One day Yanguan called to his attendant, "Bring me the rhinoceros fan."
The attendant said, "The fan is broken."
Yanguan said, "Then bring me the rhinoceros!"
The Blue Cliff Record is the primo source book for zen koans. For all it's length [100 koans], antiquity [10th c.] and the daunting, even insulting sport it makes of our sort of logical, discursive minds, it's intent is simple and accessible- reset the mind to zero. Restore beginner's mind.
This is best practices for folks such as myself, attempting to hear new music from zero. Every argument I raise against this attempt is useless. Being awake and fully alive to the moment is resetting the mind to zero.
I have no interest in reading reviews or criticism from experts. I enjoy the more rarified encounter with a mind reset to zero, which makes it at least possible they can engage with what they are actually hearing.
The koan above is Shoyoroku 25 from The Blue Cliff Record. It is an invaluable guide to listening to music, not to mention doing dishes.
2 comments:
A fine challenge, laid down in simple language. Excellent post, Jesse. Overall, the approach you're taking with this blog is refreshing.
Thanks, Matt. I appreciate feedback.
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