Gateless Gate GB Gateless Barrier 48 Cases Buddhist Text Authority:

The Gateless Gate: The Classic Book of Zen Koans. Translated with commentary and notes by Koun Yamada Roshi. Wisdom Publications, Somerville, MA, 2004, 2015, 301 pages. Numberous Appendices, Japanese-Chinese Name List, Essays. ISBN:978-0-86171-382-0. VSCL, Paperback.

Great Short Poems. Compiled with commentary by Paul Negri. Dover Publications, 2000, 64 pages. VSCL, Paperback.

Hotetsu''s Zen Blog - Koan Index

I

I Ching Yijing Hexagrams (HEX)

My main reference source and text authority for indexing the I Ching Yijing Hexagrams is The Complete I Ching by Alfred Huang, 1998.

Subject Index to Hexagrams in the I Ching Yijing. 64 Hexagrams, Hexagrams created from 1000 BCE - 400 BCE.
Indexed by Michael P. Garofalo. First Draft on October 20, 2023. PDF, 20 pages.

Hexagrams of the I Ching

Chinese Philosophy of Change (Yijing) - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Taoism: Bibliography, Links, Resources, Information. Compiled by Michael P. Garofalo.

Indexing Resources, Tools, Techniquses, References

Handbook of Indexing Techniques: A Guide for Beginning Indexers. By Linda K. Fetters. Information Today, 2013, 176 pages. VSCL, Paperback.

Indexing - Reference Texts for Brief Spiritual Lessons Database Project

Indexing Books. By Nancy C. Mulvany. Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing. University of Chicago, 2005, 320 pages.

Introduction to Indexing and Abstracting. By Ana D. Cleveland and Donald B. Cleveland. 4th Edition. Libraries Unlimited, 2013, 408 pages.

Michael P. Garofalo received a Master of Science in Library and Information Science (M.S.L.S.) in 1968 from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. He worked for the City of Commerce Public Library from 1962-1969, and for the County of Los Angeles Public Library System from 1973-1998. He retired in 1998 from the County of Los Angeles Public Library System as the Regional Administrator for 22 libraries in the East Region in the San Gabriel Valley, and moved to Red Bluff, in Northern California. He became a web publisher in 1998. Mike worked part-time during the academic year for the Corning Union Elementary School District as District Librarian from 1998-2016 in Northern California. He retired in 2016 and moved to Vancouver, Washington. In 2023, he is studying, researching, and indexing Taoist and Buddhist texts from Classical, Medieval, and Contemporary periods; as well as other web publishing projects: Cloud Hands Blog.

Subject Index to 3.855 Lessons from Zen Buddhists, Solitary Taoists, and Stoics

Introduction to Zen Koans: Learning the Language of Dragons. By James Ishmael Ford. Foreword by Joan Halifax. Wisdom Publications, 2018, 264 pages. VSCL, Paperback.

Iron Flute (IF)

Japanese Zen Buddhist Philosophy - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Kamakura 40 Koans (ZWAY)

Text Authority: Zen and the Ways. By Trevor Leggett. Tuttlle, 1978, 1989, 1993, 258 pages. 40 Koan Cases.

Indexing by Michael P. Garofalo

Subject Index to the 40 Kamakura Koans. PDF, First Draft, October 10, 2023, 5 pages.

Case Number Index for the 40 Kamakura Koans. PDF, First Draft, October 10, 2023, 2 pages.

Alphabetical List of Cases for the 40 Kamakura Koans. PDF, First Draft, October 10, 2023, 2 pages.

Subject Index to 1,975 Zen Buddhist Koans

Buddhism: Bibliography, Links, Information, Resources. Compiled by Michael P. Garofalo.

Koan Collections and Books on Koan from the ZenSite

Koan Database Project: Indexes to Koan Collections

Koan Index from Hotetsu''s Zen Blog

Zen Koans: Indexes, Bibliography, Research, Commentary. By Michael P. Garofalo.

Koan Index from Meredith Garmon

Koan Studies: The Zen Site Essays, Reading Lists, Notes, Commentary.

Koan Study

Subject Index to 3,855 Lessons from Zen Buddhists, Solitary Taoists, and Stoics

Subject Index to 1,975 Zen Buddhist Koans

Koan Zen

Koans: Information, Bibliography, Quotations, Notes, Index.  By Mike Garofalo.

Koans: The New World Encyclopedia

Lieh-Tzu: Taoist Guide to Practical Living (TGPL)

Lieh-Tzu: A Taoist Guide to Practical Living (TGPL)
111 Brief Chapters with Chinese Taoist Stories, Tales, Advice, Parables
First written around 150 BCE. Compiled, edited, and with commentary in 320 CE.
Indexed by Michael P. Garofalo. First Draft on July 1, 2023.
Taoism: My Reading List and Other Research Tools
Source for Case Titles: Lieh-Tzu: A Taoist Guide to Practical Living Translated by Eva Wong. Boston, Shambhala, 2001, 246 pages.

Subject Index to 1,546 Taoist Lessons, Chapters, Stories

Subject Index to 3,855 Lessons from Zen Buddhists, Solitary Taoists, and Stoics

Taoism: Bibliography, Links, Resources, Information. Compiled by Michael P. Garofalo.

The Lunar Tao (TLT)

The Lunar Tao: Meditations in Harmony with the Seasons. By Deng Ming-Dao. New York, Harper Collins, 2013. 429 pages. This is an outstanding book. Excellent artwork, images, and drawings accompany his insightful and informative essays, 365 of them, on a variety of topics. VSCL, paperback book; and the Kindle EBook; the paperback copy is far superior in graphics and text.

Indexing by Michael P. Garofalo

"When does the banana you are eating stop being a banana?" - Stephen Batchelor

"The clerk offers you a 10% discount if you are a Christian. What will you say?" - Michael P. Garofalo

"Where does your bottom end and the seat of the chair begin." - Stephen Batchelor

"What is the sound of two hands in Jnana Mudra?" - Michael P. Garofalo

"Ten Zen Questions:
Am I conscious now?
What was I conscious of a moment ago?
Who is asking the question?
Where is this?
How does thought arise?
There is not time. What is memory?
When are you?
Are you here now?
What am I doing?
What happens next?
- Susan Blackmore, Zen and the Art of Consciousness

"Hundreds can perform the Taijiquan forms perfectly; but they do not grasp the essence of the art" said one old teacher.
How did he know that others did not grasp "the essence of the art" during their perfect performances?" - Michael P. Garofalo

"The questions sometimes mislead our answers. Our answers sometimes abandon the questions.
Don't waste time on pointless questions. Questioning awakens the mind. Some questions are the answers.
Question your thinking. Questions often seek directions for what actions are best prepare us for the future.
Question your questions. Too many questions slow us down. Old questions may not be good questions now.
Some questions don't require us to answer. Avoid discrediting literal questions with figurative answers.
If the questions and anwers can't drill down to extensional realities, their abstractness can become disorienting.
Persons with dementia, alzheimers, and mental illness' diseases often cannot answer simple questions correctly.
Real questions are asked Today. Some questions are unanswerable. Sometimes the best answer to a question is:
I don't know. "How do you know?" is another question. Different people, different questions."
- Michael P. Garofalo

Buddhism: Bibliography, Links, Information, Resources. Compiled by Michael P. Garofalo.

Taoism: Bibliography, Links, Resources, Information. Compiled by Michael P. Garofalo.

Nothing Is Hidden: The Psychology of Zen Koans. By Barry Magid. Wisdom Publications, 2013. 232 pages. ISBN: 978-1614290827. "In this inspiring and incisive offering, Barry Magid uses the language of modern psychology and psychotherapy to illuminate one of Buddhism's most powerful and often mysterious technologies: the Zen koan. What's more, Magid also uses the koans to expand upon the insights of psychology (especially self psychology and relational psychotherapy) and open for the reader new perspectives on the functioning of the human mind and heart. Nothing Is Hidden explores many rich themes, including facing impermanence and the inevitability of change, working skillfully with desire and attachment, and discovering when "surrender and submission" can be liberating and when they shade into emotional bypassing. With a sophisticated view of the rituals and teachings of traditional Buddhism, Magid helps us see how we sometimes subvert meditation into just another "curative fantasy" or make compassion into a form of masochism."

Odes to a Classic Hundred Standards by Xuedou Zhongxian

Opening A Mountain (OM)

P

Passing Through the Gateless Barrier: Koan Practice for Real Life. By Guo Gu. Shambhala, 2016, 440 pages. VSCL, Paperback.

A Philosopher Opens Three Old Doors: Daoist, Zen Buddhist, and Hatha Yoga. Philsophy, Somatic Practices, Arts, Ethics, and Mysticism. By Michael P. Garofalo.

The Philosopher's Garden (PG)

By Michael P. Garofalo
Notes, Comments, Links, Books, Miscellaneous, Insights, Observations

Subject Index to 3,855 Lessons from Zen Buddhists, Solitary Taoists, and Stoics

Pulling Onions. Over 1,043 One-LIne Sayings. By Michael P. Garofalo. Sayings, aphorisms, jokes, reminders, insights, gardening metaphors...

Buddhism: Bibliography, Links, Information, Resources. Compiled by Michael P. Garofalo.

Taoism: Bibliography, Links, Resources, Information. Compiled by Michael P. Garofalo.

"Onion Garden;" A Concrete Poem by Michael P. Garofalo

Q

Koans: Quotations, Comments, Insights, Definitions, Explanations.

R

Record of the Empty Hall 100 Koans (REH)

Secrets of the Blue Cliff Record: Zen Comments by Hakuin and Tenkei. Translated by Thomas Cleary. Boston, Shambhala, 2002. Introduction, recommended reading, 354 pages. ISBN: 1570629129. "Hakuin Ekaku (白隠 慧鶴^?, January 19, 1686 - January 18, 1768) was one of the most influential figures in Japanese Zen Buddhism. He is regarded as the reviver of the Rinzai school from a moribund period of stagnation, refocusing it on its traditionally rigorous training methods integrating meditation and koan practice.'

Sitting with Koans: Essential Writings on Zen Koan Introspection. Edited by John Daido Loori. Introduction by Tom Kirchner. Wisdom Publications, 2005, 368 pages. VSCL - Used paperback.

The Sound of One Hand: 281 Zen Koans with Answers. Translation and commentary by Yoel Hoffmann. Introduction by Dror Burstein. NRYB, 2016, s304 pages. VSCL, Paperback.

Sparks: Brief Spiritual Stories, Dialogues, and Encounters
Matches to Start the Kindling of Insight
May the Light Your Inner Fireplace Help All Beings
Zen Buddhist Koan Collections
Catching Phrases, Inspiring Verses, Hard Questions
Bibliography, Quotations, Notes, Resources
Research by Michael P. Garofalo

Staff, Cane, Jo, Cane, Stick By Michael P. Garofalo.

Stoicism, Stoics, Hellenistic Pyschology and Philosophy

Letters on Ethics: To Lucilius. The Complete Works of Lucius Annaeus Seneca. Translated by Margaret Graver and A. A. Long. University of Chicago, 2017, 604 pages. Complete collection of Seneca's Letters. VSCL, E-Book Kindle. 124 Letters. SEN

Subject Index to Seneca's 124 Letters. First Draft, September 30, 2023, PDF.

Title Index to Seneca's 124 Letters. First Draft, September 30, 2023, PFD.

Subject Index to 813 Stoic Lessons, Discourses, and Letters

Subject Index to 3,855 Lessons from Stoics, Solitary Daoists, and Zen Buddhists

Seneca the Younger, 4 BCE - 65 CE, Information: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Wikipedia Encyclopedia, Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

Subject Index to 813 Stoic Lessons, Discourses, and Letters

Indexing by Michael P. Garofalo
First Draft, July 23, 2023. Updated Quarterly.
Green Way Research, Vancouver, Washington

Daily Stoic 366 Lessons Philosophy (STOA)
Epictetus 95 Discourses (EPI)
Fireplace Records 30 Chapters (TFR)
Meditations Marcus Aurelius (AUR)
Philosopher's Garden of Insights (PG)
Seneca 124 Letters (SEN)

Lessons, Letters, and Discourses from Stoics:
https://www.egreenway.com/buddhism/koans.htm

Stoicism Indexing Completion Target: July 1, 2024.

Seneca (4 BCE - 65 CE) Lucius Annaeus Seneca (often known as Seneca the Younger or simply Seneca, was a Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, dramatist, and in one work humorist, of the Silver Age of Latin literature. "Works attributed to Seneca include a dozen philosophical essays, one hundred and twenty-four letters dealing with moral issues, nine tragedies, and a satire, the attribution of which is disputed.  Seneca generally employed a pointed rhetorical style. His writings expose traditional themes of Stoic philosophy: the universe is governed for the best by a rational providence; contentment is achieved through a simple, unperturbed life in accordance with nature and duty to the state; human suffering should be accepted and has a beneficial effect on the soul; study and learning are important. He emphasized practical steps by which the reader might confront life's problems. In particular, he considered it important to confront one's own mortality. The discussion of how to approach death dominates many of his letters."

Seneca The Stoic Philosophy of Seneca: Essays and Letters. By Seneca. Translated with and introduction by Moses Hadas. Seneca (4 BCE - 65 CE). New York, W. W. Norton, 1958, 1968. 261 pages.

Breakfast with Seneca: A Stoic Guide to the Art of Living. By David Fideler. W. W. Norton, 2022, index, bibliography, notes, appendix, 265 pages. VSCL, Paperback.

Letters on Ethics: To Lucilius. The Complete Works of Lucius Annaeus Seneca. Translated by Margaret Graver and A. A. Long. University of Chicago, 2017, 604 pages. Complete collection of Seneca's Letters. VSCL, E-Book Kindle.

Letters From a Stoic. By Lucius Annaeus Seneca. Translated by Richard Mott Gunmere. Compass Circle, 2019, index, 351 pages. Complete collection of Seneca's Letters. VSCL, Oversize Paperback.

Stillness Is the Key. By Ryan Holiday. Portfolio, 2019, 288 pages. VSCL, Hardbound.  Excellent, insightful, relevant biographies, clear writing, practical, positive psychology.  Maintaining calmness, courage, consistency during the challenges of life.

The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living. By Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman. Portfolio, 2016, 416 pages. VSCL, Hardbound. Outstanding commentary.

Subject Index to 3,855 Lessons from Zen Buddhists, Solitary Taoists, and Stoics

Subject Index to 1,975 Zen Buddhist Koans

Subject Index to 813 Stoic Lessons, Discourses, and Letters

Swordsmanship, Martial Arts

Subject Index to Over 3,855 Lessons from Zen Buddhists, Solitary Taoists, and Stoics

Subject Index to 1,975 Zen Buddhist Koans

Subject Index to 1,546 Taoist Lessons, Chapters, Stories

Subject Index to 813 Stoic Lessons, Discourses, and Letters


Subject Index to 3,855 Lessons from Zen Buddhists, Solitary Taoists, and Stoics

Indexing by Michael P. Garofalo
Ninth Version, July 23, 2023, PDF, 374 Pages. Updated Monthly.
Green Way Research, Vancouver, Washington

Blue Cliff Record 100 Koans (BCR)
Book of Serenity/Equanimity 100 Koans (BOS)
Daily Stoic 366 Lessons Philosophy (STOA)
Dao De Jing 81 Lessons (DDJ)
Dogen's Shinji Mana Shobogenzo 300 Koans (DSMS)
Dogen's Shobogenzo 95 Essays Buddhist (DSE)
Entangling Vines 272 Koans (ENT)
Epictetus 95 Discourses (EPI)
Everyday Tao 365 Lessons (EDT)
Fireplace Records 30 Chapters (TFR)
Flock of Fools: Parable Sutra 98 Koans (OHPB)
Gateless Gate 48 Koans (GB)
I Ching 64 Hexagrams (HEX)
Iron Flute 100 Koans (IF)
Lieh-Tzu 111 Chapters (TGPL)
Lunar Tao 150 Chapters (TLT)
Marcus Aurelius Chapters (AUR)
Opening A Mountain 60 Koans (OM)
Philosopher's Garden (PG)
Record of the Empty Hall 100 Koans (REH)
Record of Linji 50 Koans (LIN)
Rinzai Zen Buddhism (RINZ,SOG)
Samurai Zen 100 Warrior Koans (SAM)
Seneca 124 Letters (SEN)
Suzuki D.T. 10 Books (SUZ)
365 Tao 365 Chapters (DMD)
Tales from the Tao 31 Chapters ((TFTO)
Transmission of Light: Keizan 53 Biographies (TOL)
Vegetable Root Discourses (VRD)
Vitality Energy Spirit 100 Lessons (VES)
Way of Complete Perfection Book (WCP)
Wen-Tzu 180 Chapters (WEN)
Whole World is a Single Flower 365 Koans (WWSF)
Zen and the Ways 40 Koans (ZWAY)
Zen Echoes 43 Koans (ZE)
Zen Flesh Zen Bones 100 Koans (ZFZB)
Zen Koan Book (ZKB)
Zen Master Raven 153 Koans (ZMR)
Zhuangzi 33 Chapters (ZHUA)

Brief Lessons from Buddhists, Taoists, and Stoics:
https://www.egreenway.com/buddhism/koans.htm

Brief Spiritual Lessons Database Project. Expected Completion 7/1/2025

Subject Index to 3,855 Lessons from Zen Buddhists, Solitary Taoists, and Stoics

Subject Index to 1,975 Zen Buddhist Koans

Subject Index to 813 Stoic Lessons, Discourses, and Letters

Brief Spiritual Lessons and Koans Project Homepage PDF

PDF files are searchable. Use the keyboard strokes: Ctrl + F This will open the Search or Find box.
Cases = Buddhist brief spiritual lessons, Koans, dialogues, puzzles, wisdom tales, Chan/Taoist teaching, Lore, Fables, Records
Chapters = Taoist brief spiritual lessons, classic Daoist spiritual literature, tales, fables, lectures, expositions.
Internet Links in PDF Files are clickable/searchable.

Suzuki, Daisetsu Teitaro Suzuki, D. T. Suzuki, 1870-1966.

Subject Index to D. T. Suzuki's Books and Essays. Indexing by Michael P. Garofalo. First Draft, December 1, 2023.

Essays in Zen Buddhism, First Series By D.T. Suzuki, 1870-1966. Daisetsu Teitaro Suzuki. Foreword by Christmas Humphreys. York Beach, Maine, Samuel Weiser, Inc., 1950, 1985. Index, 388 pages. ISBN: 0877285861. Essays on Enlightenment, Zen history, Satori, practical methods, meditation hall, and the Ten Ox Herding Pictures. VSCL. (SUZA)

Essays in Zen Buddhism: Second Series By D.T. Suzuki, 1870-1966. Daisetsu Teitaro Suzuki. Foreword by Christmas Humphreys. York Beach, Maine, Samuel Weiser, Inc., 1953, 1985. Index, 367 pages. ISBN: 0877280754. Essays on koans, Bodhidhama, and passivity in Buddhist life. VSCL. (SUZB)

Essays in Zen Buddhism: Third Series By D.T. Suzuki, 1870-1966. Daisetsu Teitaro Suzuki. Foreword by Christmas Humphreys. York Beach, Maine, Samuel Weiser, Inc., 1953, 1985. Index, 396 pages. ISBN: 0877280762. Essays on Chinese Zen, Bodhisattva ideal, and the Prajnaparamita. VSCL. (SUZC)

The Field of Zen. By D.T. Suzuki, 1870-1966. Edited with a Foreword by Christmas Humphreys. Harper and Row, Perennial, 1969, index, 105 pages. VSCL. (SUZD)

An Introduction to Zen Buddhism. By D.T. Suzuki. 136 pages, 2014. (SUZE)

Manual of Zen Buddhism. By D.T. Suzuki. 139 pages. VSCL, Kindle E Book. (SUZF)

Mysticism: Christian and Buddhist. By D.T. Suzuki. 200 Pages. (SUZG)

Zen and Japanese Culture By D.T. Suzuki. Princeton, 1959. Bollingen Series, #64. Index, 478 pages. VSCL. (SUZH)

Zen Buddhism: Selected Writings of D.T. Suzuki. Edited by William Barrett. Doubleday, 1956, 1996, 369 pages. VSCL, Paperback. (SUZI)

The Zen Doctrine of No Mind: The Significance of the Sutra of Hui-Neng (Wei-lang). By D.T. Suzuki. Edited by Christmas Humphreys. Boston, Weiser Books, 1969, 1972. Index, 160 pages. ISBN: 0877281823. VSCL. (SUZJ)

Beyond Zen: D. T. Suzuki and the Modern Transformaton of Buddhism. Edited by John Breen, Sueki Fumihiko, and Yanada Shoji. University of Hawaii Press, 2023, 322 pages.

Books by D.T. Suzuki on Amazon

Buddhism: Bibliography, Links, Information, Resources. Compiled by Michael P. Garofalo.

Information about D.T. Suzuki's Life (1870-1966)

The Outlines of Mahayana Buddhism. By D.T. Suzuki. Schocken Books, 1963.

Selected Works of D.T. Suzuki, Volume II: Pure Land. Edited by James C. Dobbins. University of California Press, 2015, 336 pages.

The Training of the Zen Buddhist Monk. By D.T. Suzuki. Illustrated by Zenchu Sato. Cosimo, 2004, 180 pages.

The Zen Buddhist Philosophy of D. T. Suzuki: Strengths, Foibles, Intrigues, and Precision. By Rossa O Muireartaigh, Georgina Stewart, et al. Bloomsbury, 2022, 192 pages.

A Zen Life: D.T. Suzuki Remembered. By Masao Abe. Weatherhill, 1995, 225 pages. VSCL, Paperback.

Subject Index to 3,855 Lessons from Zen Buddhists, Solitary Taoists, and Stoics

Subject Index to 1,975 Zen Buddhist Koans

Book of Serenity BOS Book of Tranquility 100 Cases Buddhist
The Book of Serenity: One Hundred Zen Dialogues. Translated with commentary by Thomas Cleary, 2005, 512 pages.

Chuang Tzu, Zuangzi, ZHUA 33 Chapters Taoist
Wandering on the Way: Early Taoist Tales and Parables of Chuang Tzu. Translation by Victor H. Mair. Bantam, 1994, 402 pagse.

Entangling Vines, ENT 272 Koan Cases Buddhist
Entangling Vines: A Classic Collection of Zen Koans.  Translated and annotated by Thomas Yūhō Kirchner.  Foreword by Nelson Foster.
Introduction by Ueda Shizuteru.  Boston, Wisdom Publications, 2013, 340 pages.

Fireplace Records TFR 25 Cases Philosopher
The Fireplace Records by Michael P. Garofalo, 2023, 30 Chapters

Transmission of Light TOL 53 Biographies Buddhist
Transmission of Light: Zen in the Art of Enlightenment. Author: Keizan. Translated by Thomas Cleary, Shambhala, 1990, 207 pages.

Wen-Tzu, WEN, 180 Chapters/Lessons Taoist
Wen-Tzu: Understanding the Mysteries. Author Lao Tzu. Translated by Thomas Cleary. Shambhala, 1992, 208 pages.

The Daily Stoic:366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living. STOA Edited and commentary by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman. Portfolio, 2016, 416 pages.

The Whole World is a Single Flower. WWSF By Zen Master Seung Sahn. 365 Kong-ans for Everyday Life with Questions and Commentary. Edited by Jane McLaughlin and Paul Muenzen. Foreword by Stephen Mitchell. Primary Point Press, Kwan Um School of Zen, Cumberland Rhode Island, 1992, Third Edition 2014, 244 pages. ISBN: 978-0-942795-17-2. VSCL, Paperback.

Zen Echoes: Classic Koans with Verse Commentaries by Three Female Chan Masters. ZE Translated, edited, and introduction by Beata Grant. Foreword by Susan Moon. Wisdom, 2017, 176 pages.

Buddhism: Bibliography, Links, Information, Resources. Compiled by Michael P. Garofalo.

Taoism: Bibliography, Links, Resources, Information. Compiled by Michael P. Garofalo.

Stoicism: Bibliography, Resources, Quotations, Links, Information. By Michael P. Garofalo.

Indexing by Michael P. Garofalo
Green Way Research, Vancouver, Washington
Indexing: Books, Resources, References, Research, Tools

Subject Index to 3.855 Lessons from Solitary Taoists, Stoics, and Zen Buddhists

Taoism: Bibliography, Links, Resources, Information. Compiled by Michael P. Garofalo.

Alphabetical List of the 53 Biographies in the Transmission of Light (TOL) Collection. PDF, 3 pages.

List of 53 Biography Cases by Case Numbers in the Transmission of Light (TOL) Collection. PDF, 2 pages.

Subject Index to 3,855 Lessons from Zen Buddhists, Solitary Taoists, and Stoics

Subject Index to 1,975 Zen Buddhist Koans

Buddhism: Bibliography, Links, Information, Resources. Compiled by Michael P. Garofalo.

Books I Use in My Research and Study of Koan Collections

Zen Master Keizan Information

The Transparency of Things: Contemplating the Nature of Experience. By Rupert Spira. Sahaja Pub., 2008, 243 pages. No index, no bibliography, no notes. VSCL, Paperback.

Non-Dualism

Advaita Vedanta

Awakening the Other Way: Non-Duality and Existential Reason. By Marcel Eschauzier. Unlock Tao, 2023, 144 pages. VSCL, Paperback.

Advaita Vedanta Books at Amazon

The True Dharma Eye: Zen Master Dōgen's Three Hundred Koans. Translated by Kazuaki Tanahashi and John Daido Loori. Commentary and verse by John Daido Loori. Boston, Shambhala, 2009. Index of koans, glossary, biographical, lineage charts, notes, 540 pages. ISBN:  978-1590302427. "When the thirteenth century master Eihei Dogen, one of the most influential thinkers in Zen Buddhism and founder of the Japanese Soto school, returned to Japan after four years of study in China, the fruit of his pilgrimage was recorded in a collection of koans called the Chinese Shobogenzo, also known as Shinji or Mana Shobogenzo. This collection of three hundred main cases was first published in 1766 under the title Shobogenzo Sambyakusoku (Treasury of the True Dharma Eye: Three Hundred Cases)." VSCL, Paperback.

Buddhism: Bibliography, Links, Information, Resources. Compiled by Michael P. Garofalo.

VES Vitality Energy Spirit 100 Lessons Sources Tales Taoist

Vitality, Energy, Spirit: A Taoist Sourcebook. By Thomas Cleary. Shambhala, 2009, 312 pages. VSCL, Paperback.

Indexing by Michael P. Garofalo

Subject Index to Vitality, Energy, Spirit. PDF, March 1, 2024. 30 pages.

Alphabetical Title Index for Vitality, Energy, Spirit. PDF, March 1, 2023. 5 pages.

Subject Index to 1,546 Taoist Lessons, Chapters, Stories

Taoism: Bibliography, Links, Resources, Information. Compiled by Michael P. Garofalo.

Way of Complete Perfection (WCP)
A Quanzen Daoist Anthology

Way of Complete Perfection: A Quanzen Daoist Anthology. By Louis Komjathy. State university of New York, 468 pages. Indexes, bibliography, appendices. VSCL, Paperback.

Subject Index to the Way of Complete Perfection. PDF, May 30, 2024, 35 pages.

Subject Index to 1,546 Taoist Lessons, Chapters, Stories

Taoism: Bibliography, Links, Resources, Information. Compiled by Michael P. Garofalo.

Subject Index to Wen-Tzu. PDF, May 30, 2024, 35 pages.

Alphabetical Title Index to Wen-Tzu. PDF, May 30, 2024, 5 pages.

Subject Index to 1,546 Taoist Lessons, Chapters, Stories

Taoism: Bibliography, Links, Resources, Information. Compiled by Michael P. Garofalo.

The Whole World is a Single Flower. WWSF By Zen Master Seung Sahn. 365 Kong-ans for Everyday Life with Questions and Commentary. Edited by Jane McLaughlin and Paul Muenzen. Foreword by Stephen Mitchell. Primary Point Press, Kwan Um School of Zen, Cumberland Rhode Island, 1992, Third Edition 2014, 244 pages. ISBN: 978-0-942795-17-2. VSCL, Paperback.

365 Cases in The Whole World is a Single Flower (WWSF)

Indexing by Michael P. Garofalo.

Subject Index to The Whole World is a Single Flower 365 Zen Koans. PDF, Third Version, October 3, 2023, 65 Pages.

Case Number Index to The Whole World is a Single Flower 365 Zen Koans. PDF, Third Version, October 3, 2023, 13 Pages.

Case Title Index to The Whole World is a Single Flower 365 Zen Koans. PDF, Third Version, October 3, 2023, 13 Pages.

Subject Index to 1,975 Zen Buddhist Koans

Dropping Ashes on the Buddha: The Teachings of Zen Master Seung Sahn. By Seung Sahn. Grove Press, 2007, 258 pages.

Only Don't Know: Selected Teaching Letters of Zen Master Seung Sahn. By Seung Sahn. Shambhala, 1999, 256 pages.

Ten Gates: The Kong-an Teaching of Zen Master Seung Sahn. By Seung Sahn. Shambhala, 2007, 152 pages.

Buddhism: Bibliography, Links, Information, Resources. Compiled by Michael P. Garofalo.

Z

Zen and the Ways (ZWAY)

Zen and the Ways. By Trevor Leggett. Tuttlle, 1978, 1989, 1993, 258 pages. Small print, detailed, Arts, Exercise, Zen Koans. VSCL, Paperback.

Trevor Pryce Leggett (22 August 1914–2 August 2000) was a British judo teacher, author, translator, and head of the BBC's Japanese Service for 24 years. He was one of the first Europeans to study martial arts in Japan. Leggett served in the Ministry of Information during World War II. After the war, he taught judo at the Budokwai and worked in Japanese language services at the BBC. He held the title of Shihan, and the rank of 6th dan in judo from the Kodokan. Leggett helped introduce Japanese culture to the United Kingdom, and was honoured for this by being inducted into Japan's Order of the Sacred Treasure in 1984. He also produced many works on Eastern philosophy.

Subject Index to Zen and the Ways, Kamakura Koans.

Case Number List for Zen and the Ways, Kamakura Koans.

Alphabetica List of Cases in Zen and the Ways, Kamakura Koans.

Subject Index to 3,855 Lessons from Zen Buddhists, Solitary Taoists, and Stoics

Subject Index to 1,975 Zen Buddhist Koans

Buddhism: Bibliography, Links, Information, Resources. Compiled by Michael P. Garofalo.

Zen Buddhism: A Bibliography.  By Mike Garofalo.

Subject Index to 3,855 Lessons from Zen Buddhists, Solitary Taoists, and Stoics

Subject Index to 1,975 Zen Buddhist Koans

Subject Index to 1,546 Taoist Lessons, Chapters, Stories

Subject Index to 813 Stoic Lessons, Discourses, and Letters


Subject Index to 3,855 Lessons from Zen Buddhists, Solitary Taoists, and Stoics

Indexing by Michael P. Garofalo
Ninth Version, July 23, 2023, PDF, 374 Pages. Updated Monthly.
Green Way Research, Vancouver, Washington

Blue Cliff Record 100 Koans (BCR)
Book of Serenity/Equanimity 100 Koans (BOS)
Daily Stoic 366 Lessons Philosophy (STOA)
Dao De Jing 81 Lessons (DDJ)
Dogen's Shinji Mana Shobogenzo 300 Koans (DSMS)
Dogen's Shobogenzo 95 Essays Buddhist (DSE)
Entangling Vines 272 Koans (ENT)
Epictetus 95 Discourses (EPI)
Everyday Tao 365 Lessons (EDT)
Fireplace Records 35 Chapters (TFR)
Flock of Fools: Parable Sutra 98 Koans (OHPB)
Gateless Gate 48 Koans (GB)
I Ching 64 Hexagrams (HEX)
Iron Flute 100 Koans (IF)
Lieh-Tzu 111 Chapters (TGPL)
Lunar Tao 150 Chapters (TLT)
Marcus Aurelius Chapters (AUR)
Opening A Mountain 60 Koans (OM)
Philosopher's Garden (PG)
Record of the Empty Hall 100 Koans (REH)
Record of Linji 50 Koans (LIN)
Rinzai Zen Buddhism (RINZ,SOG)
Samurai Zen 100 Warrior Koans (SAM)
Seneca 124 Letters (SEN)
Suzuki D.T. 10 Books (SUZ)
365 Tao 365 Chapters (DMD)
Tales from the Tao 31 Chapters ((TFTO)
Transmission of Light: Keizan 53 Biographies (TOL)
Vegetable Root Discourses (VRD)
Vitality Energy Spirit 100 Lessons (VES)
Way of Complete Perfection Book (WCP)
Wen-Tzu 180 Chapters (WEN)
Whole World is a Single Flower 365 Koans (WWSF)
Zen and the Ways 40 Koans (ZWAY)
Zen Echoes 43 Koans (ZE)
Zen Flesh Zen Bones 100 Koans (ZFZB)
Zen Koan Book (ZKB)
Zen Master Raven 153 Koans (ZMR)
Zhuangzi 33 Chapters (ZHUA)

Brief Lessons from Buddhists, Taoists, and Stoics:
https://www.egreenway.com/buddhism/koans.htm

Koans Database Project Expected Completion 7/1/2025

Subject Index to 3,855 Lessons from Zen Buddhists, Solitary Taoists, and Stoics

Subject Index to 1,975 Zen Buddhist Koans

Subject Index to 1,546 Taoist Lessons, Chapters, Stories

Subject Index to 813 Stoic Lessons, Discourses, and Letters

Buddhism: Bibliography, Links, Information, Resources. Compiled by Michael P. Garofalo.

Taoism: Bibliography, Links, Resources, Information. Compiled by Michael P. Garofalo.

Zen Flesh Zen Bones: A Collection of Zen and Pre-Zen Writings. By Paul Reps and Nyogen Senzaki. Tuttle Publishing, Flaps edition, 1957, 1985, and 1998. First published in 1957. 211 pages. ISBN: 9780804831864. In 1961, this was the first book about Zen that I had ever read, and it greatly impressed and influenced me. The Gateless Gate (Mumonkan) was transcribed by Nyogen Senzaki (1876–1958) and Paul Reps (1895–1990) in 1934, and appeared in in "Zen Flesh, Zen Bones, 1958" pp. 109-161. VSCL, hardbound and paperback.

Zen's Chinese Heritage: The Masters and Their Teachings. By Andy Ferguson. Foreword by Reb Anderson. Boston, Wisdom Publications, 2000.   Glossaries, name lists, Zen lineage charty, bibliography, index, 518 pages. ISBN: 0861711637. VSCL, Paperback.

Subject Index to 1,975 Zen Buddhist Koans

Indexing by Michael P. Garofalo
Fifth Version, August 14, 2023. Updated Monthly. 358 Pages, PDF.
Green Way Research, Vancouver, Washington

Zen Buddhist Koans and Discourses:
https://www.egreenway.com/buddhism/koansdup1.htm

Zen Echoes (ZE)

Zen Echoes: Classic Koans with Verse Commentaries by Three Female Chan Masters. Translated, edited, and introduction by Beata Grant. Foreword by Susan Moon. Wisdom, 2017, 176 pages. VSCL, Paperback. Professor Grant teaches at Washington University in Missouri. The Zen Echoes collection was compiled by the Female/Nun Zen Master Miaozong (1095-1170 CE). 43 Koans.

Indexed by Michael P. Garofalo in 2023.

Subject Index for the 43 Koan Cases in Zen Echoes (ZE). PDF, 5/11/2023, 12 pages.

Koan Cases in Numerical Order for the 43 Koans in Zen Echoes (ZE). PDF, 5/11/2023, 2 pages.

Subject Index to 3,855 Lessons from Zen Buddhists, Solitary Taoists, and Stoics

Subject Index to 1,975 Zen Buddhist Koans

Buddhism: Bibliography, Links, Information, Resources. Compiled by Michael P. Garofalo.

Zen Flesh Zen Bones (ZFZB)

Zen Flesh Zen Bones: A Collection of Zen and Pre-Zen Writings. By Paul Reps and Nyogen Senzaki. Tuttle Publishing, Flaps edition, 1957, 1985, and 1998. First published in 1957. 211 pages. ISBN: 9780804831864. In 1961, this was the first book about Zen that I had ever read, and it greatly impressed and influenced me. The Gateless Gate (Mumonkan) was transcribed by Nyogen Senzaki (1876–1958) and Paul Reps (1895–1990) in 1934, and appeared in in "Zen Flesh, Zen Bones, 1958" pp. 109-161. VSCL, hardbound and paperback.

Subject Index to Zen Flesh and Zen Bones. PDF, March 1, 2024, 30 pages.

Subject Index to 1,975 Zen Buddhist Koans

Buddhism: Bibliography, Links, Information, Resources. Compiled by Michael P. Garofalo.

The Zen Koan (TZK)

Test Authority: The Zen Koan: Its History and Use in Rinzai Zen. By Isshu Miura and Ruth Fuller Sasaki. Harper Brace Jovanovich, 1965, Index, Illustrations by Hauikin Ekaku, Zen Capping Phrases Anthology, 156 pages. VSCL, Paperback.

TZR includes books on: Koans Commentaries.

Subject Index to the Book "The Zen Koan" by Isshu Miura and Ruth Fuller Sasaki, 1966. PDF, September 5, 2023, 5 pages.

Subject Index to 1,975 Zen Buddhist Koans

Zen Koans: Indexes, Bibliography, Research, Commentary. By Michael P. Garofalo.

Zen Master Raven (ZMR)

Zen Master Raven: The Teachings of a Wise Old Bird. By Robert Aitken. Illustrated by Jennifer Rain Crosby. Foreword by Nelson Foster. Wisdom, 2017, 248 pages. VSCL, Paperback. 183 Koans.

Subject Index to Zen Master Raven's 183 Koans Collection. PDF, November 21, 2023, 28 pages.

Case Titles Index to Zen Master Raven's 183 Koans Collection. PDF, November 21, 2023, 7 pages.

Case Number Index to Zen Master Raven's 183 Koans Collection. PDF, November 21, 2023, 7 pages.

Animals and Responders Index to Zen Master Raven's 183 Koans Collection. PDF, November 21, 2023, 7 pages.

Subject Index to 1,975 Zen Buddhist Koans

Taking the Path of Zen. By Robert Aitken. North Point Press, 1982, 149 pages.

The Gateless Barrier: The Wu-Men Kuan (Mumonkan). Translated with commentary by Robert Aitken. North Point Press, 1991, 325 pages.

Zen Master Raven. Meredith Gammon Hotetsu's Zen Blog. 183 Cases "Each post is a chapter of Robert Aitken's Zen Master Raven, with an introduction and verse by Meredith Hotetsu Garmon."

"A uniquely playful and incisive collection of Zen teaching stories from a beloved American master. A modern classic, now in a new expanded edition. In the tradition of the great koan collections and the records of ancient masters, Robert Aitken distills a lifetime of teaching down to its essence. Intriguing and deceptively simple, Zen Master Raven is a brilliant encapsulation of Zen in over a hundred koan-like encounters alongside many charming illustrations. Featuring curious beginners like Mallard and Mole and profound teachers like Brown Bear, Moose Roshi, and Zen Master Raven himself, this classic of contemporary Zen and will inspire seekers for generations to come." - Amazon

Zen Master Raven by Robert Aitken. PDF, 2010 Pages. Terebess Bootlegged Copy? Likely an unauthorized bootleg!

"In the tradition of the great koan collections and the records of ancient masters, Robert Aitken distills a lifetime of teaching down to its essence. Intriguing and deceptively simple, Zen Master Raven is a brilliant encapsulation of Zen in over a hundred koan-like encounters alongside many charming illustrations. Featuring curious beginners like Mallard and Mole and profound teachers like Brown Bear, Moose Roshi, and Zen Master Raven himself, this classic of contemporary Zen and will inspire seekers for generations to come." - Review

The Journey: Big Panda and Tiny Dragon. By James Norbury. Illustrated by James Norbury.

Big Panda and Tiny Dragon. By James Norbury. Illustrated by James Norbury.

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse. By Charlie Mckesy. Illustrated.

The Complete Tales of Willie-the-Pooh. By A. A. Milne. Illustrations by Ernest H. Shepard.

The Tao of Pooh and Te of Piglet. By Benjamin Hoff.

Vegetable Roots Discourse: Wisdom from Ming China on Life and Living. By Hong Zicheng. Translated with notes by Robert Aitken. Counterpoint, 2007, 240 pages. "Written 400 years ago by a scholar in the Ming Dynasty, one hundred years after Columbus and around the time Shakespeare completed Henry VI, accomplished scholar and philosopher Hong Zicheng retired from public life and settled down to write an informal compilation of his thoughts on the essence of life, human nature, and heaven and earth. Though he wrote other books as well, only this one has survived—thanks largely to its continuous popularity, first in China and later in Japan and Korea. Entitled Caigentan (Vegetable Roots Discourse), this book has been studied and cherished for four hundred years. Terse, humorous, witty, and. above all, timely, this book offers a provocative and personal mix of Daoist, Buddhist, and Confucian understanding. It contains 360 observations that lead us through paths as complex, absurd, and grotesque as life itself. While it has been translated into many languages, this comprehensive version will immediately become the standard edition for generations of English readers to come.es."

Buddhism: Bibliography, Links, Information, Resources. Compiled by Michael P. Garofalo.

Wandering on the Way. Early Taoist Tales and Parables of Chuang Tzu. Translated by Victor H. Mair. Bantam, 1994, 402 pages, VSCL. 33 Stories.

Indexing by Michael P. Garofalo.

Subject Index to the 33 Chapters in the Chuang Tzu = Zhuangzi (ZHUA). PDF, 4/10/2023, 20 pages.

Alphabetical List of the 33 Chapters in Chuang Tzu = Zhuangzi (ZHUA). PDF, 4/10/2023, 2 pages.

List of Chapters by Chapter Number Order in Chuang Tzu = Zhuangzi (ZHUA). PDF, 4/10/2023, 2 pages.

Subject Index to 1,546 Taoist Lessons, Chapters, Stories

Subject Index to 3,855 Lessons from Solitary Taoists, Zen Buddhists, and Stoics

The Book of Chuang Tzu. Translated by Martin Palmer and Elizabeth Breuilly. Penguin Classics, 2007, 352 pages. VSCL. 33 Stories.

Chuang-tzu: The Tao of Perfect Happiness. Translated, annotated, and explained. By Livia Kohn. Skylight, 240 pages, VSCL. 33 Stories.

Taoist Books Reading List

Zhuang Zhou = Zhuangzi = Chuang Tzu at Wikipedia

Taoism: Bibliography, Links, Resources, Information. Compiled by Michael P. Garofalo.

Wandering on the Way. Early Taoist Tales and Parables of Chuang Tzu. Translated by Victor H. Mair. Bantam, 1994, 402 pages. VSCL, Paperback.

The Book of Chuang Tzu. Translated by Martin Palmer. Penguin, 1996, 320 pages, index. VSCL, Paperback.

Chuang Tzu 33 Stories. Composed around 350 BCE. Taoist Classic. Many English language translations and commentary are available.

Text Authority for Indexing: Wandering on the Way. Early Taoist Tales and Parables of Chuang Tzu. Translated by Victor H. Mair, 1994.

Taoist Books Reading List

Zhuang Zhou = Zhuangzi = Chuang Tzu at Wikipedia

Zhuangzi - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Zhuangzi - Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy

"Koan: Originally a term for an official matter for which a judgment was required, it was taken over by Buddhists and used first in reference to a subject of meditation and later for a subject for which an answer was required that would demonstrate a student's understanding."
-  Red Pine, The Diamond Sutra, p. 451

"A koan is a little nugget of something an awakened master did during his lifetime."
- Henry Shukman

"Master Dogen expresses his ideas in the Shobogenzo based on a pattern of four phases. First, he explains a problem from the idealistic point of view; that is, as an idea using abstract concepts. Then, immediately after this first phase, he explains the same problem, but this time from the objective, or material point of view. In other words, he gives concrete examples and facts. Then, in the next phase, he explains the problem yet a third time as a real problem; that is, on the basis of action. Of course, he cannot fully explain the reality surrounding the problem with words in a book, but he does so by bringing together the subjective viewpoint which he presents first, and the second objective viewpoint. He synthesizes the two viewpoints into a realistic appraisal of the problem based upon the philosophy of action, which states that in action, there is a synthesis of the self and the external world. And in the final phase, he tries to suggest the subtle ineffable nature of reality itself by using symbolic, poetic, or figurative forms of speech. The Shobogenzo is full of these four-phased explanations. The chapters themselves fall into four groups: theoretical, objective, realistic, and figurative or poetic."
- Master Dogen's Shinji Shobogenzo: 301 Koan Stories

"To promote full absorption in the koan and penetration of each point, many masters advocate the use of a huatou (, J., watō), a word or brief phrase that stands in for the full koan and that, with enough determination and practice, you can learn to carry in the midst of daily life and even in sleep, as well as during periods of formal, seated practice (zazen)."
- Entangling Vines

Buddhism: Bibliography, Links, Information, Resources. Compiled by Michael P. Garofalo.

"One essential point about koan study is to reflect on the dialogue and determine exactly what is being said.  If you are assigned a koan to study, the first thing you should do is memorize it and think about it.  Just don't imagine deep realization will immediately come to you in a flash of light.  Think about the koan.  What are the people in it saying?  What is motivating them.  What is motivating you?  Which line of the koan is most important?"
-  Gerry Shishin Wick, The Book of Equanimity, 2005, p. 5

"Mind illuminates old teachings. Old teachings illuminate mind."
- Hakuin Ekaku

Books I Use in My Research and Study of Koan Collections

"Koans show you that you can depend on creative moves.
Koans encourage doubt and curiosity.
Koans rely on uncertainty as a path to happiness.
Koans will undermine your reasons and your explanations.
Koans lead you to see life as funny rather than tragic.
Koans will change your ideas of who you are, and this will require courage.
Koans uncover a hidden kindness in life."
- John Tarrant, Bring Me the Rhinoceros, p. 2

Stoicism: Bibliography, Resources, Quotations, Links, Information. By Michael P. Garofalo.

