Jade Elephant
KOAN:
Blossoms on withered tree—a spring outside of time;
riding backwards on a jade elephant, chasing a dragon deer with wings.
– Dongshan (from a poem)
A student asked Jiashan, “What is Jiashan’s state of mind?”
Jiashan answered, “Monkeys, clasping their young to their breasts, return beyond the green peaks: a bird with a flower in its beak alights before the blue cliff.”
—Entangling Vines, Case 99
KOAN:
Blossoms on withered tree—a spring outside of time;
riding backwards on a jade elephant, chasing a dragon deer with wings.
– Dongshan (from a poem)