Bring Me the Rhinoceros: And Other Zen Koans That Will Save Your Life

by John Tarrant

A provocative and playful exploration of the Zen koan tradition that reveals how everyday paradoxes are an integral part of our spiritual journey
 
Bring Me the Rhinoceros is an unusual guide to happiness and a can opener for your thinking. For fifteen hundred years, Zen koans have been passed down through generations of masters, usually in private encounters between teacher and student. This book deftly retells more than a dozen traditional koans, which are partly paradoxical questions dangerous to your beliefs and partly treasure boxes of ancient wisdom. Koans show that you don’t have to impress people or change into an improved, more polished version of yourself. Instead you can find happiness by unbuilding, unmaking, throwing overboard, and generally subverting unhappiness.
 
Author and Zen teacher John Tarrant brings the heart of the koan tradition out into the open, reminding us that the old wisdom remains as vital as ever, a deep resource available to anyone in any place or time.

Genres: Buddhism, Philosophy, Zen, Spirituality, Nonfiction, Religion, Meditation

208 pages, Paperback

First published October 19, 2004

About the author

b. 1949. John Tarrant is the author of “The Light Inside the Dark” and “Bring Me The Rhinoceros”. He directs the Pacific Zen Institute and has taught koans for over 30 years.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Bernie Gourley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an examination of fifteen classic Zen koans selected by John Tarrant, founder of the Pacific Zen Institute (PZI.) Koans are statements or stories that are designed to help students of Zen Buddhism escape their usual ways of thinking because the absurdity of koans cannot be meaningfully answered with the usual approach based in logic and reason. Even if the concept isn’t familiar, readers are sure to have heard the famous koan: “What is the sound of one hand clapping?” [Though one may have missed the value as a tool of the mind, and dismissed the koan as a sage’s attempt to be abstruse and esoteric.]

Each chapter addresses one koan in great detail. First, the koan is presented in a simple fashion. It should be pointed out that some of these koans are a single line and others are as long as several paragraphs. Next, there is a sort of introduction to the concept or point being addressed in the koan. Tarrant knows the value of story, and this frequently involves a narrative approach. Next, there is a section describing the koan in more detail than in which it was first introduced. Here the author elaborates and provides background. The final section of each chapter is about “working with the koan” and offers a bit of insight into how to start considering the lesson of each koan.

I enjoyed this book. It’s a good selection of koans that cover a wide range of styles and approaches. As I mentioned the author uses stories and anecdotes – both historical and contemporary – to help get his point across. The titular use of a particularly absurd koan “punchline,” gives one a taste of the author’s willingness to engage in the whimsical.

I’d highly recommend this book for those who are seeking to better understand koans, either as students of Zen or as individuals interested in the workings of the mind more generally.

[Cynthia P · Rating 5 out of 5]

"You need courage to find out what you really want in life, and what you want might be dangerous. But life is dangerous anyway, and there is a beauty in becoming more and more fully who you are.."

[Lea Sanders · Rating 4 out of 5]

I advise you not to read this book as a narrative book. It should be read in sections and mulled over for the day, or week or however long you need. Koans are simple but at the same time deep and are used for students of Zen Buddhism to develop insight into the deeper meaning of life. Therefore, approach this book as a manual rather than a Sunday afternoon easy read.

[John Montgomery · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are deciding if this book is for you, then consider these important questions. Do you expect things to make sense? Do you have a sense of humor? If things are impractical or ridiculous, does that bother or upset you? Then either walk away, or read this book and enjoy it as much as I have. Rhinoceros sold separately.

[Marina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Zanimljivi koani koje je autor jako lose pojasnio. Drugi dio knjige je jos donekle citljiv, ali nacin pisanja John Tarranta mi uopce nije sjeo.

