Mistakes in koan practicing and how to do it: So Sahn (1560-1604): The Mirror of Zen II

13

You should maintain the kong-an (koan) with absolute determination, like a hen hatching its young, like a cat chasing a mouse, like a hungry person seeking food, like a thirsty person seeking water, and like a child yearning for its lost mother. Only with such an attitude will you surely pierce Great Doubt.

Comment:

The patriarchs left behind 1,700 kong-an, such as "Three Pounds of Flax" or the "Dry Shit Spatula." In all of the above examples, the concentrated effort stems from the deepest mind and is unaffected. Without this profoundly straightforward mind, one cannot awaken.

16

When you harbor your hwa-du ("living word," key word), your kong-an, or the Great Doubt, never try to find a correct answer. Don't pursue it with your thoughts or wait for enlightenment. When you reach the point where thoughts cannot enter, your mind will have nowhere to go. You will feel like an old rat caught in the ox's horn trap: There is no going forward or going back. It would be completely wrong to ponder this and that, to follow the karma of life and death here and there, to become anxious or confused. However, many are afflicted with this disease these days.

Comment:

During hwa-du practice, there are ten illnesses to be avoided: 1) trying to understand the kong-an with discriminating thinking; 2) getting hung up on a master's wordless gestures such as raising one's eyebrows; 3) being captivated by words; 4) looking for proof in the kong-an ; 5) imitating a master's shout or other sudden expression as if it were one's own; 6) throwing everything away by falling into emptiness; 7) trying to distinguish conditions of existence from non-existence; 8) thinking in terms of absolute nothingness; 9) applying knowledge from logical reason; 10) impatiently awaiting awakening.

Instead, hold firmly to the Great Doubt that feeds on the kong-an and clear your mind by focusing your energy on the question, "What is this?"