Well in the name of saying such things if you would truly like to understand them, let me see if I can offer a poor rendition of their true meaning, so by all means do not take what I say and believe it to be so, find your own meanings but I'll try. As for the Master Zuigan, well it might seem as though he got lost in his search for an "ego" never realizing that he is the "ego" so he kept on defining his ego rather then accepting the limits of thought, you see thoughts can only take you so far before you end up back in the same place in your search... Interestingly enough Ananda had been on the verge of enlightenment for sometime, but he had one last concept to grasp. At some point he had to understand that he must stop looking for the path, because the path can't be seen, only traveled.
i do what i can to find my own meaning in everything- but in doing so i try also to contemplate the perspectives of others as well as my own.... this helps me to grasp a much larger picture then i can find with my eyes alone- i agree-i simply visualized the conversation with himself as ...him fooling himself into thinking he was doing what it took.....when all he was really doing was looking for trouble that is not there... -untill the flag pole statement i thought he was about to infer that his pupils where also to him-
Right on, I guess it's not very clear but this should broaden your understanding... Ananda was the cousin of "The World-Honored One" which was the Buddha we all know best, Siddhartha Gautama. And so Ananda had been training with the Buddha for quite sometime, however, the Buddha at the age of 80 chose to move into complete nirvana, leaving Ananda...who was still searching for the path. This is where the koan comes in...
So I guess now that I think about it a little more it would appear you can find another meaning, Possibly dealing with the gates of time being what is depicted, time representing the concept of change, and the misconception of control. You must walk along with time and as such you realize how everything is always changing and all you could ever do in the first place was move with it, because our nature is change, and so you might realize how people have kind of put a "flagstaff" outside of this concept of no change, how people try to hold onto things that are, by nature changing... Just more thoughts don't get yourself caught up with them though
^Yeah, don't overthink it. Your first explanation was fine... too much really. The parable should stand on it's own. It's like explaining song meanings... if they don't get it, they don't get it. In fact, the point of a koan is to not get it. The meaning is that the flag pole needed to be knocked down. There is nothing lacking in the act of knocking it down. -- The Zen Master Joshu was once asked, "What is Zen?" He replied, "The Cypress tree in the courtyard."
Something I always find myself repeating... Master Tosotsu Etsu set up three barriers and asked his students: "The purpose of making one's way through grasses and asking a master about the subtle truth is only to realize one's self-nature. Now, you venerable monks, where is the self-nature at this very moment?" "When you have attained your self-nature, you can free yourself from life-and-death. How will you free yourself from life-and-death when the light of your eyes is falling to the ground?" "When you have freed yourself from life-and-death, you know where to go. After your four elements have decomposed, where will you go?"
During a momentous battle, a Japanese general decided to attack even though his army was greatly outnumbered. He was confident they would win, but his men were filled with doubt. On the way to the battle, they stopped at a religious shrine. After praying with the men, the general took out a coin and said, "I shall now toss this coin. If it is heads, we shall win. If tails, we shall lose. Destiny will now reveal itself." He threw the coin into the air and all watched intently as it landed. It was heads. The soldiers were so overjoyed and filled with confidence that they vigorously attacked the enemy and were victorious. After the battle, a lieutenant remarked to the general, "No one can change destiny." "Quite right," the general replied as he showed the lieutenant the coin, which had heads on both sides.
Once, the Buddha was asked what time it is. He said, "Right now." -- Buddha Twirls a Flower Mumon's comment: Golden-faced Gautama thought he could cheat anyone. He made the good listeners as bad, and sold dog meat under the sign of mutton. And he himself thought it was wonderful. What if all the audience had laughed together? How could he have transmitted the teaching? And again, if Maha-Kashapa had not smiled, how could he have transmitted the teaching? If he says that realization can be transmitted, he is like the city slicker that cheats the country dub, and if he says it cannot be transmitted, why does he approve of Maha-Kashapa? At the turning of a flower His disguise was exposed. No one in heaven or earth can surpass Maha-Kashapa's wrinkled face.
Once, the Buddha was asked by a lost traveler where they were. He said, "Right here." -- Tao of Buddha A monk asked Ma-Tsu, "Why do you teach, 'Mind is Buddha'?" Ma-Tsu said, "To stop a baby from crying." The monk said, "When the crying has stopped, what then?" Ma-Tsu said, "Then I teach, 'Not mind, not Buddha.'" The monk said, "How about someone who isn't attached to either?" Ma-Tsu said, "I will tell him 'Not beings.'" The monk said, "And what if you meet a man who is unattached to all things; what would you tell him?" Ma-Tsu said, "I would just let him experience the great Tao."
There was once a man whose wife, for curious reasons, was beaten by another man. This beating occurred regularly. The other man would break into the house, flog the wife unmercifully in front of the husband until she fell unconscious, and then leave. The other man was bigger than the husband, so the husband could not fight back. But the husband bought himself a revolver. It was a beautiful revolver, with an exquisite pearl handle, and its nickel finish glis- tened in the sun. The husband loaded it. The other man came again, beat the man's wife until she screamed for mercy, and left her pros- trate. “But where was the husband?†you ask. He was right on the scene. “Didn't he use his revolver?†you persist. Well, the fact must be admitted that a very strange thing happened. When the other man came, the husband was so frightened that he dropped his re- volver and ran. This happened again and again. It may be said to the husband's credit, however, that every time the beating was over, and the other man had left, the husband always came back, picked up his revolver, petted it lovingly, polished it again, pointed it with mag- nificent determination at an imaginary object, and said, “Ah, wait till he comes next time.†This is a parable. It is hardly necessary to point out that the other man symbolizes the man's temptations and cravings and baser in- stincts, that the wife symbolizes his better self, that the revolver sym- bolizes his ideals, and the cartridges his sentiments and mottoes and resolutions. In the moment when they were needed, these cartridges did not “go off,†they did not explode, they were not effective, and the simple reason was that the man did not summon the effort to pull the trigger. You need ask yourself only one question about this parable, but your answer must be honest: “Does the husband sym- bolize Me?†Found this in a book i was reading, 'The Way to Will-Power' by Henry Hazlitt I'm not sure where the parable originated and in no way is it my own.
