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Originally Posted by TaoSandwich
One of my favorite koans... it can be difficult to contemplate, but it is really striking  :
A monk asked Hsueh-feng "How is it when the ancient stream is cold from the source?"
Hsueh-feng said, "When you look directly into it, you don't see the bottom."
The monk asked "How about one who drinks of it?"
Hsueh-feng said, "It doesn't go in by way of the mouth."
The monk recounted this to Chao-chou. Chao-chou said, "It can't go in by way of the nostrils."
The monk then asked Chao-chou, "How is it when the ancient stream is cold from the source?"
Chao-chou said, "Painful."
The monk said, "What about one who drinks of it?"
Chao-chou said, "He dies."
Hsueh-feng heard this quoted and said, "Chao-chou is an ancient buddha; from now on, I won't answer any more questions." |
What a wonderful koan ! Thanks for sharing --- especially the part "he dies".
It reminds me of an interaction with my own spiritual mentor, a revered sage from India who just left her body earlier this week on Friday, February 20th.
I called the ashram one day before going to work to find out when she would be coming to NYC. To my surprise, she answered the phone.
When I expressed my surprise ("I didn't know that you were here"), she responded, "You should know".
When I asked her how she was, she responded "I'm dead".
Initially puzzled, I fumbled for words ("...er....er.... I'm sorry, I guess").
She responded, "You should be happy", and then invited me to visit which I did shortly thereafter.
Immediately after getting off the phone, I understood what she meant and, indeed, was very happy.
Koans are interesting but their impact is quite illuminating when they happen in the moment with an awesomely illuminated being.