Original face


The original face is a term in Zen Buddhism, pointing to the nonduality of subject and object.

Origins

The phrase "original face" originates in Huangpo's Chuanhsin fayao and the Hui-sin edition of the Platform Sutra:
This question appears in case 23 of the Mumonkan:
This koan is transformed in the question

Interpretation

The "original face" points to "the nonduality of subject and object":
Comparable statements are: "Look at the flower and the flower also looks"; "Guest and host interchange".
It is not "pure consciousness", as it is often understood in western thinking, reached by "cleaning the doors of perception":

Comments

Zen masters have commented the original face:

Artistic impressions

Philip Whalen

The American poet Philip Whalen has written a poem, Metaphysical Insomnia Jazz Mumonkan xxix, inspired by the Original Face-koan:

Keith Kumasen has commented on this poem.

Stuart Davis

The American Buddhist musician Stuart Davis has recorded a song called "Original Face". The chorus goes: