Koan

Posted on December 20th, 2007 by Mr. Eldridge

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means “mind that does not stick.” —Zen Master Shoitsu (1202-80)

Filed under: Food for Thought and

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33 Responses to “Koan”

daisyjacinto, on December 22nd, 2007 at 10:14 pm Said:

Happy Winter Solstice!

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vHattiangadi, on December 23rd, 2007 at 8:59 am Said:

Possibly refers to the mind of children. In order to learn for future experiences, one must make mistakes, and lots of them to actually get a feel for knowing what is right, and what is wrong. The mind that does not stick, may just be talking about a child that keeps making the same mistake, or has the same attitude/appreciation toward a subject.

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Don Della Bron (Brandon), on December 23rd, 2007 at 6:12 pm Said:

I believe it is a mind that is impartial to a given matter or a mind that has no opinion or attachment to a given subject. The Zen discipline is to keep your mind blank and free of thoughts so a mind that does not stick is a clear and free mind.

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Jonaþan Wooldridge, on December 23rd, 2007 at 8:24 pm Said:

A mind that doesn’t conform, perhaps?

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Julie, on December 24th, 2007 at 12:04 am Said:

I like Jonathan’s interpretation of the quote. I agree, it could mean noncomformity. I think that this quote could be relating to a person that does not dwell on others opinions, or a person that doesn’t allow others to define who he/she is. This person would be free-spirited and he would do whatever he pleased because he does not need anyone to accept or approve of his actions.

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vHattiangadi, on December 24th, 2007 at 1:42 am Said:

Hmm. I was under the impression that all people and their minds conform, to something or another…

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Don Della Bron (Brandon), on December 25th, 2007 at 11:22 am Said:

That is a good point Vijay. We are all slaves aren’t we?

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Jonaþan Wooldridge, on December 27th, 2007 at 12:52 pm Said:

If all of us are slaves, then who or what are our masters?

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Don Della Bron (Brandon), on December 28th, 2007 at 10:34 pm Said:

Well it varies from person to person. We can be slaves to vanity, lust, or even food. Each person has a different master.

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Jonaþan Wooldridge, on December 29th, 2007 at 4:03 pm Said:

Can we not be the masters of those things as well? Would those who are masters of those things also be masters of those who are slaves?

Ah the way the world works….

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vHattiangadi, on December 29th, 2007 at 9:07 pm Said:

Does there have to be a master or slave? Why can’t we all just be considered primary and secondary?
I wonder if anyone gets the joke in the second sentence.

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Kayla and Jaimie =], on January 2nd, 2008 at 11:59 am Said:

This may be completely irrelevant to the discussion, but the japanese symbols say, torawarenaimu… ok bye! =]

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daisyjacinto, on January 2nd, 2008 at 7:26 pm Said:

Mr. E,
When is the second virtue essay due?

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Mr. Eldridge, on January 2nd, 2008 at 7:54 pm Said:

Daisy: the week we return!

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Mr. Eldridge, on January 2nd, 2008 at 7:57 pm Said:

Does it mean that nothing sticks to us? Like we’re coated with Teflon(R)?

Or does it mean that my mind should not become stuck in one mode of thought? That I do not fall into a rut simply because it is easy and there?

Have you ever done something differently just to do it differently, for the sake of difference? Have you ever found yourself eating mechanically without tasting the food, just like a machine? Is your mind stuck?

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Elisa, on January 3rd, 2008 at 5:27 pm Said:

well guys, first of all that image in japanese, which is a pretty complex language in itself. each character may have its own connotations which will probably warp the “translated” ‘mind does not stick’, which by the way, sounds way too zen (zen master?). there must be a more specific translation than that.

and through my knowledge of japanese… (though this is all based on assumptions, since i did only take japanese 1A) that cannot be just hiragana characters we are seeing, or the thought would not be that complex. if it were just hiragana, it would be something like “bird” or “kite”. so there has to be a kanji symbol in there somewhere that is disguised as a hiragana character…

but past all that nonsense… (im just ranting away here!) i also think that it means a mind that doesnt conform. using cooked rice as an example… it is apparent that each grain sticks together and conforms into a whole ball shaped on your spoon. if you try to take it apart then the grain of rice will most likely break in half, or be squished altogether into something else. but for uncooked rice, the grain are separate from each other, each an independent whole. therefore, by the rice/mind not sticking, it doesnt conform. also, its in its most natural state.

that rant was probably a tangent of my hungry mind…. hopefully it made sense.

