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Zen Buddhism. Intuition, not Thought. Riddles. A question or statement intentionally phrased so as to require ingenuity in ascertaining its answer or meaning. 1. Voiceless it cries, Wingless it flutters, Toothless bites, Mouthless mutters. 2 . A box without hinges, key, or lid,
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Zen Buddhism Intuition, not Thought
Riddles A question or statement intentionally phrased so as to require ingenuity in ascertaining its answer or meaning.
1. Voiceless it cries, Wingless it flutters, Toothless bites, Mouthless mutters.
2. A box without hinges, key, or lid, Yet golden treasure inside is hid.
3. You must keep it after giving it.
4. As light as a feather, but you can’t hold it for ten minutes.
5. Has a mouth but does not speak, Has a bed but never sleeps.
6. You break it when you name it.
7. Though I dance at a ball, I am nothing at all.
8. I am always hungry, I must always be fed, The finger I lick Will soon turn red.
9. My life can be measured in hours, I serve by being devoured. Thin, I am quick, Fat, I am slow Wind is my foe.
10. The root tops the trunk On this backward thing That grows in the winter And dies in the spring.
11. I have legs, but walk not A strong back, but work not Two good arms, but reach not A seat, but sit not.
12. He who makes it needs it not He who buys it wants it not He who uses it knows it not.
Riddle Answers: 1. The wind. 2. An egg. 3. Your word. 4. Your breath. 5. A river. 6. Silence. 7. A shadow. 8. Fire. 9. A candle. 10. An icicle. 11. A chair. 12. A coffin.
What kind of thought process did you use to try to solve the riddles? • Imagine a thought process that is the opposite of the one you used. Would that process have helped you to solve the riddles more effectively? • How would you characterize the answers in relation to the riddles? Do they make sense? Are they logical or illogical?
Koans Zen koans are a fascinating aspect of Zen practice. Koans may be described as puzzles or riddles designed to frustrate, or move the thinker beyond, the logical mind. In this way koans are unlike riddles, for which logical connections can be made. The answer to a koan lies in one’s intuitive response to it.
Master Gettan said to a monk: “Keichu made a cart whose wheels had a hundred spokes. Take both front and rear parts away and remove the axle: then what will it be?”
The monks gathered in the hall to hear the [Zen master] Hogen of Seiryo give teisho [commentary] before the midday meal. Hogen pointed to the bamboo blinds. At this two monks went to the blinds and rolled them up alike. Hogen said, “One has it; the other has not.”
The wind was flapping a temple flag. Two monks were arguing about it. One said the flag was moving; the other said the wind was moving. Arguing back and forth they could come to no agreement. The Sixth Patriarch said, “It is neither the wind nor the flag that is moving. It is your mind that is moving.” The two monks were struck with awe.
Gososaid, “If you meet a man of Tao on the way, greet him neither with words nor with silence. Now tell me, how will you greet him?”
Gososaid, “To give an example, it is like a buffalo passing through a window. Its head, horns, and four legs have passed through. Why is it that its tail cannot?”
Master Shuzan held up his staff, and showing it to the assembled disciples said, “You monks, if you call this a staff, you are committed to the name. If you call it not-a-staff, you negate the fact. Tell me, you monks, what do you call it?”
The Haiku of Basho MatsuoBasho was born in 1644 near Kyoto, Japan. As a boy he was already interested in poetry, and in his twenties he studied extensively with notable teachers of literature in Kyoto. He was acknowledged as a master of haiku by the time he was about thirty years old. During the last ten years of his life, Basho traveled a great deal, making pilgrimages alone or with companions. On these trips he visited famous places of Japan and met with other poets. He died during one of these pilgrimages, at the age of fifty. The following is a small sampling of Basho’s haiku, reprinted from A Zen Wave: Basho’s Haiku and Zen, translated into English by Robert Aitken.
The old pond; A frog jumps in— The sound of the water. In plum-flower scent Pop! the sun appears— The mountain path.
When worn out And seeking an inn: Wisteria flowers! In the morning dew Dirtied, cool, A muddy melon.
A day when Fuji Is obscured by misty rain! That’s interesting. A flash of lightning; Through the darkness goes The scream of a night heron.
How many, many things They bring to mind— Cherry blossoms! Drinking his morning tea The priest is peaceful— Chrysanthemum flowers.
A haiku is an unrhymed three-line poem. It is based on a traditional Japanese poetic form. Though there are different ways to write haiku, the traditional pattern in English is to write the first and last lines with five syllables each, and the middle line with seven syllables. In other words, the pattern of syllables looks like this: Line 1: 5 syllables Line 2: 7 syllables Line 3: 5 syllables How to write a Haiku Most often, haiku poems are about seasons or nature. The third line of a haiku usually makes an observation. It points out something about the subject you are writing about.
