The Koan

The Koan

In my last post I talked about a dream I had about ego and beginner's mind and how it's rather a koan – a puzzle with no solution. Like trying to assemble an optical illusion – the more you try to solve it, the more frustrating it gets. I think practitioners of Zen must think about these puzzles a lot. I think the point is to think about them enough to release them – to realize there are some things out of our control, that can never be solved and to get okay with that being okay. Not easily done.

I will be puzzling over this for some time I imagine – before I release it – and along with it the desire to be the best, the need to control and the hope to please others.

One of the things I've always taken a certain pride in is that I'm not naturally competitive. I think that my dream told that I have my own brand of competitiveness that I need to let go of.

And so, that is what I will be working to release. Perhaps working is the wrong word. I think it's more about being open to allowing it to leave – to release the attachment.