"Longya's Thief in an Empty Room" from Eihei Dogen's 300 Koan Shobogenzo

The Main Case - A monastic asked Zen master Judan of Longya (Zhankong), "When do the teachers of old get stuck?" Longya said, "When the thief slips into an empty room."

Capping verse - When the mind is empty, the eyes are finally clear. Shining through detachment and subtlety--the root of creation.


Just to avoid any confusion or misunderstanding between you, the reader, and myself, the writer, I’ll make it clear right off the bat: for me, ideas, concepts, and theory are not methods for acquiring objective knowledge but rather catalysts for subjective experience of life; my life; anyone's life. While I admit I’m not averse to being able to posit a thesis that many can agree on, what’s more important to me is to instigate reflection. Similar to the manner in which a koan operates, activating consciousness of premises, assumptions, and prejudices in a dialectic process leading to the emptiness of knowing, so I hope to illuminate my subjects, not by shedding light on them, but by casting shadows, tracing their forms in darkness, in silhouette relief, to know them only by inference, by what they are not. My tools? Arbitrarily constructed in language and consciously divided for the sake of an intellectual pursuit: my mind (reason and awareness), my body (instinct and corporeality), and my spirit (presence and desire).

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Koan - Am I still dancing?


A dancer kept a photo of his teacher over his desk for years.
One day, the teacher asked, “why did you begin studying?”
“Because I saw you dance,” said the smiling student.
The teacher nodded, handed him another photo, and said, “Use this one instead.”
“But it’s not the same one that inspires me,” insisted the student.
The teacher asked, “Am I still dancing?”


If you show the image in your mind to others, they can’t see it. The one they have in their hands is only something to agree or argue over. The one in your mind is fragile, absolute, and solitary. It is the most precious thing in life because it is a true possession with no proof whatsoever. Why spend a lifetime struggling against this fact, with unnecessary gifts, too many lovers, countless photos? Just accept the truth.


Tears fall as I step alongside death’s river under brilliant blue skies.
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