Koan in Plovdiv

I went from Tsarino to Sofia to undergo dental surgery (pericoronitis; a wisdom tooth needs to be removed). I ended up in Plovdiv, in the Flamingo hotel.
I just asked if I could stay while I wait for word from the clinic in Sofia. That was no problem — I was offered coffee and shown the garden, so I’m having breakfast here.

As I finish my bowl of dried fruits, seeds, nuts, and oatmeal — and pour my surplus water into the bowl to drink the last bit (a habit I picked up in the Zen temple I frequent; we do not waste, not even water) — I suddenly get a koan from a different school of Zen.

It comes from the Gateless Gate, the Mumonkan, which belongs to the lineage often associated with what Mahayana Buddhism historically called Hinayana — a somewhat dismissive term. More accurately, it’s part of the Chan/Zen tradition, which emerged from a split with the early Theravāda stream of Buddhism. The temple I attend is Sōtō Zen, part of the Mahayana tradition — a branch that grew from this divergence. We don't use Koans, but I like them. They are like inside jokes.

The koan goes like this:
A student is having breakfast and asks the master, “What is the meaning of life?”
The master says: “Have you eaten?”
The student says: “Yes.”
The master replies: “Then go wash your bowl.”

The student had already washed the bowl — as this is done immediately after eating — and yet, the student was enlightened.

This was one of the koans I didn’t immediately understand. But as I clean and eat at the same time, I now get it.
It’s not simply about “do what needs to be done.” That’s part of it.
But also: eating is itself a form of cleaning the bowl. It is part of preparing the next bowl. It’s about the cyclical nature of maintenance — and the uniting of opposites: clean/full, done/undone — and how we name them...

Rather than giving everything away — which is like explaining a joke — I’ll share another koan that I now see is related:

A student is sweeping the garden. After much effort, the garden path is clean of leaves. A master approaches.
“Master, I am done sweeping. What should I do next?”
The master looks at the spotless path, then shakes a tree until a few leaves fall onto it.
“Now you are done. Go clean out the shed.”En savoir plus