Zen Koan: When is throwing away the stone, really still keeping it?
By emptychair
@innertalks (23742)
Australia
November 15, 2019 12:59am CST
The old Zen master, Huand Frezaliki, picked up a stone, and then he threw it away, into the distance.
He then asked his students to explain his action.
None could answer him satisfactorily, and so finally, he told them his answer.
"What we pick up in life must be thrown away, if it ever begins to weigh us down with itself, and the more that we follow it, the more it will weigh us down with itself, in its weight, so it will then be much harder to simply throw it away."
"Recognise these stones, or bad habits, picked up, and drop them or throw them far away, as soon as you can do so, my friends."
When is throwing away a stone, not still keeping it?
When you allow it to really, really, truly leave you.
We must really fully let go of bad habits weighing us down, not just pretend to do so, and really still retain it unconsciously, as a conditioned response, programmed way of reacting, or as an already conditioned and established habit, still living under the surface of our consciousness.
Photo Credit: The photo used in this article was sourced from the free media site, pixabay.com
When a Zen master throws away a stone, it stays really thrown.
5 people like this
5 responses
@innertalks (23742)
• Australia
15 Nov 19
If we stop the habit, we might then be able to notice the desire behind it, if we stay aware.
If we drop a habit, or the "h' in "habit", we still have "a bit" left.
Then if we drop the "a", we still have another, "bit".
Finally, if we can even drop this "b", we still have "it" left.
(My Dad told me this once, and I remembered it)
A habit then is very hard to get rid of, that is why, like you said, we also often need to identify the desires or the want, or the reasons, behind our having of it.
@josie_ (10033)
• Philippines
15 Nov 19
@innertalks _ This made me smile. I like how your father describe the difficulties of getting rid of a bad habit.
3 people like this
@innertalks (23742)
• Australia
15 Nov 19
@josie_ Yes, he told me that a long time ago, when I was a teenager. I do not know if it was his own idea, or if he got it from somewhere else.
@lillywriter (1143)
• Lithuania
15 Nov 19
I love Zen philosophy, but this concept I heard first.
3 people like this
@innertalks (23742)
• Australia
15 Nov 19
I just made this up as my story. It seemed to fit in with my own ideas about the Zen Philosophy, which l also like a lot.
@innertalks (23742)
• Australia
20 Nov 19
Thanks, Felix.
Zen always makes good practical sense on the surface, but in a deeper way as well.
@1hopefulman (45111)
• Canada
20 Nov 19
@innertalks Is it like an onion, no matter how deep you go it is still an onion?
2 people like this
@innertalks (23742)
• Australia
20 Nov 19
@1hopefulman Yes, that is if you remove the brown outer skin first, of course.
Deepness starts under the skin, or under the surface of superficiality, glibness, or ignorance.
Deepness of heart is felt once we melt the surface ice of our fears, hesitations, and lack of trust, belief, and other mind thoughts that tend to ice over the ocean of love with themselves.
2 people like this
@Shiva49 (28390)
• Singapore
26 Nov 19
Once the bitter lesson is learned, we should move on rather than get bogged down by the after-effects.
I try to keep the lessons in my thoughts, both the good ones and the bad; in fact, they are part of our life journey and serve some purpose and guidance in our eternal journey - siva
1 person likes this
@innertalks (23742)
• Australia
26 Nov 19
That's a great idea siva, to keep the lessons of our past experiences in our thoughts.
If we forget about these past old lessons, or do not learn either the good, or the bad, from them, for sure, we will need to revisit the learnings at some later stage to reinforce the old lesson on us once more again.
1 person likes this
@innertalks (23742)
• Australia
28 Nov 19
@Shiva49 Yes, the Bible tells us that this will usually happen to us, if we are not aware of these patterns.
It says that the sins of the father will revisit his sons, and their grandsons, etc, right down the line.
It doesn't have to be just hereditary though.
The sins of one leader seem to be highlighted by another would-be leader, who, when he or she then makes it into power, commits the very same sins then, but in a more magnified fashion, though, usually.
Politicians and such leaders, must be amongst the poorest learners in society.
1 person likes this
@Shiva49 (28390)
• Singapore
28 Nov 19
@innertalks Sadly, that is what is happening in the wider world - forgetting hard truths and bitter lessons from history. Saber rattling, brinkmanship, and setting one against another never cease to go out of fashion! siva
1 person likes this
@Starmaiden (9308)
• Canada
15 Nov 19
Not only habits but anything that weighs you down. Lose your dependency on things and people. Let go of false beliefs that may be inhibiting expansion of consciousness. Let go of grudges, vengefulness, emotional weight and forgive more.
3 people like this
@innertalks (23742)
• Australia
15 Nov 19
Yes, very well stated.
Dependencies are another word for attachment, I guess. We should really learn to be detached from most things, if not all things, in our lives.
1 person likes this
