A frozen tree blossoms in the dead of winter.

[WheelWalker]

https://www.rzc.org/news/cancer-koans/

[Sparkly]

1. Interesting

Thank you for this.

I'm not familiar with Zen Buddhism, except very superficially. This essay left me where I am: with unanswerable questions, striving to accept the things I cannot change.

[WheelWalker]

2. In Zen Buddhism, "unanswerable questions" are often referred to as "koans,"

paradoxical riddles or questions designed to challenge the logical mind and provoke deeper insight beyond conceptual understanding.

The goal of koans is not to find a definitive answer, but to trigger a state of deep inquiry and self-reflection, potentially leading to a breakthrough in understanding.

There is no single "right" answer to a koan, as the answer lies within the individual's own experience and realization.

By presenting seemingly illogical or contradictory questions, koans aim to dismantle the limitations of the ego-based mind.

Unanswerable questions are a vehicle on the path by which one comes to understanding and seeing things as they really are.

[WheelWalker]

3. But see: "The Unanswered Questions" of Buddhist teachings...

"...So when the Buddha refused to answer Vacchagotta's questions, it wasn't because he had an analytical answer in mind that he couldn't explain to Vacchagotta but would perhaps explain to others. It was because, in order to avoid getting involved with issues that get in the way of putting an end to suffering, these questions deserved to be put aside no matter who asked them. In fact, there's another sutta passage that makes precisely this point: No matter who you are, if you try to answer the question, "Do I exist?" or "Do I not exist?" or "What am I?" you get entangled in views like, "I have a self," or "I have no self," which the Buddha calls "a thicket of views, a wilderness of views [§§10, 19-20]." The image is clear: If you're entangled in a thicket or a wilderness, you've wandered far from the path and will have trouble getting back on course.

"The main point to take from all of this is that the Buddha is not interested in defining what you are or what your self is. He's a lot more compassionate than that. He wants you to see how you define your own sense of self. After all, you're not responsible for how he might define your self, and his definition of your self is not really your problem. But you are responsible for the way you define yourself, and that very much is your problem. When you define yourself through ignorance, you suffer, and you often cause the people around you to suffer as well.

"As a first step in putting an end to this suffering, you have to bring awareness to the process by which you create your sense of self so that you can clearly see what you're doing and why it's causing that suffering. This is why the Buddha aims at getting you to understand that process in line with his two categorical teachings. He wants you to see how your act of self-definition fits within the four noble truths, and to see when it's skillful and when it's not, so that you can use this knowledge to put an end to suffering. When it's skillful, you use it. When it's not, you regard it as not-self so that you can stop clinging to it and can put it aside."

https://encyclopediaofbuddhism.org/wiki/The_unanswered_questions