[Wes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I happened upon this book by accident, and it turned out to be one of the most unique reading experiences I've ever had. I found it by walking down an aisle in the library and realizing I was in the religion section. I had always had a curiosity about Buddhism, so I checked this one out along with a few others. Bring Me the Rhinoceros had such an odd title and a lofty promise (to bring me joy through something called a "koan") that I quickly ended up spending most of my time reading it.

I found out that a koan is a very short story (sometimes just a sentence) that is designed to help you understand yourself and the world through contemplating its meaning. And because these are Zen koans, they're trying to help you understand Zen, which on its most basic level is a way of appreciating that everything in the world: your mind, body, your surroundings, and even your problems, are okay just the way they are. Nothing needs to be added. Tarrant does a much better job of explaining these concepts in his short introduction, and then he quickly moves into the koans.

He begins each chapter with the koan itself, followed by further explanation of what it means or where it came from, and then he concludes with an analysis bringing it down to a basic understanding for the contemporary layman. The result is a very accessible lesson in some pretty profound concepts. Each koan approaches different aspects of Zen and Buddhist ideas, and after I finished most chapters, I often felt the urge to just lay back and contemplate on what I read.

That's not to say that every koan struck home with me. I think that they're designed to speak to different people at different points in their lives. But with the exception of maybe five or so, I always felt different, better, and more relaxed after reading a chapter. It felt like my mind was opened in a new way that I never thought possible. The lessons are so simple, but at times it felt like finding a new room in the home you'd lived in all your life... you just want to take it all in and marvel at how you never noticed it before when it was right in front of you the whole time.

The best way to read this book is to read only one chapter per day at most. This allows each little lesson to really wash over you. I admit that after reading a few chapters a couple of years ago, I returned the book to the library without finishing it. Since then I bought it outright, wondering if it would still affect me the way it did before. I'm happy to say that even on my second reading, I still got that calm feeling that plants me wherever I am and leaves me to contemplate what I just read. It reminds me of the way I feel after I finish mediation.

I've never been much of one to re-read books, but I get the sense that this is one of those books that you go back to every so often over the years to see how its meaning changes with you as you grow. I've got to say that I'm excited to see what I'll think of it the next time around.

[Kara Larson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book definitely challenged me. It challenged me to examine my life and my perceptions and to “look” at them in an entirely different way. I found that I had to read this book in small pieces, so that each little bit had the chance to sink in.

For anyone who has had the fortune to go through a DBT program, this book offers a slightly different take on many of the DBT skills we learn: Mindfulness, Radical Acceptance and Non-judgmental Thinking, accepting pain but not suffering, staying in the moment and even Wise Mind are present throughout this book.

Here are just a few of the things I personally took away from this book:

Everything is Nothing and Everything is Everything
(Nothing matters and everything matters)

No Merit (I don’t have to “Be” anything; I can just “Be” me and that is enough).

Bring me the Rhinoceros
(Let go of what I know and be open to thinking outside the box. In other words, recognizing that I looked but I didn’t SEE.)

Today, I won’t have a story about anything. (It is what it is. I If I stop thinking about what should have happened, I can stop cultivating my pain [which only causes me suffering] and move through it and beyond it.)

Have no expectations; BE CURIOUS about what will happen. The solution/the result will happen regardless of anything that I do

I am me and I could have been anything.

The Universe is all One.

The great way is not difficult, it just avoids picking and choosing. (In other words, be open to anything and everything and don’t have a story about it).

There is no death because all this is me.

Fireflies love the dark too.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing book, unlike any book about Zen that I've ever read. The koans are as mysterious and cryptic as I expected but John Tarrant's writing about them is simple and lucid. I need to own the book so I can read it again and again. I love my fictions, the stories with which I narrate my life. This book comes as close as any every has to convincing me that I would be blessed and relieved to let them go.