I think i get it, they're not riddles to be analyzed and answered they're made to disarm you of your preconceptions and yeah i d k i think i get it
[SIZE=-1]The Buddha was in a lotus-filled garden when he perceived a man named “Kandata†who was squirming in the depths of Hell. He had been a murderer, an arsonist, and thief. A lifetime of these causes had put him in hell. He was in the company of others like him.[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]The Buddha looked further into Kandata's life and saw an incident where Kandata came upon a spider. He raised his foot to stomp on it. Suddenly, he reconsidered, thinking, "There is no doubt that this spider is also a living being and it is a shame to take its life for no reason." In the end he spared the spider.[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Knowing this, the Buddha took a spider thread and lowered it to into depths of Hell with the intention of saving Kandata.[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Kandata reached for the thread and found it strong enough to hold his weight. Using all his strength he began lifting himself from Hell.[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]After some progress, he looked down and saw hundreds of others behind him climbing on the same spider thread.[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]He shouted back at them: “Get off! This is mine!†Just then, the thread broke and Kandata fell back into Hell. [/SIZE][SIZE=+1]24 Hours To Die [/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Raj asked Buddha, “Reverend Sir, how come my mind wanders around to forbidden places and yours does not?†“Sir, how come I do back-biting and you don't?†“Sir, how come I don't have compassion for others, while you have?†All the questions that Raj asked were of similar nature. [/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Buddha replied, “Raj, your questions are good, but it seems to me that in 24 hours from now you will die.†[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Raj got up and started getting ready to go. [/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Buddha asked, “Raj, what happened? You came with such vitality now you are totally dismayed.†[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Raj said, “Sir, my mother told me that your words are true and are to be held in high esteem. So please let me go so that I may meet my family members, friends and others before I die.†[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Buddha said, “But there are still 24 hours. Sit, we will talk more.†[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Raj said, “Reverend Sir, please let me go. I must meet my people before I die.†[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]So Raj left and went home. Met his mother and started crying. The word spread. His friends came; other family members came; neighbors came. Everyone was crying with Raj. Time flew. [/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Raj was busy either crying or counting the hours. When only 3 hours were left, he pulled up a cot and lay down. Although the Death had not yet arrived, poor Raj was kind of dead. [/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]When only an hour was left, Buddha walked in. [/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Buddha said to Raj, “Raj, why are you lying down on the cot with your closed eyes. Death is still an hour away. And an hour is 60 minutes long. That's a lot of time. Get up, let us talk.†[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Raj: “Sir, what is it now that you want to talk? Just let me die peacefully.†[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Buddha: “Raj, there is still time and our talk will get over before the 'ordained' time.†[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Raj: “Okay, Sir . . . say what you have to say.†[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Buddha: “In the past 24 hours, did you curse anyone?†[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Raj: “How could I curse anyone? I was all the time thinking about death.†[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Buddha: “In the past 24 hours, did you think or wish ill for anyone?†[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Raj: “How could I do that? I was all the time thinking about death.†[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Buddha: “In the past 24 hours, did you steal?†[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Raj: “Sir, how can you even ask that? I was all the time thinking about death.†[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]Finally the Buddha said, “Raj, I don't know who has to die and who has to live. But understanding the ultimate truth - i.e. death - can be very enlightening. All the questions you posed to me have been answered by yourself because of the awareness of death that you experienced during the past 24 hours. The difference between me and you is that you were aware of death for the past 24 hours, I have been aware for the past 24 years.†[/SIZE]
Hotei, the Laughing Buddha, was once asked, "Why are you always smiling?" He replied, "I can't always smile." -- The Giver Should be Thankful While Seietsu was the master of Engaku in Kamakura he required larger quarters, since those in which he was teaching were overcrowded. Umeza Seibei a merchant of Edo, decided to donate five hundred pieces of gold called ryo toward the construction of a more commodious school. This money he brought to the teacher. Seisetsu said: "All right. I will take it." Umezu gave Seisetsu the sack of gold, but he was dissatisfied with the attitude of the teacher. One might live a whole year on three ryo, and the merchant had not even been thanked for five hundred. "In that sack are five hundred ryo," hinted Umeza. "You told me that before," replied Seisetsu. "Even if I am a wealthy merchant, five hundred ryo is a lot of money," said Umezu. "Do you want me to thank you for it?" asked Seisetsi. "You ought to," replied Umeza. "Why should I?" inquired Seisetsu. "The giver should be thankful."
10 Minutes A Zen Master and disciple were travelling down the road to visit a friend when they decided to take a different route. The disciple decided to time the trip to compare it to the usual route. "Damn!" exclaimed the disciple upon arriving, "It took us 35 minutes to get here. It normally takes only 25 minutes. That's 10 minutes extra!" "Does this bother you?" asked the Master. "Yeah," explained the disciple, "If it were 10 minutes extra after a nine hour journey, it wouldn't have been such a difference. But 10 minutes extra on a 25 minute trip is a waste of time." "Yeah," replied the Master, "but 10 minutes is 10 minutes."