In the Rinzai tradition of Zen Buddhism, a very Spartan or martial sect, in comparison with well-know household lineages, there is a major emphasis on developing and refining one’s inner compass. A process that has endlessly fascinated me, and the thing I’m always clumsily trying to put into words. After a student has a breakthrough experience, an insight into the true nature of the Self, training begins. The teacher, through various means, guides a transformation where the student no longer interacts with the world through the conceptual mind but through the wisdom of the heart. For example, the teacher will give a Koan, which is a paradoxical anecdote or seemingly meaningless phrase, and the student must find an answer, not moving forward in training until one does. A famous koan is, “what is the sound of one hand clapping?” There is a huge book of koan responses called “capping phrases” that the student will search through to find an answer. The paradox here is that the answer is never what makes “sense”. It’s never what the conceptual thinking mind can find. Instead the goal is to attain a nonrational insight beyond the boundaries of language and conceptual thought. To see with the heart. Over and over the student returns to the teacher with a response: “Father and son in one house” No. ”The sun has set but the moon has yet to rise” Close, but not it. Finally, as the mind completely gives up, something else - something essential - begins to see. •••Swipe through my images to finish reading. Too long for caption••• Thanks to @nimai_delgado for this photo and @shewolflauren for everything.