This is the Way we push our hands, push our hands, push our hands…
"The object of the Koan (riddle) is not to encourage clever or amusing answers, but to promote personal insight. Often, the key lies, not in seeking an answer, but in understanding the question.
"The object of Shaolin empty-hand art is not to provide clever answers to actual combat (warfare) problems, but to provide the basis for understanding how to deal with a physical force, without resisting (aggression) and without giving in and allowing that force to disrupt or hurt you….Through such a process of harmonizing, it becomes possible, through the art, to enter the Tao."
-Barefoot Zen, by Nathan J. Johnson
I’m really liking this book — the writing is a little clunky and the BUDDHISM!! a little ham-handed at times, but it’s talking about a true subject — the Shaolin Temple origins of both karate and kungfu (and taiji, of course) — and it generally has good and informative things to say. If martial arts is your practice, hobby or a topic of interest, totally go pick it up.
(If you do, give a little "woohoo" for my Sifu, who’s in the credits.)
(Image swiped from qigongmedicine.com. Isn’t it great?)
17 devoted students of Roshi accepted this page in 0.241 seconds without moving, or saying a word.
Well,
I know how it is to not get replies, and noticed that you haven’t been getting replies. Anyways, I like that you review a book every once in a while, along with all your other activities, and makes the reading of the blog that much more interesting. Anyways, what is the koan riddle?
PD: I think you would appreciate “The importance of living” by Lin Yutan. It’s incredibly overlooked, which is unfortunate. I didn’t put it down for weeks. I don’t think the message would be lost on you.
DD: I think Nathan Johnson is likening the open hand arts to a koan, attempting to unveil a truth. I don’t think PD had a specific koan in mind. Push hands is the epitome of what a koan attempts to get the student/player to glean from the riddle.
Hey guys…
DD, no worries, I write this stuff like talking to myself; I’m always pleasantly surprised when there are *any* comments. (And if there were many more, I would almost certainly be too busy to answer them, and feel guilty about it, so this works out great.)
Snailian’s right; I wasn’t referring to a specific koan — but they’re very cool if you want to check some out. Most are more like parables than riddles, and can be hard to understand without some basics in Eastern philosophy under your belt…but for a simple example, “What is the sound of one hand clapping” is a well-known Zen koan. One of my personal favorites is “Who is the Great One who makes the grass green?”
Thanks for the recommendation, Snailian! Definitely going on my list. (My…how did that list get so BIG???)