In April 2023, I published a blog post where I shared a Zen story (koan). I don’t think many people understood this. Let me explain.

This is a conversation between a disciple (monk) and his Master, named Ts’ao-shan. Let’s discuss this in detail. The conversation goes something like this:

Monk: “Who is he in our country that holds a sword in his hand?”

The Master: “It is Ts’ao-shan.”

Monk: “Whom do you want to kill?”

The Master: “All those who are alive will die.”

Monk: “When you happen to meet your parents, what should you do?”

The Master: “Why should you have any choice?”

Monk: “How about yourself?”

The Master: “Who can do anything to me?”

Monk: “Why should you not kill yourself, too?”

The Master: “There is no place on which I can lay my hands.”

Did you get it?

First off, “kill” in this story is not literal, it’s a metaphor.

The monk asks “Who is he in our country that holds a sword in his hand?”. A sword symbolizes the power of discrimination or a sword that cuts through all duality. A sword that destroys the ego. That is also probably the reason why most Hindu gods also are depicted as holding swords (or some variants of it- chakra, knife, axe etc).

The master replies “It is Ts’ao-shan.” He doesn’t say “It’s me” or “It’s I” because the Master doesn’t identify with “I” anymore. The ego entity is killed. You can’t hold a sword and retain an “I”. These are mutually exclusive. If Ts’ao-shan holds the sword (and has used it), he has already killed himself, his self. This is the same as “Call me Ishmael” in Moby Dick. He didn’t say “I am Ishmael” or “My name is Ishmael”. Use the sword of non-dual awareness to remove attachment to your name, your self, yourself.

Then the monk asks “Whom do you want to kill?” to which the Master responds “All those who are alive will die.”

Of course!

In your journey to enlightenment, the most important barriers are attachments. Attachments to your name, fame, wealth, success, pride, whatever vanity-filled story you’ve created for yourself. (Read Toys)

However, the most tenacious of these attachments is the human attachment.

Essay continues below. Log in to read the rest.