[Miguel Ocaña · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pues muy chulo como introducción a los koans, qué son, qué pretenden, y cómo se puede trabajar con ellos

[Dylan]

Tremendous. For the first time in I couldn't tell you how long, maybe ever, I finished this book and immediately turned back to the first page and started reading it again. There is a poetic wisdom to Tarrant's writing, quite obviously related to his koan pedagogy which embraces not knowing, avoiding unnecessary judgments, attending to the natural compassion and kindness of reality, seeing the unspeakable "emphatic quality" of objects in the world. This book helped me to cultivate gratitude for the absurdity and unpredictability of reality, to find humor in my own inability to understand, to think about the kind of change of heart that involves no longer wishing for a change of heart.

[Christopher Bassett MD · Rating 1 out of 5]

This did not bring me joy.

[Guillaume Morissette · Rating 5 out of 5]

“It can be consoling to discover that you don’t have to believe in your own thoughts.”


[Geri Degruy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written book about Zen Koans.

[Guy · Rating 5 out of 5]

My partner brought this book into our lives from the local library, which is well stocked with interesting Buddhist books at a time when our interest in Buddhism has expanded. And this one was clearly donated to the library by a local Zen Buddhist, D Allen, who marked it as such and who left his business card in the book. (I have since been in communication with D and will be playing with ‘my’ koan with him and the other Zen monk here through the Oaxaca Zen community.) We were the first people to take this book out of the library, or at least the first to have read it, as it was clearly untouched.

Tarrant’s book is a great introduction to koans. I (thought I) knew about koans before, from my previous reading. However, my knowledge about them was just enough to keep my in almost total ignorance about them. I’d heard of ‘what is the sound of one hand clapping’, ‘show me the face you had before you were born’ and perhaps a few other koans, now forgotten. My superficial, supercilious ‘knowledge’ took them to be thought stoppers, thinking interruptors, to trigger or engage the non-logical side of the brain. Which is, perhaps, true enough to have trapped me from considering them to be life savers. I have yet to confirm that power, although I am now looking forward to that exploration.

With Rhino I discovered that koans are actually the initiation into a deep practice of continual meditation that can span many weeks, even months or years. They are not the instantaneous pilling into enlightenment I had imagined them to be. And even that idea of mine, that enlightenment as something that is achieved through a transformative experience, has recently shown itself to be fundamentally flawed. I’ve since learned that enlightenment is the beginning of a process of working/walking a ‘new’ path towards the next stage of awareness. Enlightenment is a part of a process that is, in the Buddhist language, itself impermanent and substantially unsubstantial! Life really does have a wicked sense of humour.

Back to Rhino. I really enjoyed the koans Tarrant provides and I especially enjoyed the substantive background he often included. This was especially true for one of the most famous koans, called “Bodhidharma’s Vast Emptiness”. I recently was made aware of Bodhidharma, the man who brought Buddhism to China and his encounter with the Emperor Wu of Liang via Michael Stone’s podcast. It is an interesting story that becomes fascinating when the details of Wu’s own pre-Bodhidharma spiritual journey are revealed by Tarrant. Furthermore I was surprised to learn with Tarrant that Bodhidharma

… turned out to be a genuine barbarian: red hair, blue eyes, dressed in rags (p16).

I very much enjoyed the details and the challenges of the koans. And I have a much better appreciation of their place in the ongoing expansion of the transitory nature of enlightenment.

And I have ‘adopted’ one of the most famous koans in the canon into my formal and informal meditation practices. That is called “ZhaoZhou’s Dog”, which goes “Someone asked Zhaozhou, “Does a dog have Buddha nature or not?” “No.” That’s it. (Actually, there is more to that koan. Tarrant elaborates on it, not in Rhino, unfortunately. See his post in the Pacific Zen Institute, here: https://www.pacificzen.org/library/ko....)

I have delighted in the ‘No’ koan meditations and reflections. They have now drifted me to Montaigne’s observation about cats that got him banned by the Catholic Church for 200 years, and the dogs of Mexico, and that the Tao is everywhere included in dog shit, etc. Love the journey, and for now, not caring where I am going with it. It is the koan journey.

