Chop Wood, Carry Water......


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On 12/5/2016 at 5:25 PM, Youch said:

More completely, "Before enlightenment, chop wood and carry water.  After enlightenment, chop wood and carry water."

Thoughts?

 

I think what this speaks to, is our silly invisible assumptions about enlightenment.

We gain enlightenment.  Sparkles fall from the sky.  The mundane drudgery of daily life dissolves in wonder and joy.

No.  After enlightenment; do laundry, cook dinner, wash dishes.   Life goes on.

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Zen is largely anti-rational. The koans are designed to change the way people problem-solve, getting them to adopt a more intuitive and less thoughtful approach. Of course, Zen is also largely experiential, so those benefits are supposed to come as a result of rigorous meditation, with the koans acting as a sort of checksum to keep you on the right path. As such, the point is not to try to understand the meaning of the words, but to follow the words down the rabbit hole....  

At least, that is how it has been explained to me...

Edited by mererdog
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6 hours ago, mererdog said:

Zen is largely anti-rational. The koans are designed to change the way people problem-solve, getting them to adopt a more intuitive and less thoughtful approach. Of course, Zen is also largely experiential, so those benefits are supposed to come as a result of rigorous meditation, with the koans acting as a sort of checksum to keep you on the right path. As such, the point is not to try to understand the meaning of the words, but to follow the words down the rabbit hole....  

At least, that is how it has been explained to me...

Thx.

I find the quote to be, to/for me, a nice reminder to bring some important things into focus and proper perspective. Regardless of station or position, in the end life is broken down into simple acts. 

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