Welcome home! Please contact lincoln@icrontic.com if you have any difficulty logging in or using the site. New registrations must be manually approved which may take several days. Can't log in? Try clearing your browser's cookies.
KOANS....
federica
Seeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
I thought you might all like to dip in and see what a Koan tastes like...
I chose This one but if you go to the Index page, yo'll have a very wide choice....
Enjoy...!
I chose This one but if you go to the Index page, yo'll have a very wide choice....
Enjoy...!
0
Comments
Thanks for the link to .... Ashida Kim!
Taking the Bull by the Horns - Experiences in a Zen monastery
I love koans. Especially huckleberry koans. Mmmmm!
-bf
Thanks for the link. I enjoyed it.
Adiana:usflag:
Marybeth
To rest up at that point is a mistake, but one that's easy to make, and working with a teacher can help to avoid this happening. If the penetration of the first koan is deep enough, then there is the knowing that fundamentally Zazen sits Zazen, prostrating does prostrating, the koan does the koan, and then it's more learning to apply that experience of oneness and no self to subsequent koans. Of course this could all be nonsense in relation to your own experience Jerbear and I really don't feel qualified to guide anyone in any significant way with Koan study. The only advice I could give really is to not try to get it, but simply to close the gap between yourself and the koan. If thoughts come up, feed them to the koan, when anger comes up, or fear or exhilaration or whatever - feed them to the koan too. Burn yourself up in the koan.
Thanks for your input. Whether you know it or not, I do value it. I did talk to my teacher about it and he gave me guidance on it. I do like the idea of feeding the mental energy to the koan. I guess where I'm stuck is that I'm an intellectual and I look at things quite analytically. Koans don't work like that. But I catch myself trying to catch that moment between rational thought and I can't. Which is cool too.
I want to ask you another question. Much more general. I'm finding myself becoming very happy with my practice. I love meditating (DUH!), going to temple, reading Buddhist writings and such. There is a part of me that is going "Is this building my ego? That is what is to be torn down.". In 12 step groups, we call ego E.asing G.od O.ut. I know for now, ego will be a struggle. But how can you tell when it's true enjoyment or trying to prop the ego up? Maybe that I'm concerned is a good sign.
I know that the spiritual path is a tough one. That doesn't scare me at all. After 10 years as a serious "Born Again" Christian, I know that their are sacrifices to be made in order to obtain spiritual growth. I missed having a spiritual life, so part of me is just thrilled to be doing something in that vein again. I am taking the approach of "One day at a time". I don't know if I'll make it to Enlightenment. But I'm trying to enjoy the journey.
Any thoughts on how to get your ego out of the way?
"It's a matter of personal debate to me how far one can be pleased with one's own achievement, without then becoming an issue of Ego.... Surely one can at least look back and delight, maybe not so much in the progress of the last week, but even as far back as years ago, and be happy at how far one has come....
I think one can be pleased with ones' self (I sound like ones' monarch!) insofar as we can be glad that by our attempts to improve our lot, then others benefit too... it's a chain reaction... And given that we 'strive' to be better people, and to love ourselves unconditionally, we transmit this outwards, and others perceiving the changes, feel happier in our company....
I'm struggling to step out of Ego here, and I know I have a way to go, so I will just come out and say it:
I have been told by Clients I had in the UK, as a Feng Shui consultant, and as a Shiatsu Therapist, that I had changed their lives.
I have been told by clients here in France, to whom I have taught Qi Gong, that I have had 'an effet incroyable' on their outlook and character....
And all I will say, and say in all sincerity, is that people can only react in a certain way if they are first open and receptive to this influence. So much as I might have had these effects on people, it is only because I hit the right buttons, and they were ready....
But I am delighted that it was a good and beneficial effect, rather than the opposite...!!
So when I know I'm doing OK... I try to measure it by how people react to me, rather than to merely look at me as a yardstick...."
Knitwitch gave a sound response, in that French has two words for pride...
Check it out and see what she said....
"Allow others to blow your trumpet for you. The sound will carry twice as far...."
