Mumonkan 42 (Variant) / Transmission of the Lamp
Kegon's Broken Mirror
A monk asked Kegon, How does an enlightened one return to the ordinary world? Kegon replied, A broken mirror never reflects again; fallen flowers never go back to the old branches.
Wumen Huikai
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Mount Kegon, China
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c. 900
Commentary by Traditional
Once a person has fully awakened, their old illusions are shattered completely. They cannot return to a state of ignorance, just as a shattered mirror can never project a perfect, undivided reflection.
Commentary by Traditional
Returning to the world does not mean repeating the old delusion. It means acting freely within the world without being bound by it ever again.
Verse by Traditional
The shattered mirror yields no false image, The fallen blossom leaves the ancient bough. He returns to the marketplace with empty hands, Yet everything he touches turns to pure gold.