Koans

The Jedi Desolous showed his wisdom even as an apprentice. Once he broke
the precious heirloom teacup of his teacher, and was greatly
upset. While he was wondering what to do, he heard Akkarin
coming. Quickly he hid the pieces of the cup under his iPad.

"Akkarin," he said, "why do things die?"

"It is perfectly natural for things to die and for the matter
gathered in them to separate and disintegrate," said Akkarin.
"When its time has come every person and every thing must go.

"Akkarin," said Desolous, showing the pieces, "it was time for
your cup to go."

(How's that for a 'modern' version ?)

Inch Time Foot Gem

A lord asked Takuan, a Zen teacher, to suggest how he might pass the time. He felt his days very long attending his office and sitting stiffly to receive the homage of others.

Takuan wrote eight Chinese characters and gave them to the man:

Not twice this day
Inch time foot gem.
This day will not come again.
Each minute is worth a priceless gem.

Jestor and Desolous were talking in the TOTJO library....

And discussing the relavance of the older bits of wisdom...

As they were walking past Ren the prankster, Ren tripped Desolous, causing him to fall and shatter his wristwatch...

"Now," said Senior Knight Akkarin, "You and the old words, are equal"...

THE MASTER Jestor drew the words "The First Principle" which are
carved over the gate of the Temple of the Jedi Order. He drew them
with his brush on a sheet of paper later they were carved in wood.

Viskhard had mixed the ink for him, and stood by,
watching the master's calligraphy. Viskhard said, "Not so good!"
Jestor tried again. Viskhard said: "That's worse than the first
one!" and Jestor tried again.

After the sixty-fourth try, the ink was running low, and Viskhard
went out to mix some more. Left alone, undistracted by any
critical eye watching him, Jestor made one more quick drawing with
the last of the ink. When Viskhard returned, he took a good look
at this latest effort.

"A masterpiece!" he said.


(modernised again, but in reflecting on it, a bit of personalisation may do us some good ... What does anyone else feel about that ?)

Well...I don't know a whole lot about Koans, (thought they were something you ate for breakfast, hmmm), but I love the characters being replaced by members of the TOTJO, they make me laugh, and we need all the laughter we can get (at least I do)...

The principle of koans is quite simple, Zenchi. They are phrases or short situational stories that cannot be comprehended by Reason. In order to experience the wisdom in a koan, one must - as Watts points out "go out of one's mind".

We, even through our teachings and meditations, live in a world dominated by unbalanced Reason ; not that Reason in and of itself is harmful, but it has limits, and thus Reason alone blinds us to Reality. And laughter is part of it : paradox, irony ... and certainly to laugh at ourselves. Yet, (probably) we tend to read them with our Western educated minds.

What began as sort of a joke in response to Desolous, I feel may be good for us. It makes the stories about 'us' rather than to just be understood as old oriental wisdom from ages past ... So, therein lies the question : How do the rest of you feel about these 'modernisations', to make them a bit more personal to us ? Could this help us access the wisdom in them more easily ? How do you feel about that ?

I think it's great Alexandre.

And I'd like to see more of it! :woohoo:

Wescli was asked,
"When a man comes to you with nothing,
what would you say to him ?"
Wescli replied, "Throw it away!"

One afternoon, Wescli was visiting V-tog. “Where is your wooden staff, the one I carved for you?” asked Wescli. V-tog said, “It broke when I hit a student over the head with it.”

Wescli then said, “And where is that candleholder I brought you from Texas ?” V-tog responded, “It broke when I threw it at a lazy student.” Wescli shook his head and said, “There seems to be a problem here with your anger”.

V-tog said, “No, the problem is you keep giving me things that break.”

Now I'm interested in this thread. I've already seen most of the koans presented in here, but the ones that Alex is "modernizing" are kinda new to me...and I enjoy the personalization aspect as much, I think, as everyone else.

