from 'Not What You Think' by Steve Hagen
Reality is always right there, out in the open—a public case. Dealing with it is forever a matter of calming down, focusing, and noticing how we spend the greater portion of our time explaining everything to ourselves. Koans—like meditation—are a practical way of watching our own minds, paying careful attention to what is really going on, and perceiving Reality directly, free of our ideas about it, explanations for it, and habitual responses to it.
In short, koans are serious business. They’re about life and death, about all our deepest questions and concerns—the ones that are most immediate, urgent, and unavoidable. Life isn’t a matter of pleasing the teacher or getting the right answer or passing a test. Koans direct us to be present with what is going on now, and to notice how our minds respond to this. Once this is seen, there’s no wasting of the day, or yourself, or the world. What binds you drops away, and you will let it go.
STEVE HAGEN ©2000
