Bring me the rhinoceros fan.

I am trying to decide something here. I realize that I am opening myself up to all sorts of ways in which you will inevitably point out I know nothing about zen, but here goes.

When I think about this Koan, I tend to imagine that what is being discussed is that the attendant is saying that the fan is already broken, he is saying that Yanguan already has all of that which he needs. Why should he need something else? To ease his discomfort.

When Yanguan replied "bring me the rhinoceros." Was he getting at the nature of understanding his discomfort?

I tend to lean to this idea because the end states that he then drew the circle on the ground and wrote the word rhinoceros in it. This implies to me that all that he needs to end whatever suffering is already here within him, the circle.

So am I thinking too much about the teaching? Am I getting to cerebral? Should I just go clean my bowl?

Edit: I know that there is no right or wrong answer to the koan, but I am trying to gain some understanding as to if I am going about the path the right way or if I am thinking too much.

Submitted March 23, 2018 at 08:29PM by RivewviewAssassin http://ift.tt/2pCkamv