Curiously I found myself bumping unpleasantly with Tarrant’s writing. I would read some of these aloud to my partner and found myself editing them in order to make the language and structure more clear. English is her second language.

Yet, I finished the book and was delighted by it. Likely at one time I wouldn’t have finished the book because of the writing. Now, the value of the information was such that the writing style or aesthetic is relatively unimportant. And to reconfirm the humour of Life, the Universe and our stumbling around in It, whatever ‘It’ is, I came across this until now forgotten observation from Tarrant himself that he included with his description around his encounter with ZhaoZhou’s ‘No’ koan. I went to find a knockout quotation and I wasn’t really able to do that because Tarrant’s writing didn’t allow for it. So, a quick summary: he encountered a pair of Tibetan lamas. One acted the good lama the other the bad lama. He really didn’t like the ‘bad’ lama. Other people on the retreat would sneak out for the pleasure of eating meat or smoking, etc. instead of listening to the ‘bad’ lama. Tarrant chose to stick that lama out instead of jumping into distraction.

One day, as the dislikable lama was teaching about the nature of the mind, I unexpectedly found what he was saying to be fascinating. Tears ran down my cheeks. ‘Ah,’ I thought, in curiously stilted deep meditation speak, ’this is like being with the sages of the past,’ and—this took a Christian form for me—I could feel the dust of the Galilee under my shoes, as if I were walking with Jesus on the shore. From then on, I began to take a macabre, Monty Python-like glee in the lama’s tales of hell, and to listen more closely to his teachings, though I still didn’t like him very much.
What I took away from the experience was the discovery that I wasn’t interested in my own opinion of the lama. This was a reversal of the way I had always operated. I could see that what I thought I wanted might not in fact be what I wanted. Then, at that same retreat, I ran across koans in a book and saw that they were related to that sort of reversal. A koan appeals to you the way a song or a poem might (p26-7).

So, I am flip flopping about the stars. Three because of the writing? Five because it was genuinely worth reading and a book that I will likely revisit? So… five stars, which, similar to how Tarrant described himself above, is a kind of reversal to what I would normally have done.

[Rochelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

So rare to read a book that is as un-selfconscious in offering up its wisdom as this book was. The study of koans in zen is often presented in a fashion that is consistent with the times in which many of the koans were recorded--as if they came from another time and mentality. Yet, Tarrant presents some of the classic koans in language that is fresh, humorous, at times deeply poetic, and helpful to the everyday practitioner. A book to read and reread.

[Springer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loaned to me by a dear friend, this is one of the best books I have ever read. Plan on reading a chapter at a time and then arguing with it, talking yourself out of it, being mad at me for recommending it, meditating on it, and then hoping it will stay with you forever, and then diving into the next chapter!

[Barbara Hairston · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book really does force you to take a look at the way you look at things. It initially took some getting used to. However, the stories are instructive and the koans are an engaging way to think differently about the things in your life. In some ways, it reminded me of the feeling I had reading the Alchemist.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

"This book is confusing to read, Master Matt"
Master Matt replied "Then don't bother. Just swallow it whole."

Forgive my homemade koan, this book is wonderful. The author is a admirable guide-gently prodding but leaving the real work to you. Outstanding.

[Bryce Cason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unbelievable. Life-changing. Too good. Beautiful. I may never look at the world the same way after this book.

[Idriss Jellyfish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really excellent, came upon the recommendation via Oliver Burkeman's excellent Imperfectionist blog. There is a considerable amount of food for thought and illustrative stories contained in each chapter; meant for one to sit with and reflect on however long it needs to bring some level of understanding and growth. Indeed, the book achieves its goal to "bring you joy" simply enough through koans and anecdotes, further reflection is optional and there is no attachment to any form of praxis (Tarrant is pretty humbled with respect to the endeavors he embarked on expecting some form of enlightenment, a non-attachment to self-seriousness is highly valued through the book). This joy is not circumstance dependent; our brains have a great deal of plasticity (if you teach yourself to think one way, you can teach yourself another) and these koans aim to help discover a thinking that finds happiness in disaster, war, boredom, tedium, self-doubt, personal tragedy, etc because... "where else would you find happiness."

