Bill,
That everyone possesses an (undefined and indescribable) 'Buddha Nature' is a concept-premise of Zen. Is one expected to detect any extra intelligence, or elevated virtue, or added value to the planet in persons who claim to have experienced Buddha Nature? Until this concept-premise of 'Buddha Nature' is better clarified, I will tend to regard it as the purely natural phenomenon of a rather pleasant mind-space or mind-state arrived at after much Zen clear-mind (mind-less) practice. I do not regard this perspective as discounting Zen practice in any way. --ED --- In [email protected], "Bill!" <BillSmart@...> wrote: > > ED, > > This koan, as is the case with all koans, do not 'teach' in the sense that they do not impart knowledge. There is no 'meaning' to this koan. Koans REVEAL BUDDHA NATURE. That's what they do. That's their job. > > This and all koans are used to assist YOU in revealing, uncovering, discovering, sharpening your view of, etc..., Buddha Nature - which you already have. > > When koans are presented to you by a teacher they are presented with a question or challenge. In this case the challenge might be 'Bring me the barbarian's beard!'. To pass this koan you must satisfy your teacher's challenge. > > ...Bill!
