One of Rinzai's students told him that he had just come from a long polo patch and was dead tired. Rinzai asked, "Were the horses also tired?" The student said, "Yes, they certainly were." Rinzai then asked, "And how about the goalposts? Were they also tired?" This question dumbfounded the student, and he didn't know how to respond.
The student meditated all night over this koan. The next morning he rushed to see Rinzai and exclaimed with excitement, "Yes, Master, even the goalposts were tired!"
Ha ha. This story always cracks me up.
When you're really really tired, you're more than 100% tired; you're 110% tired, and when you're really really bored, you're 110% bored. ;D
(Rinzai was quite a character, and he was always throwing out bait. One night a soldier came to his meditation zendo. As he approached, Rinzai pointed at a post and asked, "Is this post sacred or profane?" The soldier couldn't speak. After a moment, Rinzai shrugged at the soldier's inability to respond and said, "No matter what you say, it's just a post." ;D)
The student meditated all night over this koan. The next morning he rushed to see Rinzai and exclaimed with excitement, "Yes, Master, even the goalposts were tired!"
Ha ha. This story always cracks me up.
When you're really really tired, you're more than 100% tired; you're 110% tired, and when you're really really bored, you're 110% bored. ;D
(Rinzai was quite a character, and he was always throwing out bait. One night a soldier came to his meditation zendo. As he approached, Rinzai pointed at a post and asked, "Is this post sacred or profane?" The soldier couldn't speak. After a moment, Rinzai shrugged at the soldier's inability to respond and said, "No matter what you say, it's just a post." ;D)
