Koan :
A monk asked Nansen : “Is there a teaching no master ever taught before?”
Nansen said : “Yes, there is.”
“What is it?” asked the monk.
Nansen replied : “It is not mind, it is not Buddha, it is not things.”
Mumon’s Commentary :
Old Nansen gave away his treasure words. He must have been greatly upset.
Mumon’s Poem :
Nansen was too kind and lost his treasure.
Truly, words have no power.
Even though the mountain becomes the sea,
Words cannot open another’s mind.
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I’m reading a book right now with a population of AI, one of which speaks in Koans. They are definitely not readable when I’m at work. Very distracting in a viral sort of way, very much the center of my empty working head.
eyeballkid, would that be Hyperion? If it is, I agree, what a wonderful book. I have to admit that the koan part kind of confused me, as does what I just read on stavros’s page.
Yes, it is Hyperion. From what I understand, the purpose of the koan is to force the reader to empty their mind and find the connection in the warped logic. Or they are saying, “toke a bowl.” I’m not sure.
Zen is the only religion I can at all imagine following with a straight face. Because it’s so funny. But I won’t cross my legs that way for anyone. If you need to stay still but awake, a bar stool is best.
or you just paint eyeballs on your eyelids and no one knows your sleeping…