my-server
← Wiki

Book of Equanimity

Book of Equanimity or Book of Serenity or Book of Composure (Chinese: 從容錄, Cóngróng lù; Japanese: 従容錄, Shōyōroku) is a book compiled by Wansong Xingxiu (1166–1246), and first published in 1224. The book comprises a collection of 100 koans written by the Chan Buddhist master Hongzhi Zhengjue (1091–1157), together with commentaries by Wansong. Wansong's compilation is the only surviving source for Hongzhi's koans.

The full title is The Record of the Temple of Equanimity With the Classic Odes of Venerable Tiantong Jue and the Responsive Commentary of Old Man Wansong (, Wansong Laoren Pingchang Tiantong Jue Heshang Songgu Congrong An Lu, Taisho Tripitaka Vol. 48, No. 2004).

Along with The Gateless Barrier, the Book of Equanimity is considered one of the two primary compilations of Zen dialogue. Shohaku Okumura has called the collection "a classic text that is still studied by Zen students today." Reb Anderson has called it "an auspicious peak in the mountain range of Zen literature, a subtle flowing stream in the deep valleys of our teaching, a treasure house of inspiration and guidance in studying the ocean of Buddhist teachings." Gerry Shishin Wick, who published a translation of Book of Equanimity in 2005, says "although it was collected by a master in the Soto lineage, The Book of Equanimity, they are treated as Koans in the Rinzai, some Rinzai schools, and the Soto school studied them, but more as liturgy, rather than as Koans."

Kōans included in Book of Equanimity

  1. The World-Honored One Ascends the Rostrum
  2. Bodhidharma's "Vast and Void"
  3. The Indian King Invites the Patriarch
  4. The World-Honored One Points to the Ground
  5. Seigen's "Price of Rice"
  6. Master Ba's "White and Black"
  7. Yakusan Ascends the Rostrum
  8. Hyakujō and the Fox
  9. Nansen Kills a Cat
  10. An Old Woman near Taizan
  11. Unmon's "Two Diseases"
  12. Jizō Plants the Rice Field
  13. Rinzai's "Blind Donkey"
  14. Attendant Kaku Offers Tea
  15. Kyōzan Thrusts His Hoe into the Ground
  16. Mayoku Shook the Ring-Staff
  17. Hōgen's "Hairsbreadth"
  18. Jōshū's Dog
  19. Unmon's "Mt. Sumeru"
  20. Jizō's "Most Intimate"
  21. Ungan Sweeps the Ground
  22. Gantō's Bow to the Kaatz
  23. Roso Faces the Wall
  24. Seppō's "Look at the Snake"
  25. Enkan's "Rhinoceros Fan"
  26. Kyōzan Points to Snow
  27. Hōgen Points to the Bamboo Blinds
  28. Gokoku's "Three Disgraces"
  29. Fuketsu's "Iron Ox"
  30. Daizui's "Kalpa Fire"
  31. Unmon's "Pillar"
  32. Kyōzan's Mind and Objective World
  33. Sanshō's "Golden Scales"
  34. Fuketsu's "Speck of Dust"
  35. Rakuho's Obeisance
  36. Master Ba Is Ill
  37. Isan's "Karma-Consciousness"
  38. Rinzai's "True Person"
  39. Jōshū's "Wash Your Bowls"
  40. Unmon's "White and Black"
  41. Rakuho at His Deathbed
  42. Nan'yō and the Water Jug
  43. Razan's "Appearing and Disappearing"
  44. Kōyō's "Suparnin"
  45. Four Phrases from the Engaku Sutra
  46. Tokusan's "Study Accomplished"
  47. Jōshū's "Oak Tree in the Garden"
  48. Vimalakirti's "Not-Two"
  49. Tōzan and the Memorial Service
  50. Seppō's "What Is This?"
  51. Hōgen's "Boat or Land"
  52. Sōzan's "Dharma-body"
  53. Ōbaku's "Drinkers"
  54. Ungan's "Great Mercy"
  55. Seppō in Charge of Cooking
  56. Misshi and the White Rabbit
  57. Gon'yō's One "Thing"
  58. "Getting Despised" in the Diamond Sutra
  59. Seirin's "Deadly Snake"
  60. Tetsuma, the Cow
  61. Kempō's "One Line"
  62. Beiko's "Enlightenment"
  63. Shishō's "Succession"
  64. Jōshū Asks about "Death"
  65. Shuzan's "Bride"
  66. Kyūhō's "Head and Tail"
  67. The Wisdom in the Kegon Sutra
  68. Kassan Brandishes the Sword
  69. Nansen's "Cats and Foxes"
  70. Shinsan Asks about Nature
  71. Suigan's "Eyebrows"
  72. Chūyū's "Monkey"
  73. Sōzan's Filial Fulfillment
  74. Hōgen's "Form and Name"
  75. Zuigan's "Everlasting Principle"
  76. Shuzan's Three Verses
  77. Kyōzan: As His Profession Requires
  78. Unmon's "Rice Cake"
  79. Chōsa Takes a Step
  80. Suibi and the Chin Rest
  81. Gensha Reaches the Province
  82. Unmon's "Voice" and "Color"
  83. Dōgo's Nursing the Ill
  84. Gutei's One Finger
  85. The National Teacher's Gravestone
  86. Rinzai's Great Enlightenment
  87. Sozan: With or Without
  88. "Non-Seeing" in the Ryōgon Sutra
  89. Tōzan's "Place of No Grass"
  90. Kyōzan Speaks Out
  91. Nansen and the Peonies
  92. Unmon's "One Treasure"
  93. Roso Does Not Understand
  94. Tōzan Unwell
  95. Rinzai Draws a Line
  96. Kyūhō Does Not Acknowledge
  97. Emperor Dōkō's Helmet Hood
  98. Tōzan's "Intimate with It"
  99. Unmon's "Bowl and Pail"
  100. Rōya's "Mountains and Rivers"

Translations

See also

References

External links