Zen Master Koan – Master Yunmens Koan – To provoke the “great doubt” and test his student’s progress in Zen practice.
The koan is a dialog between Zen Master Yunmen and his student, by which the master used his statement to provoke the "great doubt" and test his student's progress in Zen practice.
A student asked Master Yunmen, “When this student didn’t raise a thought, is there still a sin or not?” The Master said, “Mount Everest!” Why did he say so?
Why did he say so? If you know the answer come and check it out. Don't discuss this with others, it is neither helping you nor them. Anytime let's have tea and an interview!
Contemplation - Koan Meditation
After practicing for some time, one gradually starts to make progress. This is like peering at the distant moon and watching its light glimmering faintly in the forest. Such light is similar to the dim, flickering glow of a firefly. Having persevered in one's meditation, occasionally a little insight will light up for a few moments like the glow of a firefly, die, light up again, and then die again. What you experience at this stage is something that you have never heard or seen before.
Recognizing now that such a thing exists, you reflect that it is probably correct to keep going in this direction. At such a moment the mind has to make an important decision. In striving to maintain the Hwadu (Koan), you have to been advancing with great difficulty through a patch of thorny bushes. Now, in the midst of all this, a little moonlight starts to shine in the forest. Although you are encouraged to continue, this is still an uncertain and ambiguous time.
You have to endure physical hardships without caring whether you live or die. It is at such time that you can pierce through. Yet, even though its nose is pierced, its fiery nature is hard to control. Whatever you do, it will always try to retreat quickly and run away. At times, though, the practice makes good progress, like that of a boat being pushed over ice. But after a while it cease to be so easy and becomes as difficult as trying to force a horse to drink water when it doesn't want to. Now matter how close you succeed in bringing the horse to the water, it will keep avoiding it and running off.
Meditation center - Practice
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