A man traveling across a field encountered a tiger. He fled, the tiger after him. Coming to a precipice, he caught hold of the root of a wild vine and swung himself down over the edge. The tiger sniffed at him from above. Trembling, the man looked down to where, far below, another tiger was waiting to eat him. Only the vine sustained him.Â
Two mice, one white and one black, little by little started to gnaw away the vine. The man saw a luscious strawberry near him. Grasping the vine with one hand, he plucked the strawberry with the other. How sweet it tasted!Â
101 Zen Koans for Daily ZenÂ
- What is a koan? A kÅan is a story, dialogue, question, or statement which is used in Zen practice to provoke the "great doubt" and test a student's progress in Zen practice.Â
- Wriitten late in the thirteenth century by the Japanese Zen teacher Muju, and from anecdotes of Zen monks taken from various books published in Japan around the turn of the 20th centuryÂ
- TIP:Â Take time to ponder and read at a leisurely pace
