Best zen koans11/24/2023 ![]() ![]() The most important thing in this case is not to seek to harvest, not to reflect upon one's own state of mind. The reason why most of Zen practitioners give up at this point is that, in their rush to harvest the fruits of their labor, they become painfully aware of the difficulty of entering the state of mind of samadhi. ![]() But heading to a place that appears impossible, sincerely devoting our whole body and mind to it without looking aside, we must strive forward. Nevertheless, maintaining concentration all the time, without any breaks, is obviously not so easy. If one does zazen sitting with the energy of samadhi gained from movement, and concentrates on movement with the energy of samadhi gained from zazen sitting, then all breaks in the practice will disappear and the effects of concentration will multiply. A person who seriously concentrates with his whole body and mind on one koan does not need to think about the difference between sitting and moving around. People avoiding physical movement usually do not achieve the emergence of samadhi. However, if the individual clings to zazen sitting and rejects all physical movement, the true state of samadhi (concentration) will not come upon him. One should do zazen sitting as if he had lost his mind, with his whole body becoming like a fire-ball throughout the sitting. Of course, zazen sitting is central in practicing this concentration. "In brief, the important thing is not to think about the koan with one's mind, but to become it by unreservedly devoting one's whole body and mind to it."Ĭoncerning the Mu-koan, not only during zazen sitting, but all the time we should become Mu itself by repeating and concentrating "Mu Mu Mu!" In his book, The Gateless Barrier (in Japanese, Mumonkan). Wumen Huikai (Mumon Ekai, 1183-1260), explains in detail from his own experience Because the koan can never be answered by means of knowledge or thinking, sanzen makes demands on him which are difficult in the extreme.Ĭoncerning the right way of concentrating on a koan, the Chinese Zen master, The koan they concentrate on is a sort of distillation of the experience through which the successive patriarchs achieved enlightenment.Įntering the master's room (sanzen), the Zen practitioner must come to realize himself as the answer of the koan. The Zen practitioners concentrate on their koans with the desire to discover their own nature and become Buddhas. In this sect, the so-called "koan" (Zen cases) is given by the Zen master (Roshi). ![]() Let us put aside Soto Zen, and talk about Rinzai Zen. Therefore, by creating this website, we wanted to do what we could to let you know the simple and direct Way of Zen, which leads to a recognition of the true state of selflessness and sincerity. Today, the true Way of genuine supiritual experience is gradually disappearing, and is almost lost. But since then, it is obvious to everyone that not just the Soto sect but also the Rinzai sect is gradually declining in Japan. Master Kosen wrote this more than 140 years ago. "However, in our Zen school, the true tradition, concerning how to attain enlightenment and clarify the great Way within our own minds, has been handed down through generations of patriarchs from Mahakashapa until today." Because of this, even though there are scholars still engaged in interpreting and commenting on Confucian texts, persons who have truly embodied the teachings of Confucianism have not existed in Japan since the end of the Edo era (i.e., for more than 130 years). However, unfortunately, the method has not been clearly established in Confucianism. To save Koan Zen from this predicament, so that we may again obtain the joy of the dharma, we must return to the original principle of "illuminating the fundamental single mind".Īs has already been stated, Confucianism, Shinto and Buddhism have attempted to attain and maintain the fundamental state of selflessness. The Rinzai sect of Zen tries to exhaustively inquire into the "selfless self" using koans (Zen cases), but the present situation of the Rinzai sect has become a corrupt ritual devoid of substance.It is only concerned with counting the number of passed koans. ![]()
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