“In every realm of suffering there is a Buddha; flowers fall amid our longings; weeds spring up amid our antipathies…”
Description: Case 26: Kyôzan Points to Snow
Kyôzan pointed to the snow lion and said, “Is there anything that goes beyond this color?”
Unmon said, “I would have pushed it over for him at once.”
Setchô commented, “He only knows how to knock it over, but he doesn’t know how to help it up.”
Henry unpacks this startling koan to expose the shocking fact of emptiness—that all is united in one color or one “goneness.” To support his explication Henry riffs elegantly on the significance of the “absolute” three treasures: buddha, dharma and sangha. Zen practice gathers and focuses each of us, so that over time we can look at our own mind, our own innermost consciousness which, ultimately, brings us home to our heart.
Post Image: Buddha Mind, by Hartwig HKD, CC BY-ND 2.0.
Featured Image Credit: Ordinary Mindness is the Way, by Hartwig HKD, CC BY-ND 2.0.