I'm not trying to be flippant here but I would say that the answer is to realize that the ego isn't in the way to begin with. And yes I know that teachers or fellow practitioners use the phrase 'getting the self out of the way', but it's not something that's done deliberately if that makes sense. Just as when sitting, we let thoughts come up, let sounds come up and let them go right through us, without making them an object of concentration or worrying about them, just let them go through. It's more that letting whatever comes up come up, and neither indulging nor repressing it, we have a model of how to let the ego drop away, or for body and mind to drop away as Dogen might have put it. We simply keep doing that, or assenting to that when it happens, and then body and mind fall away of themselves, because the ego was never substantial to begin with.
This is what I would say that koans do in part. They bring up all the stuff that we have brewing in the dark and shine a light on it. Under that light it tends to evaporate, or disappear, or transform, just as a snake 'transforms' into a piece of rope when a light is shone on it. Through becoming one with the koan, through burning ourselves up in it, all that 'stuff' is seen clearly and transformed. You are nothing but the Unborn Buddha Mind. You have never been anything else, never will be anything else and never can be anything else. You miss the obvious because it's obvious, and so the koan will rub your nose in it until you finally realize that you can smell the coffee in front of you and that the nose you smell it with, the tongue you taste it with and the hands you hold it with, are the hands of Sakyamuni Buddha, are the hands of Joshu and his damned MU, and are the hands, nose and tongue of all the Matriarchs and Patriarchs that there have ever been. This is not a fancy way of saying anything. Become one with your koan and you will know, without a shadow of a doubt that you yourself are Sakyamuni, you yourself are Joshu.
You said that you were very happy with your practice, but wondered if that is another of ego's ploys and that's a very good point to consider. It's inevitable at some point that ego trys to get in on the act and it can mimic spiritual practice quite well. But in return I'd ask, is there a problem with enjoying your practice? If you enjoy it, simply enjoy it. Where ego might be coming into this then is in wanting things to be other than they actually are, rejecting, or having aversion to things as they are on the one hand, and clinging to things on the other hand. Good practice, enjoyable practice, bad practice, unpleasant practice, it doesn't matter. Ego is the very idea that somehow, if we're enjoying our practice, that it may be egocentric. That's the thing right there. The problem isn't how you or I feel about anything, feelings are just feelings, they come as they come and are not subject to our control or any effort of will, but how we invest those feelings with all sorts of extra baggage that is simply unecessary.
What matters then is how caught up we let ourselves get in ideas of how our practice 'should' or shouldn't be or how we should or shouldn't be. That 'should' is itself a manifestation of ego in the Buddhist sense. That's the inner contraction that seems to block us, or prevent us being wholehearted about our lives and our practice. In reality our life and our practice are the same thing. After all, where else can you practice but here, at what time can you practice but now and in what life can one realise oneself and wake up but this one?
So feeding our thoughts and emotions to the koan - it's the same with the thought that one's practice might be tainted by what Trungpa Rinpoche called Spiritual Materialism. This practice is not about guilt, repression or dishonesty, but about manifesting the truth of our being wholeheartedly and that we unfortunately have gotten out of the habit of doing since we were children and had it educated out of us, or shamed out of us.
"So big mind is something to express, but it is not something to figure out. Big mind is something you have, not something to seek for. Big mind is something to talk about, or to express by our activity, or something to enjoy."
- Shunryu Suzuki Roshi - Zen Mind Beginners Mind
I have to say, I've also met Buddhist who are just champing at the bit to tell you that they're Buddhist and that they meditate and how much of a difference Buddhism has made in their life and how you should try it and blah, blah, blah.
To me, it seems their practice is very ego based.
Look at me! Look at me!
-bf
Thanks to both ZM and BF....
As usual, you have good insight. I'm just going to enjoy things as they are.
