{"id":12890,"date":"2016-10-24T16:40:20","date_gmt":"2016-10-24T21:40:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/?p=12890"},"modified":"2016-10-24T16:40:20","modified_gmt":"2016-10-24T21:40:20","slug":"4-zen-koans-that-reveal-startling-wisdom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/2016\/10\/4-zen-koans-that-reveal-startling-wisdom.html","title":{"rendered":"4 Zen Koans That Reveal Startling Wisdom"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A Zen koan is a finger pointing at the moon. It isn\u2019t meant to serve up absolute truth on a platter, but to help a seeker contemplate the wisdom behind its riddle. A koan, or a puzzle for the consciousness, should instill \u2018great doubt\u2019 about a subject, so that students, especially of the <a href=\"http:\/\/rakudo.jp\/en\/contents\/9_koan.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Renzai tradition<\/a>, can test their progress toward awakening. Seeking the \u2018selfless self,\u2019 as a way to clarify the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.age-of-the-sage.org\/buddhism\/third_patriarch_zen.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Great Way<\/a> has been passed down for centuries by Zen masters, but this practice is still useful today.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12903\" src=\"https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Zen-Master-copy.jpg\" alt=\"zen-master-copy\" width=\"1592\" height=\"1016\" srcset=\"https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Zen-Master-copy.jpg 1592w, https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Zen-Master-copy-300x191.jpg 300w, https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Zen-Master-copy-1024x654.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Zen-Master-copy-768x490.jpg 768w, https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Zen-Master-copy-1536x980.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1592px) 100vw, 1592px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Before getting to \u2018work\u2019 on a koan, or the mental conundrum that is offered as a way to enlightenment, we can take the <a href=\"http:\/\/rakudo.jp\/en\/contents\/9_koan.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">advice<\/a> of Zen master, Wumen Huikai (Mumon Ekai, 1183-1260), who explains in detail from his own experience in his book, <em>The Gateless Barrier<\/em> (in Japanese, Mumonkan),<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em><br \/>\n&#8220;In brief, the important thing is not to think about the koan with one&#8217;s mind, but to become it by unreservedly devoting one&#8217;s whole body and mind to it.&#8221;<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>In other words, we can\u2019t use the same mind to solve a problem as the mind that created it \u2013 the same old <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/quotes\/387336-problems-cannot-be-solved-with-the-same-mind-set-that\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Einsteinian<\/a> wisdom that can be applied so completely to what the world is going through today.<\/p>\n<p>So, let\u2019s begin.<\/p>\n<p>The first Zen koan reminds us that every single person can arrive at the Great Way, or experience &#8220;Mu,&#8221; a shorthand word for the very first koan ever written, which supposedly contains the secrets of the Gateless Gate. Mu helps us break through the <a href=\"http:\/\/buddhism.about.com\/od\/chanandzenbuddhism\/a\/What-Is-Mu.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">conceptual fog<\/a> that many of us live in.<\/p><div class=\"themi-content_11\" id=\"themi-540796581\"><div id=\"ld-8755-6417\"><\/div><script>(function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:9217690065945446,size:[0, 0],id:\"ld-8755-6417\"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src=\"https:\/\/cdn2.decide.dev\/_js\/ajs.js\";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,\"script\",\"ld-ajs\");<\/script><\/div>\n<p>This koan, titled <em>Washing the Bowl<\/em> is about eliminating the habits of procrastination, a key task if we are to obtain Mu. It goes like this:<\/p><div class=\"themi-content_15\" id=\"themi-3383869289\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mailchi.mp\/themindunleashed\/subscribe\" aria-label=\"\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Brown-and-White-Modern-Digital-Marketing-Course-Promo-Instagram-Post-1920-x-1080-px.png\" alt=\"\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Brown-and-White-Modern-Digital-Marketing-Course-Promo-Instagram-Post-1920-x-1080-px.png 1920w, https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Brown-and-White-Modern-Digital-Marketing-Course-Promo-Instagram-Post-1920-x-1080-px-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Brown-and-White-Modern-Digital-Marketing-Course-Promo-Instagram-Post-1920-x-1080-px-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Brown-and-White-Modern-Digital-Marketing-Course-Promo-Instagram-Post-1920-x-1080-px-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Brown-and-White-Modern-Digital-Marketing-Course-Promo-Instagram-Post-1920-x-1080-px-1536x864.png 1536w, https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Brown-and-White-Modern-Digital-Marketing-Course-Promo-Instagram-Post-1920-x-1080-px-150x84.png 150w, https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Brown-and-White-Modern-Digital-Marketing-Course-Promo-Instagram-Post-1920-x-1080-px-696x392.png 696w, https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Brown-and-White-Modern-Digital-Marketing-Course-Promo-Instagram-Post-1920-x-1080-px-1068x601.png 1068w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\"   \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p><em>A monk told Joshua: \u201cI have just entered the monastery. Please teach me.\u201d<\/em><br \/>\n<em> Joshua asked: \u201cHave you eaten your rice porridge?\u201d<\/em><br \/>\n<em> The monk replied: \u201cI have eaten.\u201d<\/em><br \/>\n<em> Joshua said: \u201cThen you had better wash your bowl.