The changing of names is quite a fun exercise Just be sure you don't cause offence etc and remember that the main purpose of the koan must still be in its originality

If You Love, Love Openly

Twenty male Jedi and one female Jedi, who was named toastie, were practicing meditation with Br John.

toastie was very pretty even though her hair was untidy and her dress plain. Several Jedi secretly fell in love with her. One of them wrote her a love letter, insisting upon a private meeting.

toastie did not reply. The following day Br John gave a lecture to the group, and when it was over, toastie arose. Addressing Akkarin, the one who had written to her, she said: "If you really love me so much, come and embrace me now."

Not sure if there's anything more romantic than your boyfriend writing you a koan

Jestor, ever the trouble maker, was generally helpful...

But sometimes, his "help" could create more work for those around him...

Ren, the slave driver, said, "Slow down and pay attention to what you are reading, and writing!"

Jestor, ever the wise-acre, said, "No time, I'm in a hurry!"

Ren, only nodded knowingly, saying, "Well, you are going fast enough, you will have extra time to fix it when you are done the first time. Good thinking! If you would have taken your time, and checked your work, you would have run out of time to fix anything."

Quote toastie : "Not sure if there's anything more romantic than your boyfriend writing you a koan

"




Awwww ....

It would have to rank up there on the romantic scale quite highly ...

toastie wrote: Not sure if there's anything more romantic than your boyfriend writing you a koan

THE CUTEST THING EVER. OMG. hahaha.

Now I won't be satisfied with simple flowers

toastie wrote: Not sure if there's anything more romantic than your boyfriend writing you a koan

Yes... wrote... not copied-pasted and edited... :silly:

Honesty rises above romance right?

A little wu wei to make up for it?

Great Waves

In the early days of the Meiji era there lived a well-known wrestler called O-nami, Great Waves.

O-nami was immensely strong and knew the art of wrestling. In his private bouts he defeated even his teacher, but in public he was so bashful that his own pupils threw him.

O-nami felt he should go to a Zen master for help. Hakuju, a wandering teacher, was stopping in a little temple nearby, so O-nami went to see him and told him of his trouble.

"Great Waves is your name," the teacher advised, "so stay in this temple tonight. Imagine that you are those billows. You are no longer a wrestler who is afraid. You are those huge waves sweeping everything before them, swallowing all in their path. Do this and you will be the greatest wrestler in the land."

The teacher retired. O-nami sat in meditation trying to imagine himself as waves. He thought of many different things. Then gradually he turned more and more to the feeling of the waves. As the night advanced the waves became larger and larger. They swept away the flowers in their vases. Even the Buddha in the shrine was inundated. Before dawn the temple was nothing but the ebb and flow of an immense sea.

In the morning the teacher found O-nami meditating, a faint smile on his face. He patted the wrestler's shoulder. "Now nothing can disturb you," he said. "You are those waves. You will sweep everything before you."

The same day O-nami entered the wrestling contests and won. After that, no one in Japan was able to defeat him.

Akkarin wrote:

toastie wrote: Not sure if there's anything more romantic than your boyfriend writing you a koan

Yes... wrote... not copied-pasted and edited... :silly:

Honesty rises above romance right?

You ruined everything!

Not Far From Buddhahood (originally posted on this site by Brother John, but I'm sure originated elsewhere)

A university student while visiting the Zen Master Gasan asked him: "Have you even read the Christian Bible?"

"No, read it to me," said Gasan.

The student opened the Bible and read from St. Matthew: "And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They toil not, neither do they spin, and yet I say unto you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these...Take therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself."

Gasan said: "Whoever uttered those words I consider and enlightened man."

The student continued reading: "Ask and it shall be given you, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone that asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh, is shall be opened."

Gasan remarked: "That is excellent. Whoever said that is not far from Buddhahood."

It is fun to edit -- and for a poet it is "wu wei" ...



Soldiers of Humanity

Once a division of the U.N. Police Action Forces was engaged in a sham battle, and some of the officers found it necessary to make their headquarters in the Temple of the Jedi Order.

Br. John told his cook: "Let the officers have only the same simple fare we eat."

This made the army men angry, as they wre used to very deferential treatment. One came to Br. John and said: "Who do you think we are? We are soldiers, sacrificing our lives for our country. Why don't you treat us accordingly?"

Br. John answered sternly: "Who do you think we are? We are soldiers of humanity, aiming to save all sentient beings."