Guest guest Posted June 14, 1999 Report Share Posted June 14, 1999 One time i was in retreat working on a koan (did i tell you i started in Zen? well now you know ). Anyway, we were spending close to 14 hours a day in meditation. Alternating periods of sitting and walking, working, eating, sleeping. Everything in the day was guided to some sort of spiritual practise. I was working on a koan i had been working on for months. The puzzle in my head was driving me crazy. it was "You are hanging by your teeth from a limb hanging over a cliff. Your hands and feet are tied. Your student is there asking you "Why did bodhidharma come to china". " My teacher told me "you have to answer her, or you fail in your duty to her, yet if you open your mouth you fall to your death". So here i was, sitting in a place of impending doom and duty-call. Talk about getting one stuck!. i would work up to an answer, have my teacher say 'nope not yet', go back, try again. over & over again. One day during break some ants were in a line across the temple floor. My friend and i were chatting during a relaxed period. Watching the ants, a large sense of relief suddenly took over me. i laughed. "antworm" i kept saying, laughing. "antworm!antworm!". "antworm" is something like interdependence. And i only had it about half right. but half right and knowing that is ok. the point of this tho is, never give up. and look for answers in all the wrong places too. and forget the self. just baggage. maitri, --janpa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 14, 1999 Report Share Posted June 14, 1999 At 10:38 AM 6/14/99 -0500, Debora A. Orf wrote: >"Debora A. Orf" <dorf01 > > >One time i was in retreat working on a koan (did i tell you i started in >Zen? well now you know ). I love Zen!! To me, it is the perfect aesthetic for the teachings and celebration of non-dualism. >"antworm" is something like interdependence. And i only had it about half >right. but half right and knowing that is ok. > >the point of this tho is, never give up. and look for answers in all the >wrong places too. Yes, insights can come from anything, anywhere, any time. >and forget the self. just baggage. Agreed! Reminds me of one my very favorite mondos: The student comes to the Master and says, "I don't have anything." The master says, "Then put it down." The student replies, "If I don't have anything, how can I put it down?" The Master says, "Very well, then, carry it away with you." --Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 15, 1999 Report Share Posted June 15, 1999 On Mon, 14 Jun 1999, Greg Goode wrote: > > Reminds me of one my very favorite mondos: > > The student comes to the Master and says, > "I don't have anything." > The master says, "Then put it down." > The student replies, "If I don't have anything, > how can I put it down?" > The Master says, > "Very well, then, carry it away with you." my favourite one is where Bodhidharma's student goes "Master i cant tame my mind!" BD: "Well bring me this mind so i can tame it for you" "But i cant find it to do that." "Then what is the problem?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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