22 Feb

Posted at 10:17h in Koan

What is it now?*   One day, a Zen master with a clay pot on a wooden table before him asked several students: "What is this?" Some said it was a clay pot. Another said that it was an artifact. Another said it was an assemblage of clay and wood. Soon there were other perspectives as well. A lively debate ensued, while the Zen master shook his head and laughed. One student approached the table and threw the pot to the ground, shattering it into many pieces. An audible silence enveloped the room, until the student asked: "What is it now?" Silence again filled the room. Some students were shocked and others embarrassed by the aggressive arrogance of the student who shattered their master's clay pot. Then the silence was shattered by laughter from the Zen master and the student.   The Zen master and student laughed as they recognized the other students were like the blind men in the "Ten Men and the Elephant" parable. Each certain of a their individual identification of the pot and the collective view that breaking the pot was disrespectful. A pot is a pot, temporarily. All things are ever-changing. The pot cannot be described, as it is different now than it was in the now upon which the description is based. Those who know it can only say that it is what it is whatever it is.   *Courtesy of Bill Wisher....

17 Feb

Posted at 01:00h in Koan

Does a rock have consciousness?   Consciousness generally refers to the state of being aware of one's surroundings, thoughts, feelings, and sensations. It is the subjective experience of being alive and having a sense of self as separate from that which is not one's self. However, what exactly is consciousness has been long debated by philosophers, theologians, linguists, and scientists and no consensus has emerged. While a rock is a rock, what is a rock? Is a rock an independent thing or something given agency by our consciousness? If a rock is an independent thing, it may have consciousness that is beyond our general understanding of consciousness. Alternatively, if a rock is an illusion created by our mind, a rock does not have consciousness. Every thing in the now is interdependent and interconnected. That is, every thing is not a thing, but a facet of one ever-changing thing, the Everything. Things in the now that appear independent, like a rock, are illusions created by the mind. As a rock is an illusion, it does not have consciousness. If we don't recognize our consciousness has created the things in the Everything, we have the consciousness of a rock.  ...

16 Feb

Posted at 10:15h in Koan

Who are you?   I am a mountain range. I am the sea. I am the Everything, but not specifically me. I am everchanging, that's what I be, not who you think you see. I am what I am. There's nothing else to me....

14 Feb

Posted at 10:15h in Koan

“A man of wisdom delights at water” -- Confucius   Water is like the universe: one thing and yet many things. As it's everchanging, describing water is beyond the grasp of words; other than that it is what it is whatever it is. Water manifests different shapes (clouds, rivers, oceans) and forms (vapor, liquid, and ice). Water is interdependent, as a wave cannot be a wave without the sea. Water is interconnected, from cloud to rain to river to sea. As drops of water, we fear not rain over us. Together as a flood, water reigns over us. On water we effortlessly float or panic and sink. While essential to life, water also brings drowning and death. Sound travels four times faster and further in water than air, though we can't hear what someone is saying underwater. Water is odorless and tasteless, yet present in everything that smells and tastes. Though colorless in a glass, water has a bluish hue when it gathers in the ocean. Water in lakes and oceans seems impassable, but the easiest path between places is by boat over water. Still water is dead-silent. Moving water is alive with sounds. In a pond, still water is clear and turbulent water opaque. Seeing ourselves and surroundings in a reflecting pond, we don't notice the water. Water is impossible to grasp, but easily captured in cupped hands. Water is weak, flowing to places of least resistance; unlike fire which destroys all in its way. Yet, water easily extinguishes fire. While not hard like stone, high-pressure water cuts stone like it's butter. A quart of water weighs more than a quart of ice; as water expands when it freezes, unlike most materials which contract when transitioning from liquid to solid. Water symbolizes the cycle of life. Water is born as rain, lives in the oceans and disappears as vapor, forming clouds for its rebirth. Water is what it is whatever it is, but how we see it is a reflection of who we are. A man of wisdom sees water variously. That's the essence of wisdom....

07 Feb

Posted at 10:15h in Koan

"What is the sound of one hand clapping?"   The sound of one hand clapping is the sound of one hand clapping. It is what it is whatever it is....

05 Feb

Posted at 10:23h in Koan

How old is Buddha?   Which Buddha are you asking about? How (in what way) is Buddha old? How old is Buddha at which point in Buddha's life? How old is Buddha now or at another time? Isn't Buddha now one day older than Buddha was yesterday? How old is Buddha where; on Earth or some place light years away? How can Buddha be different in age than the Everything of which the Buddha is just a facet? How can we know how old is Buddha as all things are forever changing, including the Buddha's age as we speak? Buddha is as old as Buddha is, whatever that is....

14 Jan

Posted at 10:15h in Koan

“There is nothing new under the sun.” — Ecclesiastes   There is nothing new because every thing is new, as every thing is in constant change. Nothing can be described as new as newness is not a separately defining characteristic. There is nothing new as all things are interdependent. All things are one thing: the now. The now is not old or new, just always. As light is the essence of all things, nothing is new as the essence of all things is unchanged....