"Heart mind", ground of being, 'the Self (but not the self), Man is God, God is
Man' (but not man), 'where the shrill of the pheasant swallows the field'... or
if you like, 'the place where the answer lies before we open our mouths'. All
of which are perfectly subjective and at the same time universal and thus, as
I'm sure you will have noticed, paradoxical. Words, by their very nature, are
just clumsy (in the sense that they lead to paradoxes) tools (in the sense they
are just symbols). Koans take us beyond the use of words as tools to a direct
experience of Reality (or "Heart mind, or ground of being or.....). To explain
what a koan means is like trying to explain a joke or a poem without losing the
sense of it - impossible.
anatmanwave <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: ---I've
taken the time to figure out a few, once you "get it" it
makes perfect sense. The reason they may seem confusing is they
attempt to break the patterns of logical thought. In Rinzai they
would say use your"Heart mind" I believe.
Like with the story of the monk and his flax. The answer isn't in
the verbal but something else.......
Guy
In Zen_Forum@yahoogroups.com, "Al" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> I realize that there are many interesting stories about Zen Koans.
I have
> found it to be very entertaining reading.
>
> However, some of the koans make me wonder if they do not have to be
> interpreted based on a culture of alcoholism and illiteracy which
existed
> back in those days? Some of those stories only make sense if the
people
> involved had been drinking heavily.
>
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