Dongshan's Five Ranks (4th)
KOAN:
Poem 4
Two swords are crossed.
There’s no way to retreat.
You’re a lotus in the fire
You can’t help it
You’re determined to go higher.
—from the Record of Dongshan, The Five Ranks (4th Rank)
We and everything we perceive are interwoven and not interwoven, and this interweaving continues on and on, while each thing stands in its own place.
—Shitou Xiqian
KOAN:
Poem 4
Two swords are crossed.
There’s no way to retreat.
You’re a lotus in the fire
You can’t help it
You’re determined to go higher.
—from the Record of Dongshan, The Five Ranks (4th Rank)