"Reflective meditation is a way of translating thoughts into the language of feeling.  It explores the relation between the way we think about and perceive things and the way we feel about them.  We find that even the strongest, seemingly self-evident intuitions about ourselves are bas on equally deep-seated assumptions.  Gradually learning to see our life in another way through reflective meditation leads to feeling different about it as well."
-  Stephen Batchelor, Buddhism Without Beliefs, 1997, p. 32 

"Don't try to hard. You show up. Trust what you don't know. Experiment. The koan can be your friend. Any part of the koan is all the koan. You don't need a special state of mind. Have confidence in yourself."
- How to Practice Zen Koans By John Tarrant

"A koan is a little nugget of something an awakened master did during his lifetime."
- Henry Shukman

"The Lin-chi master Fen-yang Shan-chao (947-1024) was the first to employ all these various trends. His "record," the Fen-yang Wu-te ch'an-shih yu-lu, includes three collections of 100 koans each. The first collection consists of old koans, for each of which Fen-yang wrote a verse epitomizing the import of the koan in poetical language. The second consists of of koans he himself had made and for which he provided his own anwswers. The third is made up of old koans, together with Fen-yang's alternative answers to them. These three collections became the models for later literary productions of a similar kind."
- Ruth Fuller Sasaki, The Zen Koan, 1965, p. 12

"Zen cherishes simplicity and straightforwardness in grasping reality and acting on it “here and now,” for it believes that a thing-event that is immediately presencing before one’s eyes or under one’s foot is no other than an expression of suchness. In other words the thing-event is disclosing its primordial mode of being such that it is as it is. It also understands a specificity of the thing-event to be a recapitulation of the whole; parts and the whole are to be lived in an inseparable relationship through an exercise of nondiscriminatory wisdom, without prioritizing the visible over the invisible, the explicit over the implicit, or vice versa."
- Japanese Zen Buddhist Philosophy - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

"Koans are the folk stories of Zen Buddhism, metaphorical narratives that particularize essential nature. Each koan is a window that show the whole truth but just from a single vantage. It is limited in perspective.One hundred koans give one hundred vantages. When they are enriched with insightful comments and poems, then you have ten thousand vantages. There is no end to this process of enrichment."
-  Robert Aitken, 1990, Book of Serenity.

Taoism: Bibliography, Links, Resources, Information. Compiled by Michael P. Garofalo.

"In the Sōtō school of Zen, Shikantaza, meditation with no objects, anchors, or content, is the primary form of practice. The meditator strives to be aware of the stream of thoughts, allowing them to arise and pass away without interference. Considerable textual, philosophical, and phenomenological justification of this practice can be found throughout Eihei Dōgen's works."

"These stories and sayings contain patterns, like blueprints, for various inner exercises in attention, mental posture, and higher perception, summarized in extremely brief vignettes enabling the individual to hold entire universes of thought in mind all at once, without running through doctrinal discourses or disrupting ordinary consciousness of everyday affairs."
-  Thomas Cleary, 1994, Instant Zen

Zen Koans: Indexes, Bibliography, Research, Commentary. By Michael P. Garofalo.

Hua Tou (話頭, Korean: hwadu, Japanese: wato) is a form of Buddhist meditation common in the teachings of Chinese Chán and Korean Seon. Hua Tou can be translated as 'word head', 'head of speech' or 'point beyond which speech exhausts itself'.  A Hua Tou can be a short phrase that is used as a subject of meditation to focus the mind.  Hua Tou are based on the encounter-dialogues and koans of the interactions between past masters and students, but are shorter phrases than koans.  The Hua Tou method was invented by the Chinese Zen master Dahui Zonggao (1089 – 1163) who was a member of the Linji school.  Dahui was interested in teaching the lay community.  To practice Hua Tou, one concentrates on the phrase, initially repeating it silently with a questioning and open mind and then thinking about "Who" or "What" is generating the Hua Tou, this brings about "Great Doubt".  According to Chan master Sheng Yen, there are three stages of Hua Tou practice: reciting the Hua Tou, asking the Hua Tou and investigating the Hua Tou.  Through these stages it is important not to try to answer the Hua Tou intellectually, but to persistently ask the question mindfully with genuine interest and sincere desire to know. It is through this constant practice that great doubt and then insight arises.  Examples of Hua Tou are: "What is it?, What is this?  Who is repeating the Buddha's name?, Who am I?, Who is dragging this corpse around?, Mu?".  The important thing is to stick to Hua Tou at all times, when walking, lying, or standing. From morning to night observing Hua Tou vividly and clearly, until it appears in your mind like the autumn moon reflected limpidly in quiet water. If you practice this way, you can be assured of reaching the state of Enlightenment."
-  Hua Tou in Wikipedia

"There are basically two methods utilized in meditation practice in Zen Buddhism to assist the practitioner to reach the above-mentioned goals, together with a simple breathing exercise known as “observation of breath count” (sūsokukan); one is the kōan method and the other is called “just sitting” (shikan taza), a form of “single act samādhi.” For example, the former is employed mainly by the Rinzai school of Zen Buddhism, while the latter by the Sōtō school; they are the two main schools of this form of the Buddha-Way still flourishing today in Japan. In the Rinzai school, the kōan method is devised to assist the practitioner to become a “Zen person” (Kasulis, 1981) who fully embodies both wisdom and compassion. A kōan is formulated like a riddle or puzzle and is designed in such a way that intellectual reasoning alone cannot solve it without breaking through the barrier of ego-consciousness by driving it to its limit. This is, Zen believes, because ego-consciousness is fortified by the shield of a dualistic conceptual paradigm with all its attendant presuppositions and conditions. The ego-consciousness of a given cultural and historical milieu accepts that paradigm to be true in order to live a life anchored in the everyday standpoint.

According to Hakuin (1685–1768), who systematized kōans, there are formally seventeen hundred cases of kōans, and if sub-questions are added to them, a total number of cases comprising the system would be roughly three thousand. The Zen practitioner of the Rinzai school is required to pass them all in a private consultation with a Zen master who checks the practitioner’s state of mind before he or she is granted a seal of transmission. This transmission is said to occur “only from a Buddha to a[nother] Buddha” (yuibutsu yobutsu).

Kōans are accordingly grouped into five categories in a most fully developed system: the first group is designed for reaching li (suchness) (richi) or the body of truth (hosshin), i.e., an enlightenment experience; the second group for a linguistic articulation (gensen) of meditational experiences in order to master the skillful use of language; the third group for those kōans truly difficult to pass (nantō); the fourth group for the practitioner to make an insight of kōan experiences pertinent to daily life (kikan) in order to embody a middle-way in which the practitioner won’t be steeped either in the state of meditation or the activity of daily life; and the fifth group for going beyond the state of buddhahood by erasing all traces of enlightenment in order to achieve a traceless enlightenment (kōjō).

The Rinzai school summarizes this process of self-cultivation in four mottoes: “being a special transmission outside of the scriptures,” “having no dependence on words and letters,” “pointing directly into [one’s] human mind,” and “seeing into [one’s] nature to become a buddha.” (See, for examples, The Gateless Gate and The Blue Cliff Record.) While the first two phrases point to the fact of discovering an extra-linguistic reality that naturally opens up in meditational experience and of articulating it linguistically in the “best” way according to the capacity of an individual practitioner, the last two phrases indicate a concretization of the original or inherent enlightenment (hongaku) in the Zen practitioner, where the original enlightenment means that human beings are innately endowed with a possibility of becoming a Buddha."
- Japanese Zen Buddhist Philosophy - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

"In the past, kong-an practicing meant checking someone's enlightenment.  Now we use kong-ans to make our lives correct... You must use kong-ans to take away your opinions. When you take away your opinions, your mind is clear like space, which means from moment to moment you can reflect any situation and respond correctly and meticulously."
-  Seung Sahn, 1992, The Whole World is a Single Flower 

"I once said to a lady of great philosophical attainments, "I remember reading the following problem in some magazine:--
'Which of the following pictures most truly represents Peace?'
1. A fire-side scene, the kettle singing on the hop, a cat contentedly sitting there.
2. A small bird perched on a slender branch over a roaring cataract.
3. A skull and some bones in the desert.
Which of them would you choose?" (Of course you were supposed to choose No. 2.)
She answered, "A picture of two drunken louts having a fight."
- R. H. Blyth, Zen in English Literature and Oriental Classics, 1942, p. 179  

