Buffalo in the EnclosureFirst seen in Gödel, Escher, Bach
Kōan
Goso said: “When a buffalo goes out of his enclosure to the edge of the abyss, his horns and his head and his hoofs all pass through, but why can’t the tail also pass?
Mumon’s Commentary
If anyone can open one eye at this point and say a word of Zen, he is qualified to repay the four gratifications, and, not only that, he can save all sentient beings under him. But if he cannot say such a word of Zen, he should turn back to his tail.
Mumon’s Poem
- If the buffalo runs, he will fall into the trench;
- If he returns, he will be butchered.
- That little tail
- Is a very strange thing.
The Short StaffFirst seen in Gödel, Escher, Bach
Kōan
Shuzan held out his short staff and said: “If you call this a short staff, you oppose its reality. If you do not call it a short staff, you ignore the fact. Now what do you wish to call this?”
Mumon’s Commentary
If you call this a short staff, you oppose its reality. If you do not call it a short staff, you ignore the fact. It cannot be expressed with words and it cannot be expressed without words. Now say quickly what it is.
Mumon’s Poem
- Holding out the short staff,
- He gave an order of life or death.
- Positive and negative interwoven,
- Even Buddhas and patriarchs cannot escape this attack.
The Reflected MoonFirst seen in Gödel, Escher, Bach
Chiyono studied Zen for many years under Bukkō of Engaku. Still, she could not attain the fruits of meditation. At last one moonlight night she was carrying water in an old wooden pail girded with bamboo. The bamboo broke, and the bottom fell out of the pail. At that moment, she was set free. Chiyono said, “No more water in the pail, no more moon in the water.”