Great and Vast

The Chinese character for ‘great’ can also be written with a dot. In Shinto they say, “Placing the dot in the center is the secret of Shinto.” Where do you place the dot in Zen?

Three Worlds koan

Carpet

Rule of Thirds

Me and My Original Self

Following the Universe

If so, following the universe, will it [the self] perish? Daizui said, “In accord with the universe, it will not perish.”

Selfie #1-Daizui’s kalpa fire.

Koan: A monk asked Daizui, “When the great thousand universes altogether and utterly perish in the kalpa fire, is it doubtful what will happen? Does the self perish or does it not perish?” Daizui replied, “It perishes.” The monk said, “If so, following the universe, will it perish?“ Daizui said, “It will follow on and perish.”

Not Two 8-6-26

First Ipad 8-5-26

Universe Two

Koan: A monk asked Daizui, “When the great thousand universes altogether and utterly perish in the kalpa fire, is it doubtful what will happen? Does the self perish or does it not perish?” Daizui replied, “It perishes.” The monk said, “If so, following the universe, will it perish?“ Daizui said, “It will follow on and perish.”

Universe One

Koan: A monk asked Daizui, “When the great thousand universes altogether and utterly perish in the kalpa fire, is it doubtful what will happen? Does the self perish or does it not perish?” Daizui replied, “It perishes.” The monk said, “If so, following the universe, will it perish?“ Daizui said, “It will follow on and perish.”

When did that tree grow?

Where Do I Grow?

Mount Sumeru

Koan: Master Goso En told the monk, ”There is a man who can write the five words, ‘Why Bodhidharma came to China?’ on the paper of the universe using Mount Sumeru as a brush and the ocean as an inkwell. If you can do it, I will open my prayer mat and bow.”

The Snake

Dragon's Gate II

Koan: Master Ungo once was at Ryumon (Dragon’s gate) temple. One day a monk was bitten in his leg by a snake. Butsugen, one of the monks, asked, “This is the Ryumon, why was he bitten by a snake?” The master, in reply, suddenly manifested the figure of the great man. Later, MasterEngo heard about this. There is a priest at the Ryumon. Owing to him, the Buddha Dharma of Eastern Mountain (where the Ryumon is located) has not been reduced yet.

Dragon's Gate I

Koan: Master Ungo once was at Ryumon (Dragon’s gate) temple. One day a monk was bitten in his leg by a snake. Butsugen, one of the monks, asked, “This is the Ryumon, why was he bitten by a snake?” The master, in reply, suddenly manifested the figure of the great man. Later, MasterEngo heard about this. There is a priest at the Ryumon. Owing to him, the Buddha Dharma of Eastern Mountain (where the Ryumon is located) has not been reduced yet.

Isan and the Buffalo

I've heard photographers say that the real subject of a photograph is the photographer. One of the Lojong sayings is “Life is a dream.” Here I'm once again constructing a story to answer the proverbial Zen question, “What is it?” The answer, perhaps, is always the same.

Where does the rain come from?

Jerry, who handles our rat population, told me that on some days the rats will eat the poison and on others they will not. Jerry knows everything about controlling pests and probably should be given a Ph.D. in the subject. I asked him why the rats are such inconsistent eaters. I was shocked when he said, “I don't know.”

I went out in the rain, befuddled by this apparently simple koan that any three-year-old can answer (it sadly turned out that my two three-year-olds were, unfortunately, way beyond their ages).

Out in the rain, I couldn't tell where the rain was coming from—but I could feel that I was getting wet.

The Color of Wind

Koan:

What color does the wind have?

There was a Korean koan teacher who'd give his students the answer to the koans and they'd then have to find their way to that answer themselves. When I became the wind moving the green leaves all became clear. Now I'm waiting for rain, hoping I can feel where the rain comes from, my next koan.