A Story about Koans and Stories on the Solstice<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Sunset on planet Earth at Latitude:N 45\u00b0\u00a06'\u00a017.1126" Longitude:W 93\u00b0\u00a01'\u00a040.0865" (White Bear, MN) at 4:35 on the Solstice, with the sun setting at 237\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/2011\/12\/a-story-about-koans-and-stories-on-the-solstice.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Story about Koans and Stories on the Solstice\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Sunset on planet Earth at Latitude:N 45\u00b0\u00a06'\u00a017.1126" Longitude:W 93\u00b0\u00a01'\u00a040.0865" (White Bear, MN) at 4:35 on the Solstice, with the sun setting at 237\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/2011\/12\/a-story-about-koans-and-stories-on-the-solstice.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Wild Fox Zen\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/dosho.port\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-12-23T01:37:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2011-12-23T01:41:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/88\/2011\/12\/IMG_0398.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"574\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dosho Port\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dosho Port\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/2011\/12\/a-story-about-koans-and-stories-on-the-solstice.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/2011\/12\/a-story-about-koans-and-stories-on-the-solstice.html\",\"name\":\"A Story about Koans and Stories on the Solstice\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2011-12-23T01:37:13+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2011-12-23T01:41:26+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/#\/schema\/person\/45224391b7690e99673782337bd0eabd\"},\"description\":\"Sunset on planet Earth at Latitude:N 45\u00b0\u00a06'\u00a017.1126\\\" Longitude:W 93\u00b0\u00a01'\u00a040.0865\\\" (White Bear, MN) at 4:35 on the Solstice, with the sun setting at 237\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/2011\/12\/a-story-about-koans-and-stories-on-the-solstice.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/2011\/12\/a-story-about-koans-and-stories-on-the-solstice.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/2011\/12\/a-story-about-koans-and-stories-on-the-solstice.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"A Story about Koans and Stories on the Solstice\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/\",\"name\":\"Wild Fox Zen\",\"description\":\"Living the Dream\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/#\/schema\/person\/45224391b7690e99673782337bd0eabd\",\"name\":\"Dosho Port\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7b9712e98924dea6c08d55890403352f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7b9712e98924dea6c08d55890403352f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Dosho Port\"},\"description\":\"Dosho Port began practicing Zen in 1977 and now co-teachers with his wife, Tetsugan Zummach, with the Vine of Obstacles Zen. 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{"id":763,"date":"2011-12-22T19:37:13","date_gmt":"2011-12-23T01:37:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/?p=763"},"modified":"2011-12-22T19:41:26","modified_gmt":"2011-12-23T01:41:26","slug":"a-story-about-koans-and-stories-on-the-solstice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/2011\/12\/a-story-about-koans-and-stories-on-the-solstice.html","title":{"rendered":"A Story about Koans and Stories on the Solstice"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

$\"\"$ <\/a>Sunset on planet Earth at Latitude:N 45\u00b0\u00a06\u2032\u00a017.1126\u2033 Longitude:W 93\u00b0\u00a01\u2032\u00a040.0865\u2033 (White Bear, MN) at 4:35 on the Solstice, with the sun setting at 237 degrees SW (the last according to the compass app on my iPhone so subject to user error).<\/p>\n

This is the longest night of the year and a night we humans \u2013 at least our relatives who moved significantly north and south from the equator \u2013 have probably told some long stories on this night and got a long delicious sleep too.<\/p>\n

Stories have been on my mind lately, informed by the koan process, and recently we kicked it around in the teacher group I meet with once or twice a month.<\/p>\n

As a koan student moves through the Mu series, the Miscellaneous Koans, and into the Gateless Gate and other collections, there\u2019s an increasing depth and subtlety to the stories that convey the koan, the truth-happening point.<\/p>\n

Koans, of course, are not stories although they are embedded stories, carried by stories, lived through stories. To work through a koan, we\u2019re called to enter the koan completely and make it alive by embodying all the various aspects of it.<\/p>\n

Another set of stories that have piqued my interest lately are our self-told stories, our stories of betrayal and suffering, fear and inadequacy, joy and possibility. One important application from koan work is how to live these self-told stories and the possibility to be free within the story.<\/p>\n

\u201cTurning away and touching,\u201d says the Jewel Mirror Samadhi, <\/em>\u201care both wrong for it is like a massive fire.\u201d<\/p>\n

When we turn away from our own life stories, even through the development of witness consciousness, we distance ourself from ourself and so betray our life. When we touch the fire of suffering of the stories, identify with the story, we sometimes get burned. So what is right?<\/p>\n

One way is to enter the story fully, as a participant and creator. Then the story is not happening to us. We are free within the confines of the predicament of our lives, right within the \u201cHe insulted me, \t hit me, \t beat me, \t robbed me\u201d of it all (as the Dhammapada has it) as we might be a koan.<\/p>\n

This being the koan, being the self-told story, is a bit different than identifying with the story. When we say we are identifying with a personal story, it seems to me that we are taking a passive position and allowing the story to have it\u2019s way with us. \u201cYou insulted me!\u201d And then losing our freedom of response so losing our temper, for example.<\/p>\n

The koan way is more affirmative. Whatever has happened in the life story is a passage and we have the great opportunity to respond, for example, receiving the \u201cYou-bald-ass-bitch\u201d comment of an angry kid and play. \u201cI am a bald ass bitch so please treat me kindly.\u201d<\/p>\n

We then get to write the next line of the story. We can also invite other characters to create the story together with us, bringing it all to life, not to avoid or repress the sufferings or joys of life but to embody it all.<\/p>\n

May we all \u2013 stories telling stories \u2013 sleep well.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"