Gospel of Thomas, Zen and Tadpoles: Convergences Toward the Gateless Gate
"Do you hear the murmur of the mountain stream? Enter Zen from there"
“Jesus said: ‘Recognize what is before your eyes, and what is hidden will be revealed to you, for there is nothing hidden that will not be manifested.’”
(Gospel of Thomas, Logion 5)
When I read these words, I glimpse an invitation to see the world differently, where the visible can reveal the invisible. It reminds me of the Zen concept of Mumonkan, the "Gateless Gate." The text mentions this story:
"Molto tempo fa in Cina, un monaco chiese al maestro Gensha: "Sono un novizio appena arrivato in questo monastero, da dove posso entrare nello Zen?". Gensha disse: "Senti il mormorio del ruscello di montagna?". "Sì", rispose il monaco. "Entra nello Zen da lì" fu la risposta del maestro Gensha."
["A long time ago in China, a monk asked Master Gensha: 'I am a novice who has just arrived at this monastery, from where can I enter Zen?' Gensha said: 'Do you hear the murmur of the mountain stream?' 'Yes,' replied the monk. 'Enter Zen from there' was Master Gensha's response."]
("Mumonkan La Porta Senza Porta" di Zenkei Shibayama - Astrolabio Ubaldini Editore - 1977)
This story illuminates the paradox: there is neither a starting point nor a destination, only the continuous transformation of the One. The gate exists, but it has no bars; passage is possible, but not through a physical gate. This makes me think of the Stargate, the interdimensional portal from the science fiction film of the same name, directed by Roland Emmerich in 1994. While the cinematic Stargate is a single device requiring advanced technologies to function, the message of Jesus and Zen suggests something more revolutionary: every point of reality is potentially a "Stargate" to a deeper understanding.
"Recognize what is before your eyes" (Logion 5) - like "the stream" in Zen. Ordinary reality already contains within itself access to the transcendent. I think of the metamorphosis of a tadpole into a frog, an impossible process that follows natural laws. At the center of this transformation is the action of collagenase, the enzyme that dissolves collagen, allowing this radical transformation. The enzyme doesn't look for a "door" in the structure; it dissolves the structure itself from within. It's not an external force breaking a barrier, but an intrinsic process that reveals the fluidity of what seemed rigid. Collagenase becomes the "gate of change" - not an opening through a wall, but the process that shows the illusion of the wall itself.
Unlike the cinematic Stargate, which connects distant worlds, the "portals" that Jesus and the Zen master speak of are everywhere. The boundary between our everyday perception of reality and deeper, ultimate reality is, in fact, a creation of our mind. The secret is not elsewhere, but immanent in the here and now. Spirit and matter are not divided. The ineffable manifests in the continuity of being.
"What is hidden will be revealed to you" (Logion 5) alludes to the deeper truth of ourselves, that inner dimension that escapes ordinary awareness. This revelation doesn't come from outside, but emerges when the rigid structures of the ego, which conceal our true nature, are dissolved through deeper understanding. It's a journey inward that transforms the perception of who we truly are.
There is no "here" and "there," no "now" and "after." There is the continuous transformation of the One, manifesting in infinite forms while always remaining itself. The most revolutionary message is precisely this: by recognizing what is before our eyes - the Zen stream, everyday ordinariness - we can pass through the "Gateless Gate" to a deeper understanding of reality.
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