There is a remarkable paragraph in Yamada Koun’s Teisho in The Gateless Gate (Mumonkan) Case # 24:
“As I often bring to your attention, ordinary people think that subject and object are in opposition, and that the objective world is standing before our consciousness as a completely different outer world. They suffer pain and agony because the outer world does not obey their will and circumstances do not go as they wish. We should know that subject and object are intrinsically one. This is the most fundamental point of Buddhist teaching. It is the true satori of Zen. To intuit, experience, and realize this fact is the main reason for doing zazen.”
As part of their training, Yamada Roshi introduced to his students—via dharma talks (teisho) and direct encounters (dokusan)—what he described as the “Source”. Although not a mathematician, the Roshi was interested in capturing precisely and succinctly, as a mathematic expression, the essence of his own discoveries distilled from a life of Zen practice. The ratio below expresses his most important insight:
The denominator is depicted as a circle containing the symbol for infinity. Yamada Roshi often referred to the “essential world” of Zen in this way, each moment—boundless and infinite. The numerator is depicted as “alpha.” In other words, the essential world suddenly reveals itself in this very moment, then vanishes, giving way to the next. The art of Zen, which is the art of life, points directly to the experience of what is happening in this moment—right here, right now.
The classic error that Zen students make at the beginning is to try to “solve” a koan, as if it were some kind of intellectual puzzle. But this is the very point. You can’t solve a koan by relying on your intellect. You discover, experience, and live the koan in your own special way. In my experience, working with koans is a bit like how Dianne Fossey learned to get on with gorillas in the Rwanda Forest. At first she went directly out to meet them being curious to learn their ways. But the gorillas were frightened and suspicious of this strange apparition. They had a recent memory of poachers. So Fossey quickly learned to find another way: she just hung out with them, keeping a respectful distance. The gorillas chewed on bamboo and leaves. She did the human equivalent. Presently one gorilla was curious and approached. Fossey continued to forage. Other gorillas joined in approaching. They made friends. That’s how I have learned to establish a relationship with a koan.
References:
- John Tarrant—Bring Me the Rhinoceros