Like other religions, Buddhist canon is full of obscure and strange symbolism. Christianity has the book of Revelations, Judaism has Kabbalah. Sometimes I run across this kind of thing in my Korean-English dictionary of Buddhism (which I read recreationally, because I’m weird). They are always presented quite matter-of-factly, as if any reader would know what it was about.
In the article on 선문오종 [seonmunojong = five Chinese schools of Chan (zen)], the dictionary quotes extensively from someone called Venerable Seosan [서산] (1520-1604). These quotes include little gnomic almost-koans summarizing each of the five schools. These are fascinating because they are so hard to understand what they might be symbolizing.
법안종 Fayan School: “The cloud is chased over the mountain by the wind, and the moonlight is passing over the bridge in company with flowing water.”
운문종 Yunmen School: “All sorts of Buddha are preaching in the confinement of a cup when the Dharma staff has already flown into the sky.”
위앙종 Weiyang School: “A broken stone monument is lying by the ancient road, and an iron bull is sleeping in the house.”
임제종 Linji School: “Behold the thunder in the clear blue sky and the huge sea waves on the land.”
조동종 Caodong School: “It is the right view of non-discrimination of existence and non-existence that existed before the advent of Buddha and patriarchs, and before the time when there was not a thing in the universe.”
So, based on the summaries presented, which school of Zen do you find most appealing? I think I will look into Weiyang. But I need to study more.
[daily log: walking by the ancient road]