A great minister asked, "I've been reading the sutras—what is meant by, 'A fierce wind has blown the ship off course, setting it drifting toward the land of the Rakshasas'?"
The teacher responded, "Why ask something like that?"
The great minister's face went pale with that response.
And the teacher repeated, "A fierce wind has blown the ship off course, setting it drifting toward the land of the Rakshasas!"
The minister understood.
—Entangling Vines Case 42
KOAN:
c. “What is the blown-hair sword?”
“Every branch of coral holds up the moon.”
—PZI Miscellaneous Koans Case 74c, & The Blue Cliff Record Case 100
Allison Atwill, “Coral Moon,” 2013. Acrylic on birch panel with silver leaf, 30″ x 40″.
