百尺竿頭進一歩
ひゃくしゃくかんとうにいっぽをすすむ / Hyakushaku Kantō ni Ippo wo Susumu
Hyakushaku Kantō ni Ippo wo Susumu (百尺竿頭進一歩) Meaning
Meaning
"At the top of a hundred-foot pole, take one more step." In Zen, this means that even after reaching a high level of insight, you should not settle there in satisfaction; you are asked to let go even of your attachment to that achievement and step forward. In everyday Japanese it is also used more loosely to mean pushing one step further beyond what you have already accomplished.
Origin
The phrase comes from a verse attributed to the Tang-dynasty Chinese Zen master Changsha Jingcen, preserved in records such as the Jingde Record of the Transmission of the Lamp. It also appears in Case 46 of the Gateless Barrier (Mumonkan), a classic Zen koan collection, where Master Shishuang asks, "At the top of a hundred-foot pole, how do you take a step?" and the verse is quoted as the words of an ancient master (the wording varies slightly between versions). The verse ends by saying that once you step off, the whole world in all ten directions is your own body.
How it helps with everyday worries
When you have finally earned recognition after years of work, or when you feel you have hit a wall and cannot go any further, it is natural to cling to where you stand. The step this phrase points to does not have to mean "try harder." Gently loosening your grip on a title, a past success, or an idea of who you are supposed to be can also be that step. A step with no visible footing is frightening. Yet the verse says that what lies beyond the pole is not emptiness but the world itself. Whether you are facing a career change, the end of a relationship, or meeting new people, you are not cut off from the world when you leave your familiar ground. Remembering that may make the step feel a little lighter.
A small practice for today
Think of one thing you feel you absolutely cannot let go of, and spend one minute imagining what you might see if you loosened your hold on it just slightly.