Posted inKoans, MC Podcasts

Teisho: Book of Equanimity Case 30, Daizui’s “Kalpa Fire” (Part 2 of 2)

July 14, 2016

“Zen wants to take away the mind that understands so that we can directly experience our existential situation.”

Case 30: Daisui’s “Kalpa Fire”

A monk asked Daizui, “When the great kalpa fire bursts out, the whole universe will be destroyed. I wonder if IT will also be destroyed or not.” Daizui said, “Destroyed.” The monk said, “If so, will it be gone with the other?” Daizui said, “Gone with the other.”

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Description: Henry continues exploring Daizui’s Kalpa Fire as means to reveal more about the nature and purpose of koans and the student teacher meeting. Koans are not conventional stories with a narrative and satisfying (or dissatisfying) conclusion. A koan’s point is not to give us an “ah-ha” moment of greater understanding and good feeling. Rather, a koan is a practice device of which we are a critical part. This talk’s wide dharma reach returns to the basic and critical relationship between student and teacher. Although we may have a “body and mind falling away” experience, without the recognition of that experience by the teacher, the experience becomes only memory and isn’t lived through shared authentic intimacy.

Post Image Credit: Zen Calm, by zoepandaCC0 Public Domain.
Featured Image Credit: “Singularity” – Bonna Point Reserve, Luke Peterson, CC BY 2.0.

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