If you approach meditation like it has a very specific goal like quieting the mind or having more positive thoughts or whatever it may be,
Then there's nothing wrong with that.
But the possibilities of what happens in meditation and what might happen to you as a result of the meditation is limited by your imagination.
This is where koans come in.
They don't really care what you want,
Which can really be helpful.
Because a lot of what we think we want is maybe not actually most deeply what we want.
Some part of us wants to be comfortable and at ease and in control and for the world to make sense and to not have any problems,
But that's not reality.
The reality is that life is flowing all the time and far more mysterious and interesting than we could possibly imagine.
Koans are messengers from this sort of mysterious wild world that we live in.
They're an invitation from the old masters to step out of the tiny plot of land we've been living on to explore the hills and mountains and deep oceans beyond.
So it's really an invitation into your own life,
Into more fully experiencing your own life.
As John Tarrant would say.
Just take the ride.
Hop on a Koan,
Take the ride,
And see where it leads you.
