved—and their debate went round and round without ever touching the heart of the matter. The Patriarch said: "Would you permit a humble layman to join your lofty discussion? In truth, neither the wind nor the banner moves; what moves is your own mind."

Hearing this, Yinzong shaved the Patriarch's head, and the exchange became the "Wind and Banner" koan of the Chan tradition. The Sixth Patriarch held that emptiness and form are one, all phenomena a single suchness. When people force distinctions, dualistic labels appear; once you fall to one side and start arguing emptiness or form, you've already gone astray. Hence his teaching: it's not the wind that moves, not the banner that moves—it's the minds of the two monks that move.

Later Chan masters composed many verses offering different readings and insights into this koan.

Master Yuantong wrote:

Not the wind, nor yet the banner— why in the clear night shake the jade-smooth pole? In these bright times, no need to weigh what's fair or foul; the unburdened one simply looks with open eye.

Had the two monks already awakened, there'd be no need to trouble the Sixth Patriarch further—the eye of wisdom alone would settle the matter.

Master Caotang Qing wrote:

Not the wind, not the banner, not the mind— a long, long road where all seeking ends. The white cloud itself leaves no trace, yet falls past the cliff, deeper still, deeper still.

The Sixth Patriarch's words set the white cloud in motion, plunging it past the cliff into depths ever more profound, so that later Chan practitioners could no longer chase the ultimate or reach awakening by that route.

Master Zide Hui versified:

Is it wind, is it banner? Don't doubt— stroll at ease through the hundred grasses, returning home. The royal way is at peace, with nothing to hide; butterflies and warblers circle the trees in play.

Phenomena can never be torn from their essence, just as butterflies and warblers circle the flowering tree.

These three verses represent three different interpretations and three different realms of insight.