BF,
I did teach a few people at work how to have a mindful moment. Things can get crazy in the ICU and we may not have time for a real break. For example, I went full tilt for 7 hours straight last night and no time to stop. A few other nurses were having a bad night and I suggested a "Mindful Moment" to them. Being able to stop for a moment and clear your mind is quite helpful when things are coming at you from all sides. I did tell them where it came from but it wouldn't hurt to try it. I honestly wanted to share a good thing. But I will keep it in mind from now on.
It's not confined to Buddhists! Believe me! :banghead: I love people who begin every remark with "Speaking as a......." I wish they'd give it up and just have a neon sign fitted above their heads, would save a lot of wasted effort!
I've thought about your post for a bit and I really think that some people do go through that. I would hope it would be a temporary thing. But if people continue to meditate and live mindfully, it will take care of itself. Not sure about that though.
And what about the bible beaters? They can be obnoxious for their whole lives and it's sanctioned. So if we toot are horns a little bit, it can't be all bad.
Give me your koan, I have the answer book right here. Need the sound of one hand? Just move your arm. Pick up something. Extend your arm or wave it in the air. Actually, the Japanese koan system is off by a mile. Hakuin became awakened during his 42 years upon reading a passage from the Lotus Sutra then hearing the churr of a cricket.
If only they knew the huatou (Jp., wato)
How simple life would be.
Holding up a flower, walking to China,
Saying "Mu" all demonstrate the way.
If one has see "it" they have to laugh.
If one hasn't seen "it" they will never
Gnaw their way through this iron door.
Well I never! Speaking as a Buddhist, The concept of a neon sign being installed above my head is ludocris!
I'm having zenon flash tubes installed within the next week..it's much more sensible.
regards,
Richard
Koan 4 U:
where is the lightswitch?
Does the light need to switch?
like i said before, I have no Idea half the time what some of you seem to be so well educated with-I'm baffled with all of this Koan stuff.
Oh and P.S. you can Include on my list of stuff i don't understand, Cryptic Crosswords-HATE THEM! (and yes hate is a strong word-and I really mean it)
regards.
(Hmmmm, nice that I can still fool some folk though....!!)
But I love learning.... and then finding out that unless I put it to use, it's all just words.
That's the thing, see... Just squiggles on a page, unless you hitch yer pants up and start striding....
Love it!
Diamond Sutra......?
No 'Spades' or 'clubs' Sutras.....?:crazy:
Xray,
BTW, I truly dislike cryptics, too. My father has finally ceased torturing me with them.
Brigid
http://www.ibiblio.org/zen/cgi-bin/koan-index.pl
Lot's of good one's there. This one in particular always gets me, though I admit I don't really understand it:
_/\_
metta
:wow:
I always preferred Mr Wippy with a doule flake.
HH
Thanks, that helps. I was focusing too much on the sandals on the head thing being some sort of symbolic retort. I should have realized that wasn't it.
Anyway, the question this leads me to, is 'what is cat?'. And after Nansen cut the cat in two, where did the 'cat' go? For that matter, where was it before Nansen let his sword fall?
I am also seeing a suggestion as to Nansen's error in the final four lines now.
Is this along the lines of what you mean, ZMG??
_/\_
metta
Traditionally putting a sandal on one's head in ancient China was a symbol of mourning (odd people those ancient Chinese), so it's not as off beam as it first appears but stands out to those of us who are naturally not familiar with the cultural context and history behind some of these koans. The question of what the cat is though is pretty crucial, so it's interesting that you light on that first. The monks aren't really arguing about the cat and the cat isn't the point of the koan. One point is how we are often cutting things in two, separating ourselves from how things are in favour of how we think things are or should be. Cutting the cat in one is how to manifest 'right' action, right understanding and so on directly here and now in daily life. If you or I were there, I'm pretty sure we'd have the sense to snatch the cat away and tell the teacher not to be a dick about this. So right action is complete action - it may or may not appear in accordance with the precepts but it's complete - nothing left over, nothing extraneous and not coming from the standpoint of self or even self and other. It's also often against the current and fundamentally subversive.
