For a lot of time in our lives everyday, we are doing mundane, boring but necessary things. Nansen responds by saying he will be far away from it if you attempt to study it. When Nansen says that “everyday life is the path” he could be saying that everyday life is in fact a way to realizations also. A mindful life, with every activity as “mindful” meditation. This koan is, I think alluding to that notion of practising Zen in everyday life. For example, many try to make activities that would normally seem quite mundane become practice - methods to realizations - so things like cooking and cleaning can be a form of meditation. For many of practitioners and adherents, Zen permeates many aspects of everyday life. This is one of the Koans that has helped me a lot - so what follows is my own interpretation. Joshu asked: ‘Can it be studied?’ Nansen said: ‘If you try to study, you will be far away from it’. As Mumon’s commentary on the first Koan says ‘If anyone wholy understands this, he is wearing Buddha’s clothing, he is eating Buddha’s food, he is speaking Buddha’s words, he is behaving as Buddha, he is Buddha.’ Everyday life is the path Joshu asked Nansen: ‘What is the path?’ Nansen said: ‘Everyday life is the path’. To think that we are actually already enlightened and are in possession of a Buddha-Mind is an incredibly profound and inspiring. When looked at in this way, realising the nature of the Koans is in fact, incredibly liberating. Thus we must stop thinking of ourselves and the Buddha as different and “kill” that notion – think of ourselves and the Buddha as one. If we saw the Buddha on a road, the Buddha would be a separate person to ourselves and as Zen teaches, we are Buddha. The main accepted interpretation as said by Barbara O’Brien is much the same as the previous Koan. Linji was one of the greatest Zen Masters after all. How can we, as Buddhists kill the Buddha? Of course, it isn’t meant to be taken literally. The next Koan in my pairing may seem quite shocking upon first glance (which it is meant to be), even heretical. So therefore, the mind is already Buddha – Our Buddha-Mind. We are already Buddhas and need to uncover our Buddha-Mind which is hidden but innate within us. Thus Baso’s answer “This mind is Buddha” is talking about both the previous points. It is our small everyday mind that deludes us into thinking that we are separate from others and leads us into egotistical thinking. Zen teaches that we have an innate “Buddha-Mind” which is hidden by the superficial mind that we are given at birth, and which is influenced by the society etc we grow up in. Buddha Nature) but that we just have to realize it. Zen takes a similar view to both of these but says that we are already Buddha (i.e. Buddha-Nature is seen as both the potential to become enlightened - to become Buddha - and/or the intrinsic Buddhahood of every sentient being, depending on the school that you follow. These two Koans I pair together, since they both tend to point to the same thing: recognition of our inherent Buddha-Nature from the Zen perspective. ‘The Mind is Buddha’ Daibai asked Baso: ‘What is Buddha?’ Baso said: ‘This mind is Buddha’ ‘If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him!’ – Linji Yixuan Love many subjects, bilingual third year uni student.” On Twitter> A pair of mind-twisting koans In this feature, I will highlight some of the more interesting I’ve contemplated, with, both the generally accepted interpretation - bearing in mind there are no wrong interpretations - and my own.īy contributing writer Lee Clarke Contributing writer Lee Clarke: “I’m a Buddhist, Quaker, Humanist, existentialist and pacifist. It is also the reason that people - such as, myself - are so drawn to them. Why do koans remain so intriguing and popular today? Perhaps, since koans are about insight, there are no right or wrong interpretations - which is one reason they are so effective.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |