Koan thread

I post koan, you answer

This is case 38 from the gateless gate (book written by master wumen, a collection of koans and wumens comments on them)

The Case

Goso said, ”A buffalo passes by the window. His head, horns, and four legs all
go past. But why can’t the tail pass too?”

Wumen's comment

If you make a complete about-face, open your eye, and give a turning word on
this point, you will be able to repay the four kinds of love that have favored you
and help the sentient beings in the three realms who follow you.
If you are still unable to do this, return to this tail and reflect upon it, and
then for the first time you will realize something.

Wumen's verse

Passing by, it falls into a ditch;
Coming back, all the worse, it is lost.
This tiny little tail,
What a strange thing it is!

So Veeky Forums, what do you think? Why can't the tail pass through the window?

>Why can't the tail pass through the window?
pass BY the window, sorry

This is all done under the influence of opium, yes?

No mind altering substances involved

Because it is your lingering attachment. While you look at what you have let go, you fail to notice to have held onto the tail.

As long as you obsesses over the mystery of the tail, it reflects your subconscious attachment to the entirety of the buffalo. Only when you let go of the tail, can you truly let go of the buffalo.

Then I defy you to explain this without using the word "tripping"

Very good answer.
I'll post next koan in a minute

The point of a koan was never to give a memorized answer, but to force the student to break with deductive logic and use intuition.

There are stories of people becoming sick while trying to find a satisfactory answer

Can't be possible to believe the tail did not "go by" the window, logically speaking, and not on opium.

This is a classic, and much easier than case 38

Case 21: A dry shit stick

A monk asked Unmon, ”What is Buddha?”
Unmon replied, "A dry shit-stick."

Wumen's comment

Unmon was too poor to prepare plain food, too busy to speak from notes.
He hurriedly took up dry shit to support the Way.
The decline of Buddhism was thus foreshadowed.

Wumen's verse

Lightning flashing,
Sparks shooting;
A moment’s blinking,
Missed forever.

Because you're thinking purely logically, which makes it impossible to solve the koan

Instead of "What is Buddha" (which is a nonsensical question to most people, but a phrase commonly used in zen),
think "What is the absolute"

Literally, the tail is at the rear end of a buffalo. If you want to use logic, which you can't, it means every other part of the buffalo has gone past the window except the rearmost part.

Exactly. What I said.

Idolatry.

Faggots only bought one copy of The Hyperion Cantos and shared it.

>The Hyperion Cantos
I don't know what that is.
I'm copying these from the gateless gate, written by wumen translated by katsuki sekida

>Passing by, it falls into a ditch;
>Coming back, all the worse, it is lost.
>This tiny little tail,
>What a strange thing it is!

Tail stuck in asscrack.
Cannot see tail while buffalo headed at you.
Tiny tail, big animal. Always funny.
And strange.

Oh.

What you posted is from Dan Simmons' Hyperion. AI is speaking in koans.

Er, Artificial Intelligence, not Al

user asked /pol/, ”Redpill me on the Jews”
/pol/ replied, "holohoax_infographic_666.gif"

user was too stupid to doubt, too busy to check facts.
He unironically took up memes as truth.
The decline of Veeky Forums was thus foreshadowed.

Redpill flashing
facts shooting
A moment's blinking
ruined forever

No

heh, might train a neural network to create random koans when I have more time

Another one:

Case 6:

When Shakyamuni Buddha was at Mount Grdhrakuta, he held out a flower to
his listeners.
Everyone was silent.
only Mahakashyapa broke into a broad smile.
The Buddha said, ”I have the True Dharma Eye, the Marvelous Mind of
Nirvana, the True Form of the Formless, and the Subtle Dharma Gate, inde-
pendent of words and transmitted beyond doctrine. This I have entrusted to
Mahakashyapa.”

Wumen's comment

Golden-faced Gautama really disregarded his listeners.
He made the good look bad and sold dog’s meat labeled as mutton.
He himself thought it was wonderful.
If, however, everyone in the audience had laughed, how could he have trans-
mitted his True Eye?
And again, if Mahakashyapa had not smiled, how could the Buddha have
transmitted it?
If you say the True Dharma Eye can be transmitted, then the golden-faced
old man would be a city slicker who cheats the country bumpkin.
If you say it cannot be transmitted, then why did the Buddha approve of
Mahakashyapa?

