Let it be!

Koan: How can you rescue a man who fell in a 1000-foot deep well, without using a rope?

Recent Podcast Interview

Straight

Koan: go straight on a straight mountain path which has 99 curves.

Flame

Extinguish a candle 1000 miles away.

Bad Art Assignment

The assignment was to make bad art. I asked my wife to walk around with my phone. From my watch, I took 21 pictures on the phone. Then I asked her to write down 9 numbers from 1 to 21, and those were the pictures I picked. I fed the pictures into Claude AI and asked it to arrange them randomly, converting some to black and white and others to negatives. Then I tore up what it made, and then stapled the pictures randomly to another print of the combined picture. Then I did the black lines. My wife says I failed. I hope so. A little homage to John Cage for the chance operations and to Léger for the black outlines.

Rain

Kyosei asked a monk, “Outside the doors, what is that noise?”
The monk said, “That is the voice of the raindrops.”

Koan: The national master Nanyo Echu was asked by Emperor Shuku, “Master, what kind of Dharma (teaching) have you obtained?”
The master replied, “Your Highness, do you see a cloud in the sky?”
The Emperor said, “Yes, I do.”
The master asked, “Is it draped or hung?”

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.”