I think people new to zen often struggle with the anecdotes and exchanges often quoted and discussed here, which can turn novices away by either thinking that they do not have the insight to penetrate a mysterious meaning after a fruitless period of enquiry, or that they should not waste their time pursuing further. I wish for everyone to begin and continue their zen study, so I hope some will find this useful.
TL:DR - just look at the list at the end and perhaps contribute to it :)
First, what are koans?
Koans, as records of earlier zen encounters, have been utilised in the later Chan periods to effectively teach a high volume of students, and it has arguably been further abused with a 'question and answer key' approach in later Japan. I don't care for this teaching method and this is certainly not about finding the right answer - it is about understanding why the koan is cited (why it is so good) and what it is meant to show the student (how it is teaching the student to overcome an obstacle).
All koans have to do with enlightenment and the master's attempt to bring the student to it, or closer to it. Since enlightenment is fundamentally a private affair, all the master can do is to create an environment that makes it more likely for the student to intuitively grasp his/her own nature. Koans generally challenge whatever state of mind the student is at. The master calls it out because he has the ability to see it, and to see beyond it. How do you come out on top? Demonstrate to the master that you have transcended reason and his intuition will be the judge whether you made it or faked it.
Some things to keep in mind
Language: When reading a koan, it is useful to have a bit of background in terms of the terminology and parlance of the time, this will help the reader understand metaphors and similes, which is sometimes needed to see beyond the symbolic nature of the exchange. Some koans could effectively be translated into direct speech rather than symbolism, like the expression 'herding an ox' meaning the attempt to control aspects of the mind that are as stubborn as an ox. If the reader pictures a situation where a person within the koan is actually ox herding in a field (whilst the conversation perhaps happens in a different context altogether), and interpret the situation in that light, it would not penetrate what was actually meant. Since there is no list explaining a thousand years of Chinese chitchat across the dynasties, all you need to keep in mind is that you may have to look up certain expressions when you think there could be meaning behind it, particularly when it comes to repetitive themes. Luckily, a lot of the repeating patterns become self explanatory over time or can be puzzled together from various translator's notes or commentaries.
Masters: The teaching methods of masters across the centuries were incredibly diverse and, to make it 'worse', also tailored to diverse audiences in terms of intellect and degree of attainment. Some masters were more innovative than others and threw out the preceding or rivalling teaching methods altogether. It pays to know the masters in each koan, at least to know how they usually behaved and approached the matter. Some taught on a path of gradual enlightenment with grandfatherly advice and politeness, others tried to whack the crap out of seekers and ran monasteries where absurdity was the norm. They all tried to achieve the same thing. Get to know the individual masters to get a better understanding of the context of the exchange.
The following should assist in picking apart the purpose of a koan by approximating the method and intention.
Common techniques or responses and their likely meaning
- Whacks/Shouts/Violence: The master is trying to startle the student out of his deluded reasoning. A student may be lost in conceptual questions or the modalities of the situation and the master suddenly shocks the student into the here and now. Ma tsu's antics, Huang Po's whacks and Lin Chi's shouts. A halved cat at the hand of Nan chuan or Yunmen's broken leg. A sudden bamboo sound. Whatever it takes to transport deluded minds to the here and now. Note that masters are also on the receiving end by those students who saw through it all, including the whole 'master' charade.
- Weirdness/Uncalled for action/Physical responses: People just getting up and leaving the scene seemingly randomly, or wearing sandals on the head, antics with objects or just utterly strange behaviour. This is usually a demonstration of being beyond abstraction, a sign that the individual is not beholden to the stream of logic discussed. Such a response is often devoid of positivity or negativity and is an excellent way for an adept to show that he/she can escape the trap. There is no intellectual response or reason here. Students may grind their heads all they want over this type of koan.
- Wordless communication: A master or student may respond in a way other than words when words were expected or a challenge was posed. Similar to the above, it shows total freedom of action and the ability to see and not fall into traps. Only the deluded are spellbound by the situation.
- Pointing towards the ordinary: Complex questions get strangely ordinary, situational, every day activity related answers. This usually points the students away from a mental construct towards the present, or towards menial work that can be done without mental effort. It extinguishes values and opinions, it is a call for the student to stop intellectualising stuff and wash some bowls or look at trees instead. Reality over the realm of cogitation.
- Humiliation: Making students look and feel like idiots goes a long way in draining their confidence whilst inducing mental strain until a potential release from all struggles. Pride in their abilities or cognitive methods is suddenly undermined, again to lead them away from approaching enlightenment in this way.
- Symbolism and Metaphors: Masters sometimes speak in anything but precise language. By avoiding specifics, students cannot cling to words and definitions. All masters know that the essence of zen is beyond words and thus words are generally counterproductive. Yet they need to transmit within human constraints.
- Putting students on the spot: The master grabs the student and demands him/her to SPEAK! SPEAK! (one of Ma Tsu's then revolutionary tactics). Putting the student on the spot is a chance to prove enlightenment to the master by means of an uncalculated and spontaneously appropriate response. Often you will read about stumped and speechless students - they are still lost trying to get an intellectual hold of the situation.
- Enigmatic answers and contradictions: Cryptic answers that the student may brood over. Hypothetical questions getting more outrageous hypothetical answers (Nan chuan speciality). Short and unrelated responses a la Yun men. Repeating stuff right back to students to erode the meaning of words like Fa yen. Contradictions that make no conceptual sense. There is no way of gaining an understanding, other than letting go of analysis. Trying to discern the meaning is missing the point. That is the wicked point some koan readers are meant to get. To waste your time trying to understand it, it was bogus from the start. Wrong way. Go back.
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This is of course not an exhaustive list, it would be great if you could help to expand/contest/refine it. These old masters worked hard to herd their diverse sheep towards the same gateless gate and the canyon of culture and time makes it difficult for newcomers to get a good foothold on the path.
Submitted July 19, 2020 at 03:20PM by Coinionaire https://ift.tt/2Wzivzy
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