Everything Zen

Everything Zen: on Being a Brief Guide to Koans and Other Zen-like Stories on Everything2

Traditional:

• koan: many, many, many koans
• Zen: more koans, among other things
• Koan collection: still more koans
• The Gateless Gate: Mumon's collection of 48 koans, 33 of which have been noded by gn0sis
• Enlightenment: on dying (way at the bottom). Also, a lot of interesting takes on enlightenment.
• There is no spoon: on flapping; the pennant or the wind?
• A Philosopher Asks a Zen Master: on tea and an empty cup
• Master Dogen said, "I am not other people.": on Master Dogen and his experiences
• Zen Koan : The Giver Should Be Thankful: on Seisetsu and 500 ryo
• A classic Zen tale: actually, quite a few Zen tales
• Zen Story: on recognizing holiness
• Zen Story: The Invading Marauders: on being run through with a sword
• Zen Story: Nothing Exists: on nothing and anger
• Zen Story: Four monks settling down to meditate: on silence
• Zen on life: on finishing the game
• Hyakujo's fox: on the right answer, and getting slapped around
• Maybe Yes, Maybe No (A Classic Chinese Tale): on fortune and misfortune
• What is the sound of one hand clapping?: on what it is not
• The Stonecutter (A Classic Chinese Tale): on cycles and Taoist alchemy
• The Menu is not the Meal...: on discussing a glass of water
• The Teamaster and the Samurai: on death and tea
• What face did you have before your mother and father were born?: on what you look like
• A state of shallow enlightenment which can only be achieved through the meticulous maintenance of executive rock gardens: on what to do after enlightenment
• Two Monks By the River...: on carrying women
• Hakuin and the Baby: on taking care of a child
• The end of Zen: on ants
• The glass is half full and half empty: on objects twice as large as they should be
• Buddha-nature: on 無
• If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him: on being your own Buddha, plus some extra weirdness

Modern:

• Zen and Lesbians: on the spark of understanding
• Jumped by a Zen master: on being mugged
• Counter Strike: a Zen Story: on camping and AWP whores
• Western Koan: on Swiss cheese
• Ice Cream Koan: on whether or not you have ice cream
• Orange Traffic Koan: on Ruth
• That was Zen - this is Tao: on flash mobs
• Some AI Koans: on hackers
• A student, in hopes of understanding the Lambda-nature, came to Greenblatt: on unlearning
• Zen master: also on recognizing holiness
• What do you see when you close your eyes?: on seeing nothing
• Does a cow have the Buddha nature?: on bad puns
• Make Me One With Everything: on hot dogs
• The Zen of Deathmatch: on being one with your rocket launcher
• What were you before you were anything at all?: on swimming
• I'm no fucking Buddhist, but this is Enlightenment.: on an individual's own satori
• If you meet the Buddha on the road, ask him how far it is to the next gas station. *Then* kill him.: on the paradoxical nature of Buddha-hood
• Until today, it really pissed me off that I'd become this totally centered Zen Master and nobody had noticed: on not being the point

While poking around for koans, don't forget that you will not reach enlightenment by reading things. You might, though, while listening to "Everything Zen" by Bush, a track on the album Sixteen Stone.