{"id":4505,"date":"2018-05-03T10:35:43","date_gmt":"2018-05-03T16:35:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/?p=4505"},"modified":"2022-01-25T19:49:50","modified_gmt":"2022-01-26T01:49:50","slug":"fierce-or-friendly-koan-introspection-for-hakuin-and-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/2018\/05\/fierce-or-friendly-koan-introspection-for-hakuin-and-today.html","title":{"rendered":"Fierce or Friendly: Koan Introspection for Hakuin and Today"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/p>\n

In my last post<\/a>, I shared a bit of the criticism that Hakuin\u00a0(1686 \u2013 1768) heaped on the silent illuminationists of his day, generally some practitioners in the S\u014dt\u014d school. That lead me to reflecting on what Hakuin might have said about today\u2019s practitioners of k\u014dan introspection.<\/p>\n

First, it\u2019s important to note that phrases like \u201ck\u014dan introspection\u201d and \u201cS\u014dt\u014d Zen\u201d are general categories and there is more difference within groups than between groups. That said, one of the ways that practitioners vary within the broad field of\u00a0k\u014dan introspection is how fierce or how friendly we approach the work.<\/p>\n

Hakuin seems to come down strongly on the fierce side of these foci. Here is a common admonition from Hakuin for how to approach a\u00a0k\u014dan:<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026You must arouse a spirit of fierce, burning determination and bore continuously in throughout the twenty-four hours of the day. Bore in no matter what you are doing, bore deeper and deeper until you completely exhaust all your resources and run completely out of words (1).\u201d<\/p>\n

Indeed, in the\u00a0Complete Poison Blossoms from a Thicket of Thorn (CPB),<\/em> Hakuin uses the word \u201cbore\u201d sixty-two times, almost all in context of how to work with a\u00a0k\u014dan. \u201cFierce,\u201d \u201cburning determination,\u201d \u201crun completely out of words.\u201d Hakuin also likens\u00a0k\u014dan to poison blossoms, thickets of thorn, barriers, and an enemy. He likens the process of\u00a0k\u014dan introspection to something to \u201c\u2026\u00a0attack \u2026 from the sides, attack \u2026 from the front and from the rear, keep gnawing away\u2026, gnawing, gnawing, until there is no place left to gnaw (2).\u201d<\/p>\n

How do Zen teachers today approach\u00a0k\u014dan introspection? One notable and creative example are teachers\u00a0John Tarrant Roshi, Megan Rundel Sensei, and others of the Pacific Zen Institute. They seem to encourage (among other things) seeing the k\u014dan like a friend or a good dog that might follow you around. You can hear more about this perspective here<\/a> in a fascinating Q&A that Megan Rundel Sensei led at a non-k\u014dan S\u014dt\u014d group.<\/p>\n

So the contrast between the language used for fierce (bore, attack, gnaw) or friendly (good dog, friend) k\u014dan introspection is striking. What is the right way to approach a\u00a0k\u014dan?<\/p>\n

In my view, there isn\u2019t one right way. However, for most people working with a first\u00a0k\u014dan, a strong quality of fierceness will be necessary to break through (more about breakthrough, aka, \u201ckensh\u014d\u201d his this talk \u2013 Awakening Irrepressible Joy<\/a>) or the practitioner will waste valuable time spinning in their default setting. And yet, there also isn\u2019t one right way fierceness presents \u2013 a twenty-five-year old\u2019s fierce practice will probably look very different from a seventy-five-year old\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Even for Hakuin, there seems to have been much more nuance than his fierce words indicate.\u00a0In his above self-portrait as a young monk (3), for example, the inscription presents how Hakuin thinks others see his fierceness:<\/p>\n

Within the zazen hall<\/em>
\n I am hated by thousands of Buddhas;<\/em>
\n In the company of myriad demons<\/em>
\n I crush those who practice false Zen<\/em>
\n An annihilate those blind monks who can\u2019t penetrate Mu.<\/em>
\n This evil worn-out old shavepate<\/em>
\n Adds one more layer of ugliness to ugliness.<\/em><\/p>\n

These rough words are juxtaposed by the image of a smiling, radiant, gentle, even friendly image of himself as a young monk in samadhi. And within the words themselves, Hakuin\u2019s self-description can be seen as friendly poking \u2013 for example, \u201cevil worn-out shavepate\u201d \u2013 at the very least, showing a sense of humor about himself and his fierceness.<\/p>\n

The painting itself also has a friendly history. \u201cAs a monk,\u201d writes Seo, \u201che had been accused of fathering a child with the daughter of an oil merchant. Although the charges were unfounded, Hakuin took responsibility for the child until the true father spoke up some time later. The child is said to have later become the monk S\u014drei, who entered the temple Ry\u016bsh\u014d-ji in Iida the year this painting was done. This painting is believed to have been a gift from Hakuin to S\u014drei as he entered the temple.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ferocious, friendly or something else, what quality of energy do you bring to the practice? Caution: If you only bring your default energy, your habitual way of approaching your life, you may well be sleep walking.<\/p>\n

(1) Complete Poison Blossoms from a Thicket of Thorn<\/em>, trs. Norman Waddell, \u201c8. Ascending the Teaching Seat on the Ninth Day.\u201d<\/p>\n

(2) Ibid., \u201c187. To Layman Isshii.\u201d<\/p>\n

(3) The Sound of One Hand: Painting & Calligraphy by Zen Master Hakuin<\/em>, Audrey Yoshiko Seo & Stephen Addiss, p. 42.<\/p>\n

________________<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In my last post, I shared a bit of the criticism that Hakuin\u00a0(1686 \u2013 1768) heaped on the silent illuminationists of his day, generally some practitioners in the S\u014dt\u014d school. That lead me to reflecting on what Hakuin might have said about today\u2019s practitioners of k\u014dan introspection. 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