"Though Zen teachers and practitioners insist that the meaning of a koan can only be demonstrated in a live experience, and that it cannot be conveyed by texts, the Zen tradition has produced a great deal of literature, including thousands of koans and dozens of volumes of commentary.  Nevertheless, teachers have long alerted students to the danger of confusing the interpretation of a koan with the realization of a koan.  When teachers say, "do not confuse the pointing finger with the moon," they indicate that the ability to interpret koans should not be equated with enlightenment.  Understanding the literary and historical context of a koan can often remove some of the mystery surrounding it. For example, evidence suggests that when a monk asked Zhaozhou "does a dog have Buddha-nature or not?," the monk was asking a question that students had asked teachers for generations. The controversy over whether all beings have the potential for enlightenment is even older —and in fact, vigorous controversy still surrounds the matter of Buddha nature.  No amount of interpretation seems to be able to exhaust a koan; there can be no "definitive" interpretation. Teachers typically warn against over-intellectualizing koans, but some of the mystery can be dispelled by clarifying metaphors that were probably well known to monks at the time the koans originally circulated."
-  Koans: The New World Encyclopedia

Non-Rational or Beyond-Rational Zen (Chan) Buddhist Meditation/Contemplation Techniques, Checking Verses, Tales, Jolts, Sparks, Songs
Brief Dialogues, Encounters, Revelations, Epipanies, Insights, Introspections, Mystical Unfolding, Kensho, Samadhi, Ecstasy, Enlightenment
Teaching, Learning, and Practices Using Zen (Rinzai and Soto Zen) Koans and Stories.
Brief Taoist stories, tales, chapters, dialogues, sparks, verses. puzzles, and questions and answers, Daoist Lore and Practices, Poetry
Brief lectures, sermons, statements, parables, stories, summaries, aphorisms, explanations, homilies
Contemplation, Rumination, Meditation, Introspection, Reflection, Thought, Intuition, Mulling, Study, Immersion, Consideration
Purpose: Insight, Understanding, Realization, Change of Heart, Awakening, Enlightenment, Clarity, Peace, Calm, Awareness, Compassion

Zen Koans: Indexes, Bibliography, Research, Commentary. By Michael P. Garofalo.

"In the tenth century BCE, the Brahmin priests of India developed a contest called the Brahmodya that could be a model for all of us. The goal was to find a verbal formula to define the Brahman by pushing language as fare as it could go until it broke down, making the participants vividly aware of the ineffable. The challenger would as a puzzling question and his opponents='s reply had to be apt but equally inscrutable. The winner was the contestant who reduced his opponents to silence, for in that silence the Brahman was present, manifest in the stunning realization of the impotence of speech."
- Karen Armstrong, Sacred Nature, p 64.

Taoism: Bibliography, Links, Resources, Information. Compiled by Michael P. Garofalo.

"Literally, the word koan (Chinese., kung-an) is a combination of graphs that signifies "public notice" or "public announcement."  A koan, therefore, presents a challenge and an invitation to take seriously what has been announced, to ponder it and respond to it.  But the special character of this "announcement" confronts the listener or reader with a perplexing puzzle.  One becomes confused, and the more one tries to come up with an answer and search for a solution, the more confused one gets.  The essence of of the koan is to be rationally unresolvable and thus point to what is 'arational."  The koan urges us to abandon our rational thought structures and step beyond our usual state of consciousness in order to press into new and unknown dimensions.  This is the common purpose of all koans, no mater how much they may differ in content or literary form."
-  Heinrich Dumoulin, "The Song Period: A Time of Maturation." 

"One of the great virtues of koans is they get us to think, not in an analytical way, but with our complete mind."
-  Philip Kapleau, Straight to the Heart of Zen, 2001

Buddhism: Bibliography, Links, Information, Resources. Compiled by Michael P. Garofalo.

"A Chan Buddhist might be thought of as a new human being with the brain of Buddhism, the torso of Taoism, and the arms and legs of Confucianism."
- Mike Garofalo

公案

Subject Index to 3,855 Lessons From
Zen Buddhists, Stoics, and Taoists

Subject Index to 1,975 Zen Buddhist Koans


Subject Index to 3,855 Lessons from Zen Buddhists, Solitary Taoists, and Stoics

Indexing by Michael P. Garofalo
Ninth Version, July 23, 2023, PDF, 374 Pages. Updated Monthly.
Green Way Research, Vancouver, Washington

Blue Cliff Record 100 Koans (BCR)
Book of Serenity/Equanimity 100 Koans (BOS)
Daily Stoic 366 Lessons Philosophy (STOA)
Dao De Jing 81 Lessons (DDJ)
Dogen's Shinji Mana Shobogenzo 300 Koans (DSMS)
Dogen's Shobogenzo 95 Essays Buddhist (DSE)
Entangling Vines 272 Koans (ENT)
Epictetus 95 Discourses (EPI)
Everyday Tao 365 Lessons (EDT)
Fireplace Records 35 Chapters (TFR)
Flock of Fools: Parable Sutra 98 Koans (OHPB)
Gateless Gate 48 Koans (GB)
I Ching 64 Hexagrams (HEX)
Iron Flute 100 Koans (IF)
Lieh-Tzu 111 Chapters (TGPL)
Lunar Tao 150 Chapters (TLT)
Marcus Aurelius Chapters (AUR)
Opening A Mountain 60 Koans (OM)
Philosopher's Garden (PG)
Record of the Empty Hall 100 Koans (REH)
Record of Linji 50 Koans (LIN)
Rinzai Zen Buddhism (RINZ,SOG)
Samurai Zen 100 Warrior Koans (SAM)
Seneca 124 Letters (SEN)
Suzuki D.T. 10 Books (SUZ)
365 Tao 365 Chapters (DMD)
Tales from the Tao 31 Chapters ((TFTO)
Transmission of Light: Keizan 53 Biographies (TOL)
Vegetable Root Discourses (VRD)
Vitality Energy Spirit 100 Lessons (VES)
Way of Complete Perfection Book (WCP)
Wen-Tzu 180 Chapters (WEN)
Whole World is a Single Flower 365 Koans (WWSF)
Zen and the Ways 40 Koans (ZWAY)
Zen Echoes 43 Koans (ZE)
Zen Flesh Zen Bones 100 Koans (ZFZB)
Zen Koan Book (ZKB)
Zen Master Raven 153 Koans (ZMR)
Zhuangzi 33 Chapters (ZHUA)

Brief Lessons from Buddhists, Taoists, and Stoics:
https://www.egreenway.com/buddhism/koans.htm

Koans Database Project Expected Completion 7/1/2025

Subject Index to 3,055 Lessons from Zen Buddhists, Solitary Taoists, and Stoics

Subject Index to 1,975 Zen Buddhist Koans

Subject Index to 1,546 Taoist Lessons, Chapters, Stories

Subject Index to 813 Stoic Lessons, Discourses, and Letters

Michael Peter Garofalo (1946-) grew up in East Los Angeles, was educated in Catholic Schools, graduated (B.A., M.S.) from local universities, married Karen, served in the US Air Force, worked in and managed many City and Los Angeles County Public Libraries, raised two children (Alicia and Michael), socialized, traveled, and learned. In 1998, we moved to a rural 5 acre property in Red Bluff, in the North Sacramento Valley, CA. A webmaster since 1999. Worked part-time for the Corning School District (Technology and Media Services Manager); and as a yoga, Taijiquan, and fitness club instructor until 2016. Traveled extensively in Northern California, Oregon, and Washington. We both retired, and we moved to Vancouver, Washington, in 2017. Currently in 2023: reading, walking, gardening, philosophy research, playing Tai Chi Chuan, writing, harmonica playing, web publishing, indexing, monthly oceanside yurt camping retreats, family events, sports events, poetry research, and coping with heart disease and injuries.

Cloud Hands Blog by Michael P. Garofalo

Research by Michael P. Garofalo

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This webpage was first published on the Internet on December 6, 2014.

This webpage was last updated, changed, reformatted, improved, edited, expanded, revised or modified on October 2, 2023. 

Green Way Research, Red Bluff, California (1998-2017); Vancouver, Washington (2017-2023)

Buddhism

Cloud Hands Blog

Taoism 

Zen Poetry

The Spirit of Gardening

How to Live a Good Life: Advice from Wise Persons

The Fireplace Records
By Michael P. Garofalo