The Case of the Fly in the Kitchen

Fireplace Records Case #52

The Case of the Fly in the Kitchen

You say that the world is everything

that is the case.

What would it be like

if it were not?

What's not the case? Plenty! Case Closed!

When nothing the case?

Seems a mistake.

Like a reductio ad absurdum clam bake,

When nobody came,

early or late.

Or it's not the case that the world

is everything that is the case.

What? Strange? A fly buzzing in a bottle.

That "Fish fly to Seattle" is not the case

still tells us something about the world we make.

Or is it that not everything

in the world is the case.

That suggestion

that's learning towards truth

in some comforting familiar manner

Appeals to my communal action words, and

My idiosyncratic individual voice in time.

Was it:

Was it the case once in the past or not?

Is it now the case or not?

Will it ever be the case or not?

Was everything ever the case? Ever?

We enjoyed those playful games:

wrestling with hypothetical cases,

find the imaginary treasure chest,

watching the film detective solve the case,

Until they broke the lock on her case.

a case

the case

one case

many cases

Closed Case

Zen Koans: The Fireplace Records
Koans by Mike Garofalo

Zen Koan Collections Studies

Subject Index to 1,975 Zen Buddhist Koans

Reading Wittgenstein

Buddhism

Pulling Onions

 

Subject Index to 1,975 Zen Buddhist Koans

Subject Index to 1,975 Zen Buddhist Koans

Indexing by Michael P. Garofalo
Tenth Version, December 28, 2023. PDF, 
Green Way Research, Vancouver, Washington

Blue Cliff Record 100 Koans (BCR)
Book of Serenity/Equanimity 100 Koans (BOS)
Dao De Jing 81 Chapters (DDJ)
Dogen's Shinji Mana Shobogenzo 300 Koans (DSMS)
Dogen's Shobogenzo 95 Essays Buddhist (DSE)
Entangling Vines 272 Koans (ENT)
Fireplace Records 30 Chapters (TFR)
Flock of Fools: Parable Sutra 98 Koans (OHPS)
Gateless Gate 48 Koans (GB)
Iron Flute 100 Koans (IF)
Opening A Mountain 60 Koans (OM)
Philosopher's Garden (PG)
Record of Empty Hall 100 Koans (REH)
Record of Linji 50 Koans (LIN)
Rinzai Zen Buddhism (RINZ,SOG)
Samurai Zen 100 Warrior Koans (SAM)
Suzuki D.T. 10 Books (SUZ)
Transmission of Light: Keizan 53 Biographies (TOL)
The Whole World is a Single Flower 365 Koans (WWSF)
Zen and the Ways (ZWAY)
Zen Echoes 43 Koans (ZE)
Zen Flesh Zen Bones 100 Koans (ZFZB)
Zhuangzi 33 Chapters (ZUAN)

Zen Buddhist Koans and Discourses:
https://www.egreenway.com/buddhism/koansdup1.htm

Starting in June, I resumed my daily reading, studying, and indexing of Japanese Zen Master Dogen's (1200-1253) "Shobogenzo 95 Buddhist Essays." I have already studied and indexed Dogen's 300 Koans Collection.

Subject Index to 1,975 Zen Buddhist Koans (PDF 578 pages):

https://www.egreenway.com/buddhism/NewSubject3.pdf

Here are the translations I am using: https://www.egreenway.com/buddhism/koansdup1.htm#SHOBO

Gateless Gate Mumonkan Koan Collection

 

Gateless Gate, Gateless Barrier (Wumenquan, Mumonkan)
Compiled around 1250 CE. 48 Koans GB

Subject Index for the 48 Koan Cases in the Gateless Barrier (GB).
Indexing by Michael P. Garofalo. First Draft, March 25, 2023, 9 pages, PDF.

Alphabetical List of the 48 Case Titles in the Gateless Barrier (GB)
Indexing by Michael P. Garofalo. First Draft, March 25, 2023, 2 pages, PDF.

List of Cases by the 48 Case Numbers for the Gateless Barrier (GB)
Indexing by Michael P. Garofalo. First Draft on March 25, 2023, 2 pages, PDF.

Subject Index to 1,001 Zen Buddhist Koans

The Gateless Gate: The Classic Book of Zen Koans  Commentary and translation by Koun Yamada. Foreword by Ruben L. F. Habito. Wisdom Publications, 2004. 336 pages. ISBN: 9780861713820. "In The Gateless Gate, one of modern Zen Buddhism's uniquely influential masters offers classic commentaries on the Mumonkan, one of Zen's greatest collections of teaching stories. This translation was compiled with the Western reader in mind, and includes Koan Yamada's clear and penetrating comments on each case. Yamada played a seminal role in bringing Zen Buddhism to the West from Japan, going on to be the head of the Sanbo Kyodan Zen Community."
VSCL, Paperback. I studied this book to prepare the First Draft (March 25, 2023) of indexing for the Gateless Gate Koan Collection.
Indexing stored in the GB database (GB = Gateless Barrier or Gateless Gate).

