Dragon Singing in a Withered Tree

View All Koans

KOAN:

Xiangyan was once asked by a monastic: ‘What is the Way?’
Xiangyan said: ‘A dragon singing in a withered tree.’

Later, another monastic asked Shishuang: ‘ What is the dragon’s singing in a withered tree?’
Shishuang said: ‘It still has joy,’

Text August 6, 2020

Knock on Any Door – Daoist Masters & Zen Koans

John Tarrant

Koans
Abiding Nowhere the Mind Comes Forth (MK65b), Bankei's Miracle, Dragon Singing in a Withered Tree, Huineng's Original Face (GG23), Knock On Any Door (Preface to BCR), Stone Hitting Bamboo, Vast Emptiness Nothing Holy (BCR1)(BS2)
Tags
Blue Cliff Record, Book of Serenity, buddha nature, Daoism, Diamond Sutra, Du Fu, emptiness, no trace, not knowing, out of nowhere, Summer 2019 sesshin
Category
Text

So, whatever your condition is, you can see the “I have joy.” Out of that emptiness, out of what seems unpromising—the dark material, the valley spirit, the enigma, out of the mystery, out of what I don’t understand—it just appears. The joy just appears.

3035 Words