Koans.. for you 'Koan'sideration..

[TzuJanLi]

Greetings..

 

What is the sound of One hand clapping?

The new Zen student was asked this question.. he pondered it all night, and when pressed for the answer the next day.. his incorrect reply was rewarded with a stern, "No!", and a slap to the side of the face.. after a few days of incorrect answers, the new student was asked again, and.. the student slapped the teacher.. well done, said the teacher..

 

There was a famous master of a celibate Zen monastery, where all the monks renounced any contact with the opposite sex for fear of distraction from their 'clarity'.. well, the master and some of his students were walking along the bank of a stream, in quiet contemplation, when, they heard the sobbing of a young woman.. the master approached the young woman and ask why she was sobbing.. she replied, "the water is too fast and deep for me to cross, and i will be late for my performance in the play".. the master picked-up the young woman and carried her across the stream.. she hugged him in sincere gratitude and hurried off to her play.. a while later, one of the puzzled students asked the master, "Master, why did you break your vows and make contact with that young woman?........ What was the master's reply?

 

Be well..

Edited November 6, 2009 by TzuJanLi

[thelerner]

"I left her by the bank. Why do you still carry her?"

 

 

There was a small Zendo in the inner city. A student asked the man who ran it 'Why are there no pictures of the Buddha there?'

'There's one behind the curtain' and pointed to a small frame covered by cloth.

 

What was behind the cloth?

[TzuJanLi]

"I left her by the bank. Why do you still carry her?"

There was a small Zendo in the inner city. A student asked the man who ran it 'Why are there no pictures of the Buddha there?'

'There's one behind the curtain' and pointed to a small frame covered by cloth.

 

What was behind the cloth?

Appropriately, A mirror...

[C T]

Here is a little story. Its not a koan i'm sorry. But its a good tale nonetheless... Its called A BUDDHA.

 

In Tokyo in the Meiji era there lived two prominent teachers of opposite characteristics. One, Unsho, an instructor in Shingon, kept Buddha's precepts scrupulously. He never drank intoxicants, nor did he eat after 11am each day. The other teacher, Tanzan, a professor of philosophy at the Imperial University, never observed the precepts. Whenever he felt like eating, he ate, and when he was sleepy during the daytime, he slept without giving it a second thought.

 

One day Unsho visited Tanzan, who was sipping some wine at the time, not even a drop of which is supposed to touch the tongue of a religious Buddhist.

 

"Hello brother," Tanzan greeted Unsho. "Wont you have a drink with me?"

 

"I never drink!" exclaimed Unsho solemnly.

 

"One who does not drink is not even human," declared Tanzan.

 

"Do you mean to call me inhuman just because I do not indulge intoxicants!" exclaimed Unsho in anger. "Then if I am not human, what am I?"

 

"A Buddha, of course," Tanzan replied, without hesitation.

.....................................................................................................

 

Here's another one. NOTHING EXISTS...

 

Yamaoka Tesshu, as a young student of Zen, visited one Roshi after another. He called upon Dukuon of Shokuko.

 

Desiring to show off his attainment, he said, "The mind, sentient beings, and even Buddha, after all do not exist. The true nature of phenomena is emptiness! There is no realization, no delusion, no superiority, and no mediocrity. There is no giving, and nothing to be received."

 

Dukuon, who was smoking quietly, said nothing. Suddenly, he gave Yamaoka a big whack with his bamboo pipe! Shocked and infuriated, he demanded to know why Dukuon hit him.

 

"If nothing exists, where is the source of that pain and anger?" asked Dukuon, still smoking away quietly.

Edited November 6, 2009 by CowTao

[TzuJanLi]

Greetings..

 

"If nothing exists, where is the source of that pain and anger?" asked Dukuon, still smoking away quietly.

Clarity is such a gift..

 

Be well..

[thelerner]

At a monastery a new monk and a professor waited to see the master. As they waited they talked and were served tea. The new monk poured and overfilled the professors cup and told him he, like the cup, must be empty inorder to learn the lessons of Zen.

 

When the door opened the master saw the professor and told the new monk he would not see him.

 

Why?

Edited November 7, 2009 by thelerner

[C T]

At a monastery a new monk and a professor waited to see the master. As they waited they talked and were served tea. The new monk poured and overfilled the professors cup and told him he, like the cup, must be empty inorder to learn the lessons of Zen.

 

When the door opened the master saw the professor and told the new monk he would not see him.

 

Why?

"Why not?" the young monk retorted, almost arrogantly. This shook the master, and the professor was taken aback, which was precisely what the young monk wanted.

 

Taking 2 steps forward, the young monk asked the master, "Do you see those 5 stone buddhas in the ornamental garden and the visitors walking near them? Even the stone buddhas do not turn people away...and you dare call yourself a living buddha master?!"

 

Before the master could say anything, the young monk turned to the professor, winked at him, and left.

 

[gendao]

Does color exist in the dark?

[Birch]

Good call!

 

The koan is by definition meant to fuck you up. Euh, to be polite, it's supposed to get you away from ...

[thelerner]

Does color exist in the dark?

 

No. Nature sets things in there proper place. Fish in the sea, people on the land. Color where there is light.

 

 

Michael

[Ninpo-me-this-ninjutsu-me-that]

Does color exist in the dark?

 

There is no dark.

 

 

What is the sound of one hand clapping?

 

A slap on the face!

[gendao]

No. Nature sets things in there proper place. Fish in the sea, people on the land. Color where there is light.

So, when you dream in color at night in the dark...where does that light come from?

[mYTHmAKER]

So, when you dream in color at night in the dark...where does that light come from?

 

Also how do blind people see inner light and colors when they meditate.

[gendao]

Where do your thoughts come from?

[C T]

Do all paths really lead to the same goal, or do all goals eventually lead to the same path?

[Owledge]

On 11/6/2009 at 4:39 PM, TzuJanLi said:

"Master, why did you break your vows and make contact with that young woman?........ What was the master's reply?

Good expression of the theme of clarity. Obeying the vow is FOR a PURPOSE and only for that. It was not a concern there.

The rule that is followed without exception has no value.

At least not to an imperfect mind.

Correction: At least not to a mind that, consciously or subconsciously, considers itself imperfect.

 

On 11/6/2009 at 4:53 PM, thelerner said:

There was a small Zendo in the inner city. A student asked the man who ran it 'Why are there no pictures of the Buddha there?'

'There's one behind the curtain' and pointed to a small frame covered by cloth.

 

What was behind the cloth?

 

On 11/6/2009 at 5:06 PM, TzuJanLi said:

Appropriately, A mirror...

Do you remember the name of the movie that had something like this as its plot finale? A hero-adventurer seeking something, meeting various temptations and distractions on the quest and eventually finding it in his own reflection.

 

Can anything be sought that is NOT found in our own reflection?

 

 

On 11/6/2009 at 4:39 PM, TzuJanLi said:

The new Zen student was asked this question.. he pondered it all night, and when pressed for the answer the next day.. his incorrect reply was rewarded with a stern, "No!", and a slap to the side of the face.. after a few days of incorrect answers, the new student was asked again, and.. the student slapped the teacher.. well done, said the teacher..

Excellent expression of the theme of mental blockage. The harder we try, the easier it gets to drift further apart from the solution.

Also of negative mental focus: When something appears impossible/illogical at first, it can be hard to imagine it not being, since the mind loves that simple non-answer. (Normally it hates non-answers, but not its own ones.)

Edited August 9, 2021 by Owledge