Sengcan's "Nor Mind Nor Thought"
A monk asked Master Sengcan, "
I beg you, Master, show me a way to liberation."
Sengcan replied,
"Who has bound you?"
The monk said,
"No one has bound me."
Sengcan said,
"Then why do you seek liberation?"
Upon hearing this, the monk was greatly awakened.
Reflection
Sengcan's teaching – 'Who has bound you?' – points out that seeking liberation from a self-created illusion only reinforces the sense of bondage. The monk realizes that no one has bound him; his seeking for liberation was the very thing that created the feeling of being bound. Freedom is not something to attain but something to recognize as already present.