The stories have a fun way of reconciling (or deciding to not) dualities and seemingly contradictory viewpoints. "You get what you deserve, whether you deserve it or not." There is, naturally, little emphasis on material objects- the author upon realizing he'd been tricked by another child to gift his toys "felt sad that he thought he needed a truck to be happy." Another aspect to appreciate is the lack of focus on the ancient philosophers and historical details; the attention is continually directed to the here and now. It is here that their wisdom can best be understood, simply by sleeping on a problem or asking yourself when something doesn't seem to be beautiful is why do I think it's not beautiful" or looking at the oak tree in the garden or getting the rhinoceros.

[Ashley Tanasiychuk · Rating 4 out of 5]

A koan "is a story, dialogue, question, or statement which is used in Zen practice to provoke the "great doubt" and to practice or test a student's progress in Zen."

Said more bluntly, koans are "unsolvable enigmas designed to break your brain" (Puqun Li).

Here's an example from chapter 11 of this book:

Someone asked Zhaozhou, "Why did Bodhidharma come from the west?"
Zhaozhou replied, "The oak tree in the garden."

Right?

But don't fret, author and Zen teacher, John Tarrant, never leaves you hanging.
He maintains a reassuring method with every chapter:
First, he starts with the Coles notes version of the koan.
Then he leads into the full version with some totally down to earth introductory paragraphs, followed by the bulk of the chapter, always entitled, "Working with the koan," in which he not only gives the historical context of the koan, but relays it into the present day to suggest ways of incorporating it into your thoughts and days.

From what I can tell, koans aren't necessarily meant to be figured out. They aren't riddles with answers. They are, like the best of Zen, glimpses at life from surprising angles so that you can reexamine your perspectives, your habits, and potentially reorganize yourself in slightly new ways that hopefully bring a bit of peace to your life.

[rixx · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book after seeing it recommended [on Twitter](https://twitter.com/joXn/status/12703...), and I'm glad I did. It's an introduction to Buddhist/Zen koans, with context and interpretative options supplied for each of the koans presented. It felt like a gentle and good way to approach this general area of interest.

Reading this book was a conflicting experience for me. First off, I'll definitely want to re-read it in a couple of months or in a year – this is a book that evolves with the reader, as dictated by the subject. I don't always do well with books where I feel I can't extract their meaning and put it into summaries like this one, so that on its own was an exercise in letting go.

"Letting go" is a good frame for what I usually feel when I engage with Zen ideas, and these koans made it even more noticeable than usually. While reading this book, I found myself relaxing into reality and releasing a bunch of anxieties and tension. I read it over the course of a weekend, and I took multiple naps (which is normally unheard of). I approve of this feeling and it's definitely a contributing factor in my desire to revisit the book.

But it also made me anxious in a way. I noticed that the concept of people dedicating years of their life to a koan – as in, their regular life, not in a monastery – made me feel like I was falling behind by not doing the same. I got the feeling of being inadequate by not pursuing¹ deeper understanding. I started trying to judge my skill, deciding that I was inherently "bad at" this kind of thinking/processing/shifting. It was amusing to see, in a way – at the same time, it's something I'll take time to attend to.

Also, ugh, I wish words were less inadequate for the things I thought and experienced while reading this book – which is **very much the point** of koans, of course.

-------

¹ I am aware of the irony, believe me.

