this post was submitted on 23 Apr 2025
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Zen koans are basically ancient memes.
Ryokan, a Zen master, lived the simplest kind of life in a little hut at the foot of a mountain. One evening a thief visited the hut only to discover there was nothing to steal.
Ryokan returned and caught him. "You have come a long way to visit me," he told the prowler, "and you should not return empty-handed. Please take my clothes as a gift."
The thief was bewildered. He took the clothes and slunk away.
Ryoken sat naked, watching the moon. "Poor fellow," he mused, "I wish I could have given him this beautiful moon."
Ok that's pretty based I'm converting to Buddhism
See the other comment for a variation of the story.
Heresy! May your pasta forever be boiled in unsalted water.
idk this one at least makes sense logically as in: the conscious lifestlye helps the monk see the beauty of life while the thief is chasing material clothes that ultimately in life dont matter like that.
Most koans though usually are designed as short riddles to be not logical at all/paradoxical and make you move beyond rational thought to experience intuitive/real understanding of reality. The worst one to me is the one hand clap koan, like what does it mean - aaah!
goes like: "Two hands clap and there is a sound; what is the sound of one hand?"
Reminds me of the famous koan:
Before enlightenment; chop wood and carry water After enlightenment; chop wood and carry water
Be mindful in your daily activities.
I just wish I could live naked in a little hut at the foot of a mountain.
In another telling of the story he arrives to find his meager shack ransacked by the thief and writes a koan with a broken piece of charcoal on a torn piece of parchment:
He left it right there In the window The moon
That's translated and also my memory from a book I read 20 years ago. Do not take this as historically or literarily accurate.
Someone owns the mountain and now you owe them first and last months rent, a security deposit, and proof of 7 years of rental history.
Feeling enlightened yet?
I certainly feel the need to sell my clothes and moon them
"what is the path to enlightenment? a sesame bun" *ding *