Instructions: In Zen Buddhism, a koan is a phrase, statement, or brief story that is perplexing in some way or that goes beyond rational thought to inspire an intuitive response. Koans are often used as a topic of meditation and as a means of teaching about life, reality, and meaning.
Choose one of the koans below. Sit in a very comfortable way and read the koan carefully once, then again. Close your eyes and focus on the koan for several minutes. Write some notes below about the thoughts, feelings, and ideas you had in relation to the koan. Discuss with your group what you learned, if anything, from this experience that has relevance to your own life and beliefs. These koans were downloaded 10/20/06 from www.nozen.com.Reasons
One day a malcontent was sitting under a walnut tree, and his eyes fell on a great pumpkin growing nearby. “O God,” said the malcontent, “how foolish you are to give such small nuts to such a big tree and such immense fruit to this tiny vine. Now if pumpkins were growing on this big tree and nuts on this vine, I’d have admired your wisdom.”
Just after he said this, a walnut fell down on the man’s head and startled him. “O God,” he continued, “you are right after all. If the pumpkin had fallen from such a height, I might have been killed. Great is your wisdom and goodness.”
A Parable
A man traveling across a field encountered a tiger. He fled, the tiger after him. Coming at a precipice, he caught hold of the root of a wild vine and swung himself down over the edge. The tiger sniffed after him from above. Trembling, the man looked down to where, far below, another tiger was waiting to eat him. Only the vine sustained him.
Two mice, one white and one black, little by little started to gnaw on the vine. The man saw a luscious strawberry near him. Grasping the vine with one hand, he plucked the strawberry with the other. How sweet it tasted!
Muddy Road
Tanzen and Ekido were once traveling together down a muddy road. A heavy rain was still falling. Coming around the bend, they met a lovely girl in a silk kimono and sash, unable to cross the intersection. “Come on girl”, said Tanzen at once. Lifting her in his arms, he carried her over the mud.
Ekido did not speak again until that night when they reached a lodging temple. Then he no longer could restrain himself. “We monks don’t go near females,” he told Tanzen, “especially not young and lovely ones. It is dangerous. Why did you do that?”
“I left the girl there,” said Tanzen. “Are you still carrying her?”
