Definition
Reading: Kanbokuri no Dogan
棺木裏の瞠眼 (Kanbokuri-no-Dogan) is a metaphor. It appears in Zen books often. It means that a dead person opens his eyes in a coffin. Its antonym is 枯木裏の龍吟 (Kobokuri-no-Ryugin). Kobokuri-no-Ryugin is also a metaphor. It means to hear a dragon's voice inside a dead tree. It means to find life in the middle of death.
Yunmen has a famous saying: "It is like adding frost on top of snow, opening eyes inside a coffin, and placing moxa on top of a moxa scar." (Source: Daoyuan (Ed.). 景徳傳燈録 [Record of the Transmission of the Lamp], Vol. 19. SAT Daizokyo Database No. 2076.).
The reading is based on books from the Taisho period.
Kato Totsudo (Trans. & Ann.). (1913). 和訳碧巌録 詳註 [Japanese Translation of the Blue Cliff Record with Detailed Notes]. Toado Shobo.
Kokuyaku Zenshū Sōsho Kankokai (Ed.). (1921–1922). 国訳禅宗叢書 第1巻 再版 [Collection of Japanese Translations of Zen Sect Scriptures, Vol. 1, Second Edition]. Kokuyaku Zenshu Sosho Kankokai.