\u201d<\/em><br \/>\n<em> At that moment the monk was enlightened.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>There are many ways to arrive at the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.asianefficiency.com\/habits\/wash-bowl\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">answer<\/a> to this riddle, but essentially it outlines the need to get started on something right away, and not to wait to take care of the things that need to be done. You don&#8217;t wait until later, or tomorrow, or next week. You eat. You finish. You wash your bowl. All great things are accomplished with this attitude of immediacy. Otherwise, the dirty bowls pile up, and no one attains enlightenment with clutter choking their space.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/zenhabits.net\/leggo\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Procrastination<\/a> is a habit many of us struggle with. We have all sorts of crutches that keep us from getting to the things that really matter. Is there something you could be doing with your time to become more loving, peaceful, or productive that is wasted by watching television, smoking, drinking, playing video games, surfing the net, or some other bad habit? False &#8216;needs,&#8217; like the need to smoke or drink inhibit our ability to act on the important stuff. As we learn to let go of these things, we can &#8216;wash the bowl&#8217; more often.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-12891 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Washing-the-Bowl-copy.jpg\" alt=\"washing-the-bowl-copy\" width=\"782\" height=\"1150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Washing-the-Bowl-copy.jpg 782w, https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Washing-the-Bowl-copy-204x300.jpg 204w, https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Washing-the-Bowl-copy-696x1024.jpg 696w, https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Washing-the-Bowl-copy-768x1129.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 782px) 100vw, 782px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The next koan is about desire:<\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;Mountains are not mountains. Mountains are mountains.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s say we want to climb a mountain. We set this as our ideal. There is a paradox in desire, though. With most things in life, we set something as our goal, and consciously work very hard to achieve it. If our aim is to free ourselves of desire though, how do we accomplish this task? In the process of intensely desiring not to desire, we set up an unsolvable problem of not being able to attain our goal.<\/p>\n<p>There is a story about a Zen student who arrives at a temple and finds an audience with a Zen master. He asks the master how long it will take him to become enlightened. The master tells him, &#8220;ten years.&#8221; With this answer the seeker says to the master, &#8220;If I work very hard to achieve enlightenment, how long will it take?&#8221; The master&#8217;s response is, &#8220;twenty years.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Most of out troubles arise from clinging too tightly to any goal &#8211; even the most noble of them. The story points to the need to <a href=\"https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=TDb8pY1qOBwC&amp;pg=PT146&amp;lpg=PT146&amp;dq=zen+koan+%2B+desire&amp;source=bl&amp;ots=HVmiqrdzmg&amp;sig=LqVAb0P2yGxaRH5yxZ572DhD_0k&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwiDrdyUr-zPAhUFymMKHda-CxoQ6AEIPDAF#v=onepage&amp;q=zen%20koan%20%2B%20desire&amp;f=false\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">radically change our approach<\/a> if we are to overcome desire. The mountain is the mountain, but it isn&#8217;t a mountain. We practice loving detachment, and strangely, we are able to let go of clinging to things as we want them to be. Paradoxically, we often also achieve the goal we originally had to let go of in the process of becoming desireless, and <a href=\"https:\/\/zenhabits.net\/attachments\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">letting go of our attachments<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-12892 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Desire-copy.jpg\" alt=\"desire-copy\" width=\"782\" height=\"784\" srcset=\"https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Desire-copy.jpg 782w, https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Desire-copy-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Desire-copy-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Desire-copy-768x770.jpg 768w, https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Desire-copy-80x80.jpg 80w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 782px) 100vw, 782px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The next Zen koan involves what seems to be a silly question. It asks if all beings have &#8216;Buddha nature.&#8217; Zen, and Mahayana Buddhists believe that all things have Buddha nature, even insects.\u00a0 The seed of enlightened consciousness is in every living thing. The choice for that being to move toward enlightenment is entirely theirs, though. This, in fact, could be more important than &#8216;if&#8217; someone or something has Buddha nature, since we all do, but whether or not they will endeavor to realize it in its full blossoming.<\/p>\n<p>There is a story of a brahman (a seeker) who asked the Buddha if all the world would reach release [awakening], or if half, a third, or some other number would achieve this. The Buddha was silent. One of the Buddha&#8217;s attendants, worried that the brahman might confuse the Buddha&#8217;s answer, took him aside and offered an analogy.\u00a0 He said, &#8220;Imagine a fortress with a single gate. A wise gatekeeper would walk around the fortress and not see an opening in the wall big enough for even a cat to slip through. Because he&#8217;s wise, he would realize that his knowledge didn&#8217;t tell him how many people would come into the fortress, but it did tell him that whoever came into the fortress would have to come in through the gate.