Wumen's verse

Holding out a flower,
The Buddha betrayed his curly tail.
Heaven and earth were bewildered,
At Mahakashyapa’s smile.

Wumen's comment is the key here.

There's nothing to be transmitted because the dharma simply is.

Then why did the buddha talk so much?

Because hes not a real Buddha

You started well, but this was a let down.

heavy

Is it because the buddha was a bodhisattva?

no

Is it because the external buddha has nothing to do with the internal buddha?

Nah, you're thinking in the wrong direction. Read wumen's comment again.

This isn't me.
My answer is that because talking doesn't transmit the dharma, it just shows the ways towards understanding it.

Is it because the listeners are attaching meaning to the flower when there is none, and Mahakashyapa is the only one who realizes what the Buddha is getting at. There isn't a transmission from the Buddha, but there is within the listener (well at least Mahakashyapa) due to the Buddhas words.

He's going through the window and he got stuck with his big fat arse.

First you said nothing was transmitted, now you say talking shows the way towards understanding it.
Do you really think the buddha's words made anyone understand anything?
He's selling dog meat labeled as mutton

>Is it because the listeners are attaching meaning to the flower when there is none, and Mahakashyapa is the only one who realizes what the Buddha is getting at.
This is good

>There isn't a transmission from the Buddha, but there is within the listener (well at least Mahakashyapa) due to the Buddhas words.
This is wrong

>zen
>buddha's words

what are you trying to say?

I'm implying Zen Buddhism is not really the Buddha's words.

So is Wumen selling me dog meat labeled as mutton?

Yes.

>Do you really think the buddha's words made anyone understand anything?
The words themselves, no. Otherwise he could simply enlighten everyone himself.
And yet, his words and actions are reflections of dharma.
Dharma can, in relative terms, be attained or understood, but one cannot transmit it to someone else. The flower isn't the dharma and holding it up doesn't advance another person spiritually, but both are reflections of dharma.

Correct, wumen does that too

I also see zen and buddhism as quite distinct traditions.
I prefer zen over buddhism, though

Another one?

>it's impossible to not think in terms of formal logic, unless of course you're high on opium

you're fucking retarded my man

You're a Sage

before I read the post, the only word I noticed was "wumen".

I thought it was /neo/pol lingo for women and this was another MRA thread.

pleasantly surprised.

Case 20:

Shogen osho asked, ”Why is it that a man of great strength does not lift his legs?”
And he also said, ”It is not the tongue he speaks with.”

Wumen's comment:

It must be said that Shogen shows us all his stomach and intestines.
But alas, no one can appreciate him!
And even if someone could appreciate him, let him come to me, and I’ll beat him severely. Why?
If you want to find pure gold, you must see it through fire.

Wumen's verse:

Lifting his leg, he kicks up the Scented ocean;
Lowering his head, he looks down on the fourth Dhyana heaven.
There is no space vast enough for his body
Now, somebody write the last line here.

Are you literally retarded?

They're actually not distinct traditions, modern Zen makes it look like that. If they were separate Zen would be absolutely worthless other than teaching some meditation techniques.

More types than strength than physical, actions are more meaningful than words.

What the fuck am I looking in this picture

But that's a bison.

I will answer a koan with a koan of my own.

D Y E L
Y
E
L

Great strength does not come from physicality or words.

user asked, ”Do you even lift?”
And he also said, ”Post time stamp, no homo”

It must be said that user shows us all his dick pics.
But alas, no one can appreciate him!
And even if someone could appreciate him, let him come to me, and I’ll bait him severely. Why?
If you want to find pure memes, you must see it on Veeky Forums.

Close one eye, put a palm over the open eye.

You need a shovel to answer this one.

A self-slicing Bagel.

Install a carbon arc-light in the meditation hall. Turn it up to maximum. Unplug the power.

Wumen is serving you mutton labelled as dog meat. Delicious meats, you must eat.

Shogen osho might be ripped, but by using his tongue he skipped leg day. No homo bro, eat those cummies.

>And even if someone could appreciate him, let him come to me, and I’ll beat him severely.

Finally, Wumen, you got one right.