Recorded 5/30/2026.

Wu-men’s commentary to Case 42 of The Gateless Barrier, “Manjusri and the Young Woman in Samadhi” says

“The comedy Old Shakya puts on the stage here is a great hodgepodge. Just tell me now; Manjusri is the teacher of the Seven Buddhas – why couldn’t he get the young woman out of her samadhi, when the Bodhisattva of Delusive Wisdom, a beginner, could? If you can firmly grasp this point, then for you this busy life of ignorance and discrimination will be the life of the Dragon Samadhi.”

His verse to the case:
One can awaken her, the other cannot;
Both of them are free.
A god mask, a devil mask
The failure is wonderful indeed.

Hmm. One can, one can’t. Isn’t that unfair? Shakespeare was an immediate success, but Melville never received a single positive review on his masterwork, Moby Dick. Picasso never failed to receive worshipful accolades, yet Van Gogh never sold a painting and William Blake died in poverty. One can awaken her, the other cannot. Astoundingly, Wu-men asserts that both are free. If so, how is Manjusri free, and how is the Bodhisattva of Delusive Wisdom also free? How is Einstein free and how Walt Disney? And what about us? How are we free, Dragon
Samadhi or no?

Let’s take a look!

Photo of Manjusri on Lion at Endless Path by Rafe Martin

Books referenced: 

• A Zen Life of Bodhisattvas by Rafe Martin

• Books by Roshi Rafe Martin
• Talks on YouTube
• More information at endlesspathzen.org