Predicaments

In the current issue of Shambhala Sun, John Tarrant, Roshi, wrote:

In the main, koans are predicaments that you can use in case you don't have one lying around in your life.

Of course, most of us have a predicament ready to hand. We might even say that human life comes with a built-in predicament.

Koans simply hold up our predicament so we can see it more clearly. Like a mirror, a koan asks:  Who are you?

Photo by Elizabeth

Comments

[Mumon]

In some cases, the koan is a way to express the koan already going on in your life.

[bob]

I never cared for koan study. I have read Gateles Barrier, but have difficulty with the AHA! moment. But last year when you took your sabbatical,for what you said was a koan that had risen and you needed to deal with it, it became clear (as this post suggests) that koans arise daily,if not hourly, in our life.
Even someone as dense as I can, eventually, get it.

[Barry Briggs]

Hi Mumon - In my experience, the koans that really grab my gut are those which connect with the ongoing predicament. When I think about those koans that have taken years to pass through, I can see how they mirrored a similar passage in everyday life. Sobering, when I think of my current homework!

Hi Bob - None of us care for koan training, not really. But sometimes, at least for some of us, there's just no other way. It's like picking up a club and hitting ourselves in the head with it - for those of us who are hard-headed, it's the only way.

[How Nature Heals - Holistic Healing]

Hello. I love koans. I am a poet and enjoy short poems that reflect revelation. In fact, I wanted to ask if you might add my site to your list of "Interesting Sites" as it offers free short zen poems to visitors. Over 200 original poems about mindfulness, meditation, zen, etc. Here is the link: Short Zen Poems - Mindfulness, Meditation. Thank you, Benjamin