Self-Inquiry & Zen Koans

[okulele]

Ramana Maharshi's Self-Inquiry:

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Beginners in self-enquiry were advised by Sri Ramana to put their attention on the inner feeling of 'I' and to hold that feeling as long as possible. They would be told that if their attention was distracted by other thoughts they should revert to awareness of the 'I'-thought whenever they became aware that their attention had wandered. He suggested various aids to assist this process – one could ask oneself 'Who am I?’ or 'Where does this I come from?’ — but the ultimate aim was to be continuously aware of the 'I' which assumes that it is responsible for all the activities of the body and the mind.

 

 

Zen Koans:
 

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Students are instructed to concentrate on the "word-head", like the phrase "mu". In the Wumenguan (Mumonkan), public case #1 ("Zhaozhou's Dog"), Wumen (Mumon) wrote:

... concentrate yourself into this 'Wú' ... making your whole body one great inquiry. Day and night work intently at it. Do not attempt nihilistic or dualistic interpretations."[46]

Arousing this great inquiry or "Great Doubt" is an essential element of kōan practice. It builds up "strong internal pressure (gidan), never stopping knocking from within at the door of [the] mind, demanding to be resolved".

 

 

I have been practicing Self-Inquiry in that way for some time. Zen Koans seem really similar but this strong internal pressure (gidan) is something I have not experienced so much with Inquiry.

What do you think? Are these methods basically the same or are they fundamentally different in some way?

[Preetom]

44 minutes ago, okulele said:

Zen Koans seem really similar but this strong internal pressure (gidan) is something I have not experienced so much with Inquiry.

Have you been doing self-inquiry like ''Day and night work intently at it''?

This is fundamentally a game of attention. If attention is ceaselessly cultivated without letting it go waste in thoughts and imaginations, the mind is bound to collapse. I think that's what is meant by this 'internal pressure' until it is resolved

[okulele]

@Preetom Thanks for the reply

[FoxFoxFox]

IMO zen koans are a really round-about way of doing it. There is already so much confusion in the path. One should stick to the clearest, most direct approach.