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I always think of the Buddha explaining that he was pointing at the moon and that people should focus on the moon and not him. So, the moon could be thought of as a metaphor for the Dhamma (or, in this case, Zen). That, I think, is what the Zen master wants to share with the thief.
Oh, that's a good one. It has so many possible answers that someone could come up with.
That's not the point at all of koans though. They aren't riddles to think up answers about. When I find a good explanation of koans and koan practice on the 'net I'm going to post a link.
My favorite koan is not a story from a book anyways.
When I studied with my first Zen-teacher I was pretty eager. I never missed a lesson and I meditated daily, plus one whole night in most weekends. I tried to get it. What started to annoy me was that my teacher seemed inconsistent in his talks. I wished he would keep it simple and would stop contradicting himself. I got some notions straight, but I couldn’t piece it all together. And I was basically good at that. I used to read books and after I closed the book make a short summary of the message in it. I could usually do that very well. I didn’t give up though. I practiced with the guy for something like five years.
One day he talked about logic. He explained that usually logic says that if one thing is true, the opposite of it is not true. I knew that. Not so in Zen he explained. Something can only be true if the opposite is also true. That did it for me. It broke through some layer anyways.
In the Blue Cliff Record they refer to “turning words”; words which seem to be able to turn around and around. These were turning words for me. “Something is only true if the opposite is also true.”
@Zenff Thanks for sharing your story, as it strikes a chord with me as well. I read a book that basically said that the "opposites" are part of a circle and non-duality is through the center, rather than following the circle. I am assuming that koans are designed to point to this middle path.
So typically we look at hot and cold as opposites. A more accurate way is to say there is heat (energy) and lack of heat (energy). Wet and dry become wet and lack of wetness. Without one there is not the other. I don't believe in evil, just the absence of good (compassion, metta, etc).
The middle path is the path through the circle, the path of non-duality. It is more or less like realizing a new dimension. We can't and shouldn't expect our current words (which are stuck to that circle) to be able to describe going through it.
I don't know if I look at it entirely in the way you described. That "Something can only be true if the opposite is also true." But this does remind me of one of my favorite koans:
Shuzan held out a short stick and said, "If you call this a short stick, you oppose its reality. If you do not call it a short stick, you ignore the fact. Now what do you wish to call this?"
@andyZ so would it be possible to match certain koans up with certain sutras for a more complete picture (ie intellectual and non-conceptual)?
Not that I ever tried to do that but I was just thinking about a how many sutras (especially in Pali canon) are dealing with a particular subjects of the teaching. In a similar way a koan may touch on a subject and try to get to the bottom of it. I haven't done any actually koan study with a teacher or done any research to link koans with sutras. They (sutras and koans) all stem from the same teaching (dharma) so I think it's natural that they would overlap.
@andyZ so would it be possible to match certain koans up with certain sutras for a more complete picture (ie intellectual and non-conceptual)?
Not that I ever tried to do that but I was just thinking about a how many sutras (especially in Pali canon) are dealing with a particular subjects of the teaching. In a similar way a koan may touch on a subject and try to get to the bottom of it. I haven't done any actually koan study with a teacher or done any research to link koans with sutras. They (sutras and koans) all stem from the same teaching (dharma) so I think it's natural that they would overlap.
I don't know about specific correlations, but they are all practical lessons on commonly held buddhist tenets. Joshu's Mu is a practical lesson on the idea that all beings possess 'Buddhadhatu' (Buddha Nature). Other koans are a practical exercise on the diamond sutra and the nature of emptiness. Along the lines of the buddhist analogy of a finger pointing at the moon, koans are a way for students of the buddhadharma to move their eyes from the finger to the glorious moon. To move from abstract, conceptual notions, to the direct experience of reality.
ditto to what @not1not2 said. I'd also say that many koans, like the one about short stick above, invite you take action and not just think about abstract ideas.
Comments
http://www.nozen.com/stolenmoon.htm
I always think of the Buddha explaining that he was pointing at the moon and that people should focus on the moon and not him. So, the moon could be thought of as a metaphor for the Dhamma (or, in this case, Zen). That, I think, is what the Zen master wants to share with the thief.
When I studied with my first Zen-teacher I was pretty eager. I never missed a lesson and I meditated daily, plus one whole night in most weekends.
I tried to get it.
What started to annoy me was that my teacher seemed inconsistent in his talks. I wished he would keep it simple and would stop contradicting himself.
I got some notions straight, but I couldn’t piece it all together.
And I was basically good at that. I used to read books and after I closed the book make a short summary of the message in it. I could usually do that very well.
I didn’t give up though. I practiced with the guy for something like five years.
One day he talked about logic.
He explained that usually logic says that if one thing is true, the opposite of it is not true.
I knew that.
Not so in Zen he explained.
Something can only be true if the opposite is also true.
That did it for me.
It broke through some layer anyways.
In the Blue Cliff Record they refer to “turning words”; words which seem to be able to turn around and around.
These were turning words for me. “Something is only true if the opposite is also true.”
So typically we look at hot and cold as opposites. A more accurate way is to say there is heat (energy) and lack of heat (energy). Wet and dry become wet and lack of wetness. Without one there is not the other. I don't believe in evil, just the absence of good (compassion, metta, etc).
The middle path is the path through the circle, the path of non-duality. It is more or less like realizing a new dimension. We can't and shouldn't expect our current words (which are stuck to that circle) to be able to describe going through it.
I don't know if I look at it entirely in the way you described. That "Something can only be true if the opposite is also true." But this does remind me of one of my favorite koans: Is this along the lines of what you are saying?
I'd also say that many koans, like the one about short stick above, invite you take action and not just think about abstract ideas.