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Post by stardustpilgrim on Dec 12, 2016 14:43:39 GMT -5
Joshu heard about a monk who was supposedly enlightened. He went to see the monk, but found him sitting in meditation. He walked 100 feet past the monk, then retraced his steps, and asked "What is the truth?" The monk silently raised his right fist. Joshu responded, "The water is much too shallow to anchor here." Later, Joshu heard of another monk who was supposedly enlightened. He went to see the monk, and found him sitting in meditation. Joshu walked 100 feet past the monk, then retraced his steps, and asked, "What is the truth?" The monk silently raised his right fist. Joshu responded, "Ahh, you have the power to give or take away life and death." Both monks responded to the same question in exactly the same way. How did Joshu know that the first monk was NOT enlightened and that the second monk was? This question is very interesting. Will you tell me what's the answer?  |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 12, 2016 15:26:11 GMT -5
Daibai asked Baso: "What is Buddha?" Baso said: "This mind is Buddha." Later, another monk asked Baso: "What is Buddha?" Baso said: "This mind is not Buddha." What do you know with certainty about this exchange?You don't know the name of the second monk. |
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Post by zendancer on Dec 12, 2016 15:44:18 GMT -5
Okay. Here's a sample teaching koan that we've discussed on the forum previously. It will help people who are unfamiliar with koans understand how they function and what is required for answering them. This was one of my grandfather's favorite riddles.
It was the bottom of the ninth inning of a baseball game, and the bases were loaded. The batter hit a home run, but not a man scored. Why?
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Post by zendancer on Dec 12, 2016 15:48:48 GMT -5
Joshu heard about a monk who was supposedly enlightened. He went to see the monk, but found him sitting in meditation. He walked 100 feet past the monk, then retraced his steps, and asked "What is the truth?" The monk silently raised his right fist. Joshu responded, "The water is much too shallow to anchor here." Later, Joshu heard of another monk who was supposedly enlightened. He went to see the monk, and found him sitting in meditation. Joshu walked 100 feet past the monk, then retraced his steps, and asked, "What is the truth?" The monk silently raised his right fist. Joshu responded, "Ahh, you have the power to give or take away life and death." Both monks responded to the same question in exactly the same way. How did Joshu know that the first monk was NOT enlightened and that the second monk was? This question is very interesting. Will you tell me what's the answer? Your body already understands the answer to this question. If you are not thinking, the answer will appear. Check out some of the posted sample koans that can be answered in public |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 12, 2016 15:53:48 GMT -5
Okay. Here's a sample teaching koan that we've discussed on the forum previously. It will help people who are unfamiliar with koans understand how they function and what is required for answering them. This was one of my grandfather's favorite riddles. It was the bottom of the ninth inning of a baseball game, and the bases were loaded. The batter hit a home run, but not a man scored. Why? Well the obvious would be it's a woman's baseball team ? I don't think it's correct though. |
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Post by zendancer on Dec 12, 2016 16:22:55 GMT -5
Okay. Here's a sample teaching koan that we've discussed on the forum previously. It will help people who are unfamiliar with koans understand how they function and what is required for answering them. This was one of my grandfather's favorite riddles. It was the bottom of the ninth inning of a baseball game, and the bases were loaded. The batter hit a home run, but not a man scored. Why? Well the obvious would be it's a woman's baseball team ? I don't think it's correct though. No, you are correct. There are several koans similar to this one. The one that I've related before is the father/son koan. A father and son were involved in a terrible auto accident. They were rushed to a nearby hospital, but the father died along the way. When the ambulance arrived at the hospital, his son was rushed into an emergency operating room, and doctors were called. A neurosurgeon arrived, but after looking at the patient, said in horror, "I can't operate on this patient; it's my son!" Who was the neurosurgeon? |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 12, 2016 16:28:34 GMT -5
Well the obvious would be it's a woman's baseball team ? I don't think it's correct though. No, you are correct. There are several koans similar to this one. The one that I've related before is the father/son koan. A father and son were involved in a terrible auto accident. They were rushed to a nearby hospital, but the father died along the way. When the ambulance arrived at the hospital, his son was rushed into an emergency operating room, and doctors were called. A neurosurgeon arrived, but after looking at the patient, said in horror, "I can't operate on this patient; it's my son!" Who was the neurosurgeon? You know ZD even though I felt I might be correct, I didn't believe myself I said it can't be that simple the answer needs to be more profound ? I see now how straight forward Zen can be.. thanks |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 12, 2016 16:31:27 GMT -5
