Zen Garden Koan # 33

Judge not, not-Judge

A monk, upon hearing that old Gensei had been passed over again for being deemed enlightened, approached Mummu angrily and demanded, "How come Gensei was passed over?"
Mummu said simply, "He was not ready."
"Not ready?" asked the monk. "Who are you to say if he is ready or not?"
Mummu said, "I had nothing to say about it."
The monk asked, "But did you not just judge him unready?"
Mummu said, "One is or is not ready, there is nothing for me to judge. And who would you have seen judge him?"
The monk replied, "Anyone! Myself- even the cook."
Mummu asked, "And if you were to judge Gensei, would you have judged him fit?"
The monk replied, "Yes, I would have judged him fit."
And Mummu replied, "That is why you are not Master. For so long as you continue to judge others, you cannot truly judge yourself. That is the path to true enlightenment."

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