[Kitty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful! The back cover sums it up nicely: "Zen teacher John Tarrant cheerfully goes beyond foam literature. His re-tellings read like post-modern short fiction, complete with anti-heroic characters, visible scenery, and attitude. Rather than the usual Zen mystique that treats koans as arcane meditation objects, Tarrant discusses them as open secrets that actually matter for our lives here and now." Zoketsu Norman Fischer

I enjoyed as poet, the references to the wonderful variety of old friends: Rilke, Neruda, Dickinson, Jimenez, Amichai, The Red Queen (Lewis Carroll), Tate and more, at the beginnings of chapters.

I have a collection of pearls to revisit... "time organizes itself into journeys"... "Anywhere else is too far away"... "do not pick and choose!"... "the world's generosity is robust." I feel indeed "befriended" by life and ready to offer back what the world has given me, freshened by this book!

[Daniel Greening · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a Buddhist. This was a fun read. Each chapter is a Zen koan, with an explanation of its history, and a personal interpretation of the author's (which leave lots of room for you to have a different interpretation).

I tormented my friends with koans (sorry Antonio, Heather) and at one point I made Antonio act out the "Dead or Alive" koan on video for other members of my secular buddhist book club. OK, I thought it was hilarious.

It helps if you read it slow. My book club was reading a chapter every week. And so, each week I would think about the koan/chapter I was reading, and interpreting it in the experiences I had during the week.

I highlighted a bunch of funny, interesting quotes from the book. They are reminding me now how my fun I had reading it. Many great turns of phrase here.

[Rebecca Noran · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was excellent. Very highly recommend. It worked well for my chapter every morning thing, with something big to explore packed into a few pages. Each chapter had a zen koan, related quotes, some discussion, a fuller version of the koan or the same koan at the start, and discussion of the koan. It sparked my curiosity and my curiosity and openness fuels happiness.

“Happiness is a risk to the self you know, because it doesn’t require your familiar plotline.” / “You have to give up your idea of happiness in order to discover what happiness is.”

[Kyelee Fitts · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not sure why this book is so highly rated. Maybe I’m just not cut out for inner peace, but I was not so impressed. A lot of spiritual mumbo jumbo masquerading as down to earth zen coolness. The only part where I started to pay attention was the chapter on Life With and Without, the koan about not picking and choosing. The description of the “struggle and terrible grief” that comes when you want someone to be different (as opposed to accepting the way things are, the “without” condition) — this resonated.

Everything else, not so much, and rather hard to get through.

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Koan: “A puzzling, often paradoxical statement, anecdote, question, or verbal exchange, used in Zen Buddhism as an aid to meditation and a means of gaining spiritual awakening.” The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

I found these koans to be intriguing and thought-provoking. Unfortunately, I fear that I am not yet enlightened enough to understand the point of each one. Nevertheless, I caught bits and pieces of wisdom in this book. Perhaps someday, I’ll revisit this.

[Brian Wilcox · Rating 5 out of 5]

First, I was not a koan fan before this. Listened to the audio book and read the print edition. Much enjoyed Tarrant's reading. One of most enjoyable reads for me. Each chapter spoke as much to the heart as the head - which seems what koans are meant to do for us. Koans, I see now, are more than just riddles to 'dispose' of the mind.

Rarely can I say a read was fun, but this had that tone to it. I came, also, to see that koans surround us in daily like. And, so, Tarrant informs us we do not have to go looking for a koan, koans come to us, for life does.

[Levas · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is not good, not bad either (not great, not terrible) and it was pretty easy and quick read. However, when it goes into personal experiences with koans and explanations, I am not sure what the outcome is. Well, the same is with reading about people who got some sort of enlightenment or understood a thusness of things or whatever else. This book definitely had few points that stuck with me, but overall an average book. Hope it brings joy to someone though.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Koans have always felt hard to decipher. This book introduces a few and turns each one into a story that makes it more accessible, then dives further into the meaning of the koan. This not only unlocked these particular koans for me and gave me plenty to think about, but helped me feel more comfortable reading other koans and coming away with a deeper meaning. This is a book I'll return to again and again.