Well the obvious would be it's a woman's baseball team ? I don't think it's correct though. No, you are correct. There are several koans similar to this one. The one that I've related before is the father/son koan. A father and son were involved in a terrible auto accident. They were rushed to a nearby hospital, but the father died along the way. When the ambulance arrived at the hospital, his son was rushed into an emergency operating room, and doctors were called. A neurosurgeon arrived, but after looking at the patient, said in horror, "I can't operate on this patient; it's my son!" Who was the neurosurgeon? Different Father and son seems to answer the koan..don't want to say more in case I'm correct and give it away. |
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Post by zendancer on Dec 12, 2016 16:41:00 GMT -5
No, you are correct. There are several koans similar to this one. The one that I've related before is the father/son koan. A father and son were involved in a terrible auto accident. They were rushed to a nearby hospital, but the father died along the way. When the ambulance arrived at the hospital, his son was rushed into an emergency operating room, and doctors were called. A neurosurgeon arrived, but after looking at the patient, said in horror, "I can't operate on this patient; it's my son!" Who was the neurosurgeon? You know ZD even though I felt I might be correct, I didn't believe myself I said it can't be that simple the answer needs to be more profound ? I see now how straight forward Zen can be.. thanks Correct, and the answer to the father/son koan is that the neurosurgeon was the boy's mother. Because most people are strongly conditioned to expect neurosurgeons, airline pilots, and CEO's to be men, they are often stumped by these kinds of questions. I once experimented with people of different ages. I asked the same group of koans to children, teenagers, 30-year olds, 40-year olds, etc. From the way they responded it became obvious that people get more and more lost in the consensus trance as they age. Many children can answer koans easily, but as they grow older, they become less and less able to see through them. My daughter at the age of 8 could answer koans that she became unable to answer at the age of 20. There are some koans that almost anyone under the age of 12 can answer with ease, yet almost no 60-year olds can answer them. This is because the thinking of 60-year olds has become so dominant that they can no longer see the obvious. When presented with a koan, they immediately start thinking, and their thinking acts like a filter through which the world is seen and responded to. Most of the questions we are asked in life require us to "think up" an answer. Koans are different; they require us to see and respond to the truth before thinking is engaged. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 12, 2016 16:41:33 GMT -5
Just wanted to thank Steven on making this thread it's a nice change of pace  |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 12, 2016 17:06:32 GMT -5
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Post by steven777 on Dec 12, 2016 17:07:12 GMT -5
Daibai asked Baso: "What is Buddha?" Baso said: "This mind is Buddha." Later, another monk asked Baso: "What is Buddha?" Baso said: "This mind is not Buddha." What do you know with certainty about this exchange?You don't know the name of the second monk. haha....this is not an algebra equation, and should not be approached as such....contemplate the koan and try again my friend ;-) |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 12, 2016 17:11:26 GMT -5
Well the obvious would be it's a woman's baseball team ? I don't think it's correct though. No, you are correct. There are several koans similar to this one. The one that I've related before is the father/son koan. A father and son were involved in a terrible auto accident. They were rushed to a nearby hospital, but the father died along the way. When the ambulance arrived at the hospital, his son was rushed into an emergency operating room, and doctors were called. A neurosurgeon arrived, but after looking at the patient, said in horror, "I can't operate on this patient; it's my son!" Who was the neurosurgeon? Ok I got it now..the neurosurgeon was the boys mother >) haha I was correct I did not know you already answered this in a previous post! |
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Post by zendancer on Dec 12, 2016 17:19:16 GMT -5
No, you are correct. There are several koans similar to this one. The one that I've related before is the father/son koan. A father and son were involved in a terrible auto accident. They were rushed to a nearby hospital, but the father died along the way. When the ambulance arrived at the hospital, his son was rushed into an emergency operating room, and doctors were called. A neurosurgeon arrived, but after looking at the patient, said in horror, "I can't operate on this patient; it's my son!" Who was the neurosurgeon? Ok I got it now..the neurosurgeon was the boys mother >) Yes. 100%. |
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Post by zendancer on Dec 12, 2016 17:21:07 GMT -5
Some people say that Jesus was a pacifist, and some people say that he was an activist. When he turned over the tables of the money changers, was that the act of a pacifist or an activist?
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