![]() 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. Robin Trimingham is the chief operating officer of The Olderhood Group Ltd and a virtual presenter, journalist, podcaster and thought leader in the fields of life transition and change management.The best tool for peeling back those layers is the koan. Which begs the question … in any disagreement what do you actually react to more, the voice of your opponent or the one in your head? Would you hear yourself as others hear you and see the solution to the disagreement, or would you merely hear the sound of your ego buzzing in your ear as you endlessly swatted the air? Would you hear the hum of your refrigerator, or the bird in the street, or the neighbour on his porch?Īnd if you eventually ran out of external sounds to identify and finally looked beyond the noises that they make – what then would you hear? Perhaps at first, but what would happen if you continued to sit? Or would you settle down in a quiet place and attempt to hear that which you have refused to hear before?Īnd if you did choose this last and somewhat unlikely course of action, what do you suppose would happen next? Would you scoff in frustration and turn the page? ![]() If all you apply is logic and you are very clever, eventually you may realise that one hand can in fact make a sound if you use it to pat yourself on the back.īut in the context of this discussion, will patting yourself on the back ever help you solve a disagreement and, more importantly, is this the answer that the Zen master is seeking? If the Zen master insists that there is in fact a sound and that you the student must describe it, how will you respond?Īnd, if there actually is a sound, how can you hear it?Ĭlose your eyes and visualise this for a minute. ![]() On the surface, it pushes air but makes no sound end of discussion. Robin Trimingham suggests we all listen to the sound of one hand clapping ![]()
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