[Buddha-l] Doxastic minimalism (was: flat earth?)

[Erik Hoogcarspel]

John Whalen-Bridge schreef:
>
> Aitken-roshi comes to mind first.  About the cat-killing koan, he says 
> that some people who think this story says it is alright to kill just 
> don't understand fables, literature, and stories.  To say that dharma 
> practice is "life and death" doesn't mean it is okay to kill.
>
The origin of the koan or kung an are the Confucian analects, which were the basic material for the training of bureaucrats in Han China and later. The stories about Confucius were clearly examples and all but one or two are second hand or just made up. Later Chuang Tse mocks the tradition and makes some funny charicatures. His 'analects' are just impossible stories.  So it's hard to believe that koans, kung ans or similar stories like jatakas were ever meant as historical facts.
 
Erik


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