![]() What? On the surface, it looks like another mind game. An eager monk asks his master, "Why did Zen come to Japan from China?" The master answers, "There is a cypress tree in the courtyard." "If you immerse yourself in the context of the original tradition - which includes mythology, legends and cultural symbols from China, Japan and Korea - then you start to pick up on the obscure references," he says. While Heine admits that some koans are simply mind games designed to break our brains and force us into new ways of seeing, others are rooted in ancient traditions that are hidden to most modern readers. You will die from my pitchfork even if you do not explain it. What kinds of demons made you become a Buddhist priest? What kind of devil forced you to take up this pilgrimage? You will die from my pitchfork even if you explain it. It can take years to "solve" and the solution, as determined by the master, will vary according to what the individual student needs to learn. ![]() "Joshu's Dog" is one of the first koans presented to students of Zen Buddhism. Instead of simply saying, "Yes, every living thing has the Buddha nature," Joshu wants us to meditate night and day on the concept of "nothing" in order to think beyond "yes and no," "Buddha or no Buddha" and connect with something universally true. The koan is a way of "completely uproot all the normal workings of one's mind," wrote Mumon. Indeed your ego-shell suddenly is crushed, you can shake heaven and earth. As a fruit ripening in season, your internality and externality spontaneously become one. Then, all the useless knowledge you have diligently learned until now is thrown away. It is neither nothingness, nor its relative "not" of "is" and "is not." It must be like gulping a hot iron ball that you can neither swallow nor spit out. into this question of what "Mu" is day and night, without ceasing, hold it before you. Would you like to pass through this barrier? Then concentrate your whole body. This is why it is called the Gateless Gate of Zen. The story is a means to an end."įor the pursuit of Zen, you must pass through the barriers (gates) set up by the Zen masters. "The koan is an instrument to get you from un-enlightenment to enlightenment," says Heine, "But it's more about the interaction you have with your teacher than the story itself. That's why koans often seem contradictory, paradoxical and downright random. Zen masters use koans to startle and disarm their students, and shake them from their spiritual slumber. While every wisdom tradition uses stories to teach moral and spiritual truths (Jesus, for example, taught using parables), there's something different about a koan. "Two or more individuals have a brief exchange - which can include words, gestures, even silence - and through that encounter, some kind of ignorance is exposed and understanding is revealed." "A koan is basically an encounter dialogue," says Heine. There are hundreds and hundreds of koans, but each one tells the story of a brief interaction - usually between a student and a teacher, but sometimes two teachers, or a teacher and a rival - that results in a sudden flash of insight. Hakuin was willing.The best tool for peeling back those layers is the koan. The mother and father of the girl at once went to Hakuin to ask forgiveness, to apologize at length, and to get the child back. She told her parents the truth – the real father of the child was a young man who worked in the fishmarket. He obtained milk from his neighbours and everything else he needed.Ī year later the girl-mother could stand it no longer. ![]() By this time he had lost his reputation, which did not trouble him, but he took very good care of the child. “Is that so?” was all he would say.Īfter the child was born it was brought to Hakuin. In great anger the parent went to the master. She would not confess who the man was, but after much harassment at last named Hakuin. Suddenly, without any warning, her parents discovered she was with child. The Zen master Hakuin was praised by his neighbours as one living a pure life.Ī beautiful Japanese girl whose parents owned a food store lived near him. ![]()
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