The Gateless Barrier: Zen Comments on the Mumonkan. By Zenkai Shibayama. Shibayama Roshi (1894-1974). Translated by Sumiko Kudo. Introduction by Shibayama Roshi. Preface by Kenneth W. Morgan, Colgate University. Boston, Shambhala, 2000. Glossary, index, 361 pages. ISBN: 9781570627262.  "For more than seven centuries the Mumonkan (Gateless Barrier) has been used in Zen monasteries to train monks and to encourage the religious development of lay Buddhists. It contains forty- eight koans, or spiritual riddles, that must be explored during the course of Zen training. Shibayama Zenkei (1894-1974), an influential Japanese Zen teacher and calligrapher who traveled and lectured throughout the United States in the 60s and 70s, offers his own commentary alongside the classic text. The Gateless Barrier remains an essential text for all serious students of Buddhism."  These lectures (Teisho) on the Gateless Barrier were given at Colgate University in 1974.
VSCL, Paperback. I studied this book to prepare the Second Draft of indexing for the Gateless Gate. Second Draft expected in March, 2024.

Koans Research Project.  By Michael P. Garofalo.

Rinzai Zen Buddhist Studies

 

Koan Database Project

Subject and Title Indexes
Koan Database Project

To Brief Spiritual Lessons, Parables,
Koan Cases, Stories, Definitions, Tales,
Questions, Dialogues, Lectures, Statements

Indexing by Michael P. Garofalo

Sparks: Brief Spiritual Stories, Dialogues, and Encounters

Matches to Start the Kindling of Insight
May the Light from Your Inner Fireplace Help All Beings
Zen Buddhist Koan Collections
Catching Phrases, Inspiring Verses, Hard Questions
Bibliography, Indexing, Quotations, Notes, Resources
Research by Michael P. Garofalo

Gateless Gate or Gateless Barrier Koan Collection (GB)
48 Cases of Brief Koans, Stories, Spiritual Encounters, Wisdom Tales, Sermons, Dialogues
Compiled around 1250 CE
Indexed by Michael P. Garofalo. First Draft on March 25, 2023.
Source for Case Titles: The Gateless Gate, Translated by Koun Yamada Roshi, 2004.

Alphabetical List of the Gateless Barrier (GB) Koan Collection Cases. PDF, 2 pages.

List of Cases by Case Numbers in the Gateless Barrier Koan Collection. PDF, 2 pages.

Subject Index to Cases in the Gateless Barrier (GB) Koan Collection. PDF, 9 pages.

PDF files are searchable. Use the keyboard strokes: Ctrl + F This will open the Search or Find box.

[I just started using Microsoft Access again on 3/23/2023. Just learning this database software by reading books and by creating this Koan Database Project in 2023. I am focused on improving my indexing skills, adding content, and improving my database Report creation skills.]

Reminder: When you find a hypertext document or file (PDF, JPG, .doc, GIF) on the Internet that seems valuable to you, then download the hypertext document or file to your computer's hard disk drive or on your external hard disk drive. Why? That hypertext document or file might be gone tomorrow!

 

The Blue Cliff Record Koan Collection (BCR)
100 Cases of Brief Koans, Stories, Spiritual Encounters, Wisdom Tales, Sermons, Dialogues
Compiled around 1125 CE
Indexed by Michael P. Garofalo. First Draft on March 25, 2023.
Source for Case Titles: The Blue Cliff Record, Translated by Thomas Cleary and J. C. Cleary, 1977.

Alphabetical List of the Blue Cliff Record (BCR) Koan Collection Cases. PDF, 4 pages.

List of Cases by Case Numbers in the Blue Cliff Record (BCR) Koan Collection. PDF, 4 pages.

Subject Index to Cases in the Blue Cliff Record (BCR) Koan Collection. PDF, 21 pages.

 

Daodejing by Laozi, Te Ching by Lao Tzu (DDJ)
Daodejing by Laozi.
81 Verses, Cases, Chapters. Our popular version compiled around 220 CE.
Indexed by Michael P. Garofalo. Third Draft in June 2014.

A typical webpage created by Michael P. Garofalo for each one of the 81 brief Chapters (Verses, Cases, Sections) of the Daodejing includes 25 different English language translations or interpolations for that Chapter, 5 Spanish language translations for that Chapter, the Chinese characters for that Chapter, the Wade-Giles and Hanyu Pinyin transliterations (Romanization) of the Mandarin Chinese words for that Chapter, and 2 German and 1 French translation of that Chapter.  Each webpage for each one of the 81 Chapters of the Daodejing includes extensive indexing by key words, phrases, and terms for that Chapter in English, Spanish, and the Wade-Giles Romanization.  Each webpage on a Chapter of the Daodejing includes recommended reading in books and websites, a detailed bibliography, some commentary, research leads, translation sources, a Google Translate drop down menu, and other resources for that Daodejing Chapter.