I came across a Dharma talk on this koan that puts things somewhat better than I can:
This story involves Nanchuan and Zhaozho, two of the most important figures in Zen history. Zhaozhou came to Nanchuan when he was only about twenty years old. Nanchuan was lying down taking a nap when the youngster approached. Sitting up in bed, he asked the Zen question (a wonderful question for anyone at any time), "where have you come from?" Zhaozhou replied, "I come from Standing Buddha Temple." Nanchuan said, "Are there any standing Buddhas there?" Zhaozhou replied, "Here I see a reclining Buddha." Zhaozhou was a sincere steady practitioner, devoted to his teacher, with whom he remained for forty years. They were very close, as this story shows, and collaborated together to create a good learning environment for the monks. Both Nanchuan and Zhaozhou figure in many stories in the koan collections. The present case is probably the most well known - and disturbing- case in all of Zen. We could compare it to a similar story that appears in the bible, involving the wise king Solomon and a baby. Two women are arguing over a baby, both claiming to be the mother. Like Nanchuan, Solomon proposes to solve the dispute by cutting the baby in two, in this case, in order to give half to each of the women, an eminently fair solution. One of the women speaks up immediately and says no don't do it, I am not the mother, give the child to her! And this is how Solomon discovers which of the two is the real mother.
This is a tidier and nicer story than the story of Nanchuan and the cat. We can easily discern its point. But Zen stories seem harder to appreciate. People get confused when you say to them, "Say a word of Zen!" They can't help but think there is something to this that they don't understand. It paralyzes them. They can't say anything. They think about it in a panic, and the more they think the more baffled they become. A Zen monk is not half as smart as a mother. A mother knows about love and devotion so she is never speechless when it comes to the welfare of her child. If the mother in the Solomon story had been there she would have said to Nanchuan, "What's the matter with you? How can you even think of killing that cat? You are a Zen priest who has taken a precept against killing!" Surely these words would have saved the cat. If the monks had been reasonable ordinary feeling human beings instead of stupid monks with Zen gold dust in their eyes they would have spoken up like that or simply grabbed the cat and run away. But they couldn't do it. Maybe they were too intimidated by the prestige of the teacher.
Dogen in commenting on the case said," If i were Nanchuan I would have said, 'if you cannot say a true word of Zen I will cut the cat and if you can say a true word of Zen I will also cut the cat.'" This would have been a much less misleading challenge than the one posed by Nanchuan. If I were the monks I would have said, "we can't answer, please Master cut the cat in two if you can." Or, "Nanchuan you know how to cut the cat in two but can you show us how to cut the cat in one?" And again, Dogen says "If I were Nanchuan and the monks could not answer I would say too bad you cannot answer and then I would release the cat."
We are all cut in two of course. That's living in this world of discrimination and difference. I am me- therefore I am not you. But we are also cut in one, only we don't know it. Being cut in one is "I am me and all is included in that, you and everything else." We practice zazen to remember that we are cut in one, as well as two. When we are dead we'll all be cut in one and only one. But we're dying all the time. If we're Zen monks, we devote ourselves to sitting on our cushions so that we can see this and integrate it into our everyday living. When Zhaozhou comes back later and puts a sandal on his head, this is what he is saying. Putting a sandal on the head was a sign of mourning in ancient China. Zhaozhou is expressing, "Teacher do not fool me with your pantomime. You and I both know that the cat is already dead. You and I are already dead. All disputes are already settled. All things are beyond coming and going. Vast and wide, at peace."
This same story appears in the two other major koan collections, the Blue Cliff Record and the Book of Serenity, and the commentaries there say that Nanchuan did not cut the cat in two but only pantomimed doing it. Zen teachers do not commit murder, the commentaries say, even to make an important point.
From Mumonkan case 14. Nanchuan's Cat by Zoketsu Norman Fischer
The rest of the talk is interesting too, for those who want to click the link, though I haven't produced it here as I've already gone on far too much. Good, penetrating questions though Not1 and forgive me for rambling.
Nice! Thanks a bunch.
_/\_
metta
'When nothing whatsoever will do, what will you do?'