"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 - Remembering the past


A student walked into a teacher’s office, where he was writing furiously.
“I’m remembering the past,” said the teacher.
The student watched in fascination as the teacher scribbled rapidly. Finally, the teacher stopped and looked up.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m sorry to stare, but I loved watching you preserve history.”
“I’m not preserving anything.”
Sensing the student’s disappointment, the teacher added, “Come back tomorrow. I’ll remember it differently then.”


Was the teacher giving a lesson before the student entered the room? Did the student know there was a lesson to be learned before he entered? If, as they say, art is a lie in service to the truth, then is history a fine art? If you fall in love with someone, will you believe everything they tell you?


The pen that invents fiction can also be the blade that cuts through illusion. Write words to draw blood, and you will know the nature of healing.
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