Chapter and Thematic Index (Concordance) to the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

English Language Daodejing Translators' Source Index

Spanish Language Daodejing Translators' Source Index

Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practices

Taoism: A Selected Reading List

One Old Daoist Druid's Final Journey

Daodejing by Laozi (DDJ)
81 Verses, Cases, Chapters, Sections. Our popular version compiled around 220 CE.
Indexed by Michael P. Garofalo. First Draft in June of 2023.
Source for Case/Verse/Chapter Titles: Tao Te Ching translation by Lin Yutang in 1955.
For the Koan Database, I limited search terms/Tags to 3 entries.
My more extensive online searchable Concordance for the Tao Te Ching is described above.

List of Cases by Case Numbers in the Daodejing (DDJ). PDF, 3 pages.

Alphabetical List of the Cases in the Tao Te Ching (DDJ). PDF, 3 pages.

Subject Index to Cases in the Tao Te Ching (DDJ) PDF, 15 pages.

 

The Book of Serenity (BOS) Book of Equanimity
100 Cases of Brief Koans, Stories, Spiritual Encounters, Wisdom Tales, Sermons, Dialogues
Compiled and published around 1224 CE.
Indexed by Michael P. Garofalo. First Draft on June 1, 2023.
Source for Case Titles: The Book of Serenity: One Hundred Zen Dialogues. Translated with commentary by Thomas Cleary, 2005.

Alphabetical List of the Book of Serenity (BOS) Koan Collection Cases. PDF, 4 pages.

List of Cases by Case Numbers in the Book of Serenity (BOS) Koan Collection. PDF, 4 pages.

Subject Index to Cases in the Book of Serenity (BOS) Koan Collection. PDF, 21 pages.

 

 

Master Subject Index
Koan Database Project
Indexing by Michael P. Garofalo
First Draft, April 1, 2023
This subject index includes Cases from the:
Blue Cliff Record (BCR), 100 Cases
Gateless Barrier (GB), 48 Cases
Book of Serenity (BOS), 25 Cases
Daodejing (DDJ), 20 Cases
Fireplace Records (TFR), 12 Cases
PDF files are searchable. Use the keyboard strokes: Ctrl + F This will open the Search or Find box.

Master Subject Index of the Koan Database Project. PDF, 42 pages.

PDF files are searchable. Use the keyboard strokes: Ctrl + F This will open the Search or Find box.

 

What's Coming in 2023 and 2024:

Michael Garofalo's Brief Spiritual Lessons Indexing Project

Indexing Brief Spiritual Lessons, Stories, Koans, Encounters, Wisdom Tales, Lectures,
Sermons, Lore, Dialogues, Inspirational Verse, History, Scriptures, Advice, Poetry,
Buddhist and Taoist Literature, Collected Lessons, and Lore

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu. Daodejing by Laozi. 81 Cases, Verses, Chapters. Our version compiled around 220 CE.

Book of Serenity (BOS) 100 Koan Collection; Compiled around 1224 CE.

Master Subject Index of the Koan Database Project

Dogen Koan Collection (Shinji Mana Shobogenzo) (SMS) 301 Koan Collection; Compiled around 1220 CE.

Transmission of Light. 53 Biographies, compiled by Keizan around 1310 CE.

Open a Mountain. 60 Koan Collection, compiled by Steven Heine, 2001.

Entangling Vines. 272 Koans; compiled and printed in Japan in 1658.

Modern (MOD) Modern (1800-1999) Contemporary Brief Spiritual Verses, Key Leaders, Information

The Record of Linji. 50 Koan Collection; translation and commentary by Ruth Fuller Sasaki, 2009. Compiled around 850 CE.

Books I Use in My Research and Study of Koan Collections

Sparks: Brief Spiritual Stories, Dialogues, and Encounters
Matches to Start the Kindling of Insight
May the Light from Your Inner Fireplace Help All Beings
Zen Buddhist Koan Collections
Catching Phrases, Inspiring Verses, Hard Questions
Bibliography, Indexing, Quotations, Notes, Resources
Research by Michael P. Garofalo

The Fireplace Records
By Michael P. Garofalo

 

 

Database Software: Microsoft Access

 I have used the Microsoft Access database software since 2001.  I used Access for work at my places of employment and at home for database applications.  

I had not used Access since 2017, and had used Microsoft Excel since 2017 for related simple home database applications.  

To my surprise, Access is not included in my current low budget Microsoft Office package.  I had to shell out $175.00 today for the Microsoft Access software.  I've used database software since the 1990's.  I like this kind of power user database software.  

I am currently working on a major database Project in 2023.  I call it:
"The Subject Index to Cases in Koan Collections."

The Access database for this project on my C: hard drive is called:
Koan Case Database.

The Folder on my C: hard drive where I store the various files, reports, backups, images, documents, downloads, etc., for this project is at:
C:\Koan Database. 

I was able to import all my existing Excel data into a new database called: Koan Case Database.  

Brief Spiritual Stories, Dialogues, and Encounters
Zen Buddhist Koan Collections
Catching Phrases, Inspiring Verses, Hard Questions
Bibliography, Quotations, Notes, Resources
Research by Michael P. Garofalo

The Fireplace Records By Michael P. Garofalo