&#8221;\u00a0 The enlightened ones, such as the Buddha didn&#8217;t worry about <em>how many<\/em> people would reach Awakening, but he understood that anyone who reached this high state of consciousness would have to follow the path he had found: abandoning the <a href=\"http:\/\/insightmeditationcenter.org\/articles\/FiveHindrances.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">five hindrances<\/a>, establishing the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.buddhanet.net\/wings_b.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">four frames of reference<\/a>, and developing the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.insightmeditationcenter.org\/books-articles\/articles\/the-ordinary-and-the-seven-factors-of-awakening\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">seven factors for Awakening<\/a>. Though these are detailed very specifically in Buddhism, they are echoed through almost every wisdom tradition in the world.<\/p>\n<p>The most important point of the koan is implied in the word &#8216;if.&#8217; The <a href=\"http:\/\/www.accesstoinsight.org\/lib\/authors\/thanissaro\/freedomfrombuddhanature.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">path<\/a> is clearly defined, but the choice lies with the sentient being if they want to realize Mu or <a href=\"http:\/\/sped2work.tripod.com\/satori.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Satori<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-12896 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Mu-Zen-Koan-copy.jpg\" alt=\"mu-zen-koan-copy\" width=\"1292\" height=\"1120\" srcset=\"https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Mu-Zen-Koan-copy.jpg 1292w, https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Mu-Zen-Koan-copy-300x260.jpg 300w, https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Mu-Zen-Koan-copy-1024x888.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Mu-Zen-Koan-copy-768x666.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1292px) 100vw, 1292px\" \/>The fourth zen koan is not a verbal puzzle but a visual puzzle. The <i>ens\u014d<\/i> or circle symbolizes absolute enlightenment, strength, elegance, the universe, and <i><a title=\"Mu (negative)\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mu_%28negative%29\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">mu<\/a><\/i> (the void).\u00a0 The circle encompasses all and excludes nothing. Contemplate on this symbol, and share what wisdom it brings to you.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-12898 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Zen-Circle-copy.jpg\" alt=\"zen-circle-copy\" width=\"1224\" height=\"902\" srcset=\"https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Zen-Circle-copy.jpg 1224w, https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Zen-Circle-copy-300x221.jpg 300w, https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Zen-Circle-copy-1024x755.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Zen-Circle-copy-768x566.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1224px) 100vw, 1224px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Image credits:\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.wisdompubs.org\/sites\/default\/files\/preview\/Book%20of%20MU%20Book%20Preview.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">WisdomPubs.org<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/ericgerlachdotcom.files.wordpress.com\/2013\/10\/joshu-zen-master.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ericgerlachdtocom<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?q=Zen+Koan&amp;source=lnms&amp;tbm=isch&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwi09r6JquzPAhWETCYKHYERByYQ_AUICCgB&amp;biw=1280&amp;bih=607#imgrc=va7kCJbaTJqC5M%3A\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">EddieTwoHawks<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/floatuniverse.com\/post\/129707182353\/desire-buddhist-monk-zen-zenmaster-koan\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Float Universe<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.buddhistchannel.tv\/index.php?id=6,12538,0,0,1,0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">BuddhistChannel.tv<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/dailycupofyoga.files.wordpress.com\/2011\/11\/tumblr_lonpj9kqhp1qashouo1_1280.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Dailycupofyoga.com<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"themi-after-content_2\" id=\"themi-2041957522\"><div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1747048\"> \r\n <\/div> \r\n <script>(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([\"_mgc.load\"])})(window,\"_mgq\"); \r\n <\/script> \r\n <\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Zen koan is a finger pointing at the moon. It isn\u2019t meant to serve up absolute truth on a platter, but to help a seeker contemplate the wisdom behind its riddle. A koan, or a puzzle for the consciousness, should instill \u2018great doubt\u2019 about a subject, so that students, especially of the Renzai tradition, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":275,"featured_media":12919,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,30,681],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-12890","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-consciousness","8":"category-spirituality","9":"category-the-arts"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12890","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/275"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12890"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12890\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12921,"href":"https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12890\/revisions\/12921"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12919"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themindunleashed.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}