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Arrrrrgh...o, on January 9th, 2008 at 7:21 pm Said:

On topic: A mind that is open to all ideas

Off topic: [IMG]http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f219/thecheesyone/confucius.jpg[/IMG]
He who stands on toilet is high on pot.
-Confucius

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skydawg, on January 9th, 2008 at 11:09 pm Said:

confucious smoked pot fur-sure!

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Tara is Awesome, on January 11th, 2008 at 11:54 pm Said:

no who else smokes pot fer sure? hmm his post is right above mine i believe . . . hmm . .

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Tara is Awesome, on January 11th, 2008 at 11:55 pm Said:

thats a little humor for yall

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Tara is Awesome, on January 12th, 2008 at 12:28 am Said:

if you guys cant notice i am fully and completely joking, might not be funny but whatever shoot me

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Mr. Eldridge, on January 12th, 2008 at 1:38 pm Said:

Why is there any discussion about smoking at all? This is an academic blog, and if we’re discussing matters academically, then we should refrain… There are other places to have those kinds of conversations. Thank you.

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vHattiangadi, on January 12th, 2008 at 3:47 pm Said:

A mind that does not stick is a mind that is fleeing from something it fears or does not join with. Dictionary.com defines Smoke at the bottom to be “Australian. -> to flee.”. So the mind is smoking?

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bryceallen, on January 13th, 2008 at 1:13 pm Said:

Argo, I would have to disagree with that quote. I stood on the tiolet once in order to see something located on the top of the cabinet. I was not under the unfluence of any herbal substance.

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lailayousufi, on January 13th, 2008 at 3:24 pm Said:

confucius also said, “He who exercises government by means of his virtue may be compared to the north polar star, which keeps its place and all the stars turn towards it.”

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vHattiangadi, on January 13th, 2008 at 3:32 pm Said:

However… In that case, the central mind would need to stick. As the others would patrol in its orbit.

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Arrrrrgh...o, on January 13th, 2008 at 6:02 pm Said:

Holy crap, Bryce posted. Anyhoo, whoever made up that saying was probably under the influence.

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bryceallen, on January 13th, 2008 at 7:22 pm Said:

Vijay, are you arguing the validity of evolution?

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Andre, on January 13th, 2008 at 7:25 pm Said:

Mr. Eldridge, I have noticed that most of your discussion topics come from 2008-2009 University of Chicago Essay Topics.

http://collegeadmissions.uchicago.edu/level3.asp?id=376

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Andre, on January 13th, 2008 at 7:26 pm Said:

Correction:
Not only 2008-2009 essay topics, but previous years as well

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bryceallen, on January 13th, 2008 at 7:28 pm Said:

Hahahahahahha…. ZING!

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Don Della Bron (Brandon), on January 13th, 2008 at 8:57 pm Said:

Bryce this is the first time I’ve seen you been on since like 1st quarter. Although, that was a very good comment. Haha, good call Andre.

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Andre, on January 13th, 2008 at 9:37 pm Said:

Befpre you try and guess the meaning behind something you have to know what it means, I doubt you speak Japanese, so you take for granted the translation, but you are AP students you should not take for granted anything! Research! Perhaps you have all forgotten that translations are often literally taken, therefore incorrect. For example if you google it, you get something quite different:
”
と = to
ら = ra
わ = wa
れ = re
な = na
い = i
心 = kokoro (this character is Kanji, not Hiragana “fu”)

torawarenai kokoro
とらわれない心　-　囚われない心
This is what I’ve come up with.

“A heart/mind/spirit that can not be broken/taken/captured”

OR

“The heart/mind/spirit by which it can not be taken/captured”

So possibly…

“An unbreakable heart/mind/spirit”

“Something that can not be taken/captured by someones heart/mind”
”

that’s one:
Torawarenai = 囚われない = とらわれない
A heart or a mind that cannot be taken/captured.

Kokoro = 心 = こころ = heart or mind
”

source: http://www.polykarbonbbs.com/showthread.php?t=8274

I suggest you search: ” とらわれない心 ” (which is the text in the picture, if you dont believe me, check it) on an online translation device. It gives you: “The heart which is not caught”, very different than a “mind that does not stick”. Maybe that will give you insight to what it REALLY means.

I think that our mind is our freedom, even if we are slaves or prisioners, if our minds are free we still can be free in a sense. The second our minds are enslaved, or prisioners, then our bodies ensue. Our minds are our bastion of freedom.

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