236. When Dongshan says, 'kill yourself with cold', he does not mean for us to take him literally. This saying of his has come down to us in the literary form of the koan. And koans bear on enlightened understanding and behaviour. Here we would do well to question ourselves about the identity of the self that is to be killed with cold. Furthermore, we can examine our attitude to suffering and whether we think we can escape it entirely. And if it can't be avoided or escaped, what then? Kill yourself with cold, with heat!
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