Two of the the most interesting facets of Zen buddhism are “Koans” and the concept of “no thought”. “Sakyamuni Holds Up a Flower” is a passage entailing the development of Koans in zen practice, in which a perplexing story, statement, or action provokes a knee-jerk response from one’s mind. Koans are designed to be paradoxical and confusing, and only when one exhausts thought or doesn’t delve deep into what they mean can they understand what is said. Sakyamuni held up the flower and displayed it as being the truth. By abstaining from attaching words or concepts to the truth, and presenting it as this simple manifestation of complex life, Sakyamuni relayed the message without relaying anything at all. The transmission of zen’s teachings from teacher to disciple is assessed by mutual recognition of awareness, whereby the teacher sees that the student is fully engaged in understanding, and that the student sees that the teacher can present nothing more. Koans serve as a quick jolt to the mind which may elicit a degree of enlightenment or understanding depending on how one grasps (or doesn’t grasp) the concept.
The concept of “No Thought” is ironically very intriguing to think about. It is amusing to me to think about not thinking because it just sounds so convoluted. Ideas surrounding “No Thought” put forth the proposition that total and pure awareness is not possible while one attaches ideas, cognitions, and conventions to their surroundings. While surveying surroundings and seeing the environment, one must refrain from utilizing the mind to process what it is they are taking in and just take it in as it is, without any abstractions or distinctions. Freezing thought to work in a way which allows no discriminating ideas empowers one to view the purity of all which surrounds them.
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