ED, et al I agree with what ED said below with a little caveat Zen Masters cant all read you like an open book. Maybe liked a closed book that they have to look at several pages before they make their decision. I went through koan study with two different (but associate) zen masters and most times, especially in the beginning, I had to respond several times on consecutive days before a response was accepted. And even then they might ask further questions or demand more detail in the response before they accepted it.
Bill! From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of ED Sent: Tuesday, November 23, 2010 10:09 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [Zen] Re: FW: Quote from St. Thomas Aquinas My belief about a koan is that your response, verbal and/or non-verbal, and your body language in particular, confirms in the Zen Master (who can read you like an open book in any case) as to the state of evolution of your heart-mind. --ED --- In [email protected], siska_...@... wrote: > > Hi Bill, > > Yes, I suppose I was speaking only for myself. I should really look up for this 'Mu', it's been mentioned so often in this forum. > > siska > Siska, > > The historical stories of koans are full of verbal responses. Like 'The Oak Tree in the Garden', or 'A dried shit-stick', or the most famous of all 'Mu' .Bill! > Hi Bill, > > > They are usually delivered as a question (What is X?) or a request (Show me Y.). > > This was also mentioned in the article Ed posted. I can't imagine any words able to represent the responds to all those koans. > > siska > Siska, > > A koan doesn't have to be either historical or a story. Current zen teachers very frequently create a koan especially tailored to address what they feel are inadequacies of a particular students. > These probably wouldn't be delivered in story form. They are usually delivered as a question (What is X?) or a request (Show me Y.). You don't read much about these because they are a very personal communication between the teacher and student. > > The koans generally referred to are historical stories, accounts of the actions especially interactions of historical zen masters. The two most referenced works containing koans such as these are THE GATELESS GATE and THE BLUE CLIFF RECORD. > > The quality that makes a koan a koan is that it is a direct expression of Buddha Nature. > > ...Bill! __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 5643 (20101123) __________ The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. http://www.eset.com __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 5643 (20101123) __________ The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. http://www.eset.com __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 5643 (20101123) __________ The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. http://www.eset.com ------------------------------------ Current Book Discussion: any Zen book that you recently have read or are reading! Talk about it today!Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Zen_Forum/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Zen_Forum/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
