The Koan:

Wakuan said, “Why has the Foreigner-from-the-West no beard?”

Comment:

The Foreigner-from-the-West is of course Bodhidharma.  Physically, Bodhidharma had a bushy beard and big bulging eyes.  So, the question of Wakuan is pointing at the Self-nature of Bodhidharma as opposed to the physical appearance.  To see the Self-nature of Bodhidharma is not possible without being awake in our own Self-nature.  This is the purport of the Koan.  It takes Self-nature to see Self-nature, Enlightenment to see Enlightenment.

A beard often suggests “authoritative seniority”.  Would-be “Teachers” and “Masters” often wear beards to appear authoritative to gullible, false seekers who are prisoners of appearances.  The charlatans always reasons, “I believe I have authoritative spiritual knowledge and experience.  The seekers however will not recognize me if I do not show an Enlightened and Authoritative appearance”.  So, false teachers seek to attract false students who are inwardly blind. True teachers are usually willing to function compassionately toward true students who have had a preliminary Awakening that sees the Great Awakening of the teacher.  The true recognizer of the Self-nature looks past the beard, the bulging eyes, the figure staring at a wall endlessly.  The real Bodhidharma is not an historical figure, but rather is an example of direct personal experiencing of extreme awareness.  He is foreign because he is a misfit within the normal studies, rituals and practices of ordinary externalist Mahayana Buddhism.  Zen is not merely Buddhism.  Zen is direct awakening in and as Self-nature.  Zen is direct personal experience and direct personal experience is Zen.  This is why the Buddhists of Ancient China were generally very upset about Bodhidharma.  He was confronting them with their lack of genuine superspiritual awakening within themselves.  They were scholars and practitioners, but not direct experiencers of the Universal Superconsciousness that is Self-nature.

Who really knows whether Bodhidharma was ultimately awakened or not?  There is no guarantee here of an ultimate authority to cling to, a follow-through Buddha or even a genuine Bodhisattva or Arhat.  Looking passed the beard, the faceless face is timelessly there, whether it is light or dark, enlightened or ignorant pretence.  Only Enlightenment can see Enlightenment or absence of Enlightenment.  Direct experiencing is everything, direct experiencing is Zen.  Without Zen, Buddhism is nothing; without Zen, Buddhism is just a time-bound Eastern culture of dogmatic Orientals attached to their robes, instruments and facilities.  Bodhidharma was not an inmate of an institution.  He was a free spirit confronting all that crap in Ancient China.  His was not a beard of authority, but the beard of an old man who couldn’t be bothered with shaving.  He stared at a wall because he was not looking for excitements or objects to cling to.  He did not give a shit that the wall was a wall.  It was just a handy place to hang his eyes while expanding endlessly on his direct experiencing.  He knew that direct experiencing is everything, and that knowledge is Zen.

Do not ask about Zen or Bodhidharma!  Look into your own total experiencing to the point of non-duality of Subject and Object.  Bodhidharma and his wall were non-duality.  You and your wall are non-duality; you and your seascape are non-duality; you and your present surroundings are non-duality.  Non-duality is core experiencing within Self-nature, which is Self (Subject) and Object (nature).  Direct experiencing is the Way, the Tao, the Universal Process.  To look away from Direct Experiencing will only find beards and buildings, which is like throwing dust in one’s own eyes.  Looking into your own direct experiencing is not a method or practice.  It requires no institutional situation nor a decorated hall in Japan, China or America.  It is the same whether sitting, standing, working or lying down.