01-12-2009, 12:00 AM
I believe Zen 'koans' are saying specifically designed to confound the reason and put one into a state of inner-silence.
They can obviously be interpreted in many different ways and I'm certain different Buddhist sects interpret different koans differently.
For example:
"Ride your horse along the edge of a sword; hide yourself in the middle of flames
....Zen saying."
Now, what the bloody hell does that mean? If you think about it you just may come up with a multitude of meanings. Which is the correct one? I guess it depends
on which "enlightened master" you may choose to ask.
So, I feel that Zen is left up to the interpretation of those who practice it and there is no fully "right" or "wrong" answer as to exactly
what the above Zen quote means. I believe it's safe to say that when it comes to Zen quotes "right" and "wrong" may very well be
meaningless.
They can obviously be interpreted in many different ways and I'm certain different Buddhist sects interpret different koans differently.
For example:
"Ride your horse along the edge of a sword; hide yourself in the middle of flames
....Zen saying."
Now, what the bloody hell does that mean? If you think about it you just may come up with a multitude of meanings. Which is the correct one? I guess it depends
on which "enlightened master" you may choose to ask.
So, I feel that Zen is left up to the interpretation of those who practice it and there is no fully "right" or "wrong" answer as to exactly
what the above Zen quote means. I believe it's safe to say that when it comes to Zen quotes "right" and "wrong" may very well be
meaningless.