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@finewindclearmorning-blog
Open Your Own Treasure House
Daiju visited the master Baso in China. Baso asked: "What do you seek?"
"Enlightenment," replied Daiju.
"You have your own treasure house. Why do you search outside?" Baso asked.
Daiju inquired: "Where is my treasure house?"
Baso answered: "What you are asking is your treasure house."
Daiju was enlightened! Ever after he urged his friends: "Open your own tresure house and use those treasures."
Someone who has come to know a single particle knows the whole universe, and someone who has penetrated one real dharma has penetrated the myriad dharmas.
Dogen Zenji, 13th century Zen Master
Ego, Mind, Circumstance, and Self
The key to happiness is found in your mind, not in your circumstance. Happiness is being your Self, not your ego. It can be difficult to differentiate your Self from your ego or your mind from your circumstances. Differentiation becomes even more difficult if you are unhappy. Unhappy is your mind. The reason you are unhappy is your circumstance. Your ego interprets your circumstance for your mind by relating everything that happens to itself. Your Self contains all of these things and ultimately experiences it all. Your Self can deal with everything.
To your Self, unhappiness is only a feeling. To your ego, unhappiness is awful. It is difficult for the ego to deal with unhappiness because it hurts. The mind is where it hurts. The circumstances are why it hurts. The ego’s habit is to address unhappiness by blaming circumstances. The ego can imagine a different set of circumstances that would make the unhappiness go away such as: I would be happy if somebody loved me, if I had more money, if I were smarter, if I were different, if I had more time, If I had a sandwich. However, the main circumstance that causes unhappiness is the mind’s habit of believing unhappy thoughts. The mind can see circumstances from many angles. Only certain interpretations of those circumstances lead to unhappiness.
Bringing the ego, circumstances, and mind into line begins with the Self. The Self is the seat of confidence that experiences the world through the mind. The Self can see the struggles of the ego with a larger perspective. The Self knows that things are not actually bad, but that they feel bad to the mind. That perspective exposes the ego. When the ego is exposed as something other than the Self, the mind is free to look at circumstances from other perspectives. As judgements come up, this is good, that is bad, the mind can see the ego at work. When unhappiness comes up, the mind looks through the ego, sees the thoughts related to unhappiness and can generate counter thoughts or compassion. As circumstances change, feelings change, the ego changes, the mind changes. The Self remains steady, letting it all be. Happiness sneaks in through the cracks.
The First Principle
When one goes to Obaku temple in Kyoto he sees carved over the gate the words “The First Principle.”
The letters are unusually large, and those who appreciate calligraphy always admire them as being a masterpiece. They were drawn by Kosen two hundred years ago.
When the master drew them he did so on paper, from which workmen made the larger carving in wood. As Kosen sketched the letters a bold pupil was with him who had made several gallons of ink for the calligraphy and who never failed to criticize his master’s work.
“That is not good,” he told Kosen after the first effort.
“How is that one?”
“Poor. Worse than before,” pronounced the pupil.
Kosen patiently wrote one sheet after another until eighty-four First Principles had been accumulated, still without the approval of the pupil.
Then, when the young man stepped outside for a few moments, Kosen thought: “Now is my chance to escape his keen eye,” and he wrote hurriedly, with a mind free from distraction. “The First Principle.”
“A masterpiece,” pronounced the pupil.
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“Whenever you are conscious of the breath, you are absolutely present. You may notice that you cannot think and be aware of your breathing. Conscious breathing stops your mind.”
— Eckhart Tolle
The Blockhead Lord
Two Zen teachers, Daigu and Gudo, were invited to visit a lord. Upon arriving, Gudo said to the lord: “You are wise by nature and have an inborn ability to learn Zen.”
“Nonsense,” said Daigu. “Why do you flatter this blockhead? He may be a lord, but he doesn’t know anything of Zen.”
So, instead of building a temple for Gudo, the lord built it for Daigu and studied Zen with him.
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Old man look at my life
At the end of a long life, the old man decided he had enough. He was leaving China and was ready to die. He was an obscure yet notorious man who was relentless in his ways or The Way which he named Tao. No one knows his real name so he was just called Lao Tzu, which means Old Master or Old Man.
Many times his students and disciples asked him to write his teachings, but he always declined saying, the Tao than can be told his not the real Tao. The truth that can be told becomes untrue immediately, so he never wrote anything. His attitude was that the truth could not be taught, it could only be experienced - lived. Words were inadequate.
At the end of his life before he disappeared, Lao Tzu traveled towards the Himalayas where met a border guard. The young sentry recognized the old man and refused to allow him to depart China. He told Lao Tzu he only pass if he wrote his teachings. It must have been beautiful and strange encounter, the old man who had refused his closest associates, pausing to give consideration to a humble yet forceful stranger.
I dedicate this Neil Young’s “Old Man” to the anonymous sentry who convinced Lao Tzu to give us the Tao Te Ching.
Old man look at my life, I'm a lot like you were. Old man look at my life, I'm a lot like you were.
Old man look at my life, Twenty four and there's so much more Live alone in a paradise That makes me think of two.
Love lost, such a cost, Give me things that don't get lost. Like a coin that won't get tossed Rolling home to you.
Old man take a look at my life I'm a lot like you I need someone to love me the whole day through Ah, one look in my eyes and you can tell that's true.
Lullabies, look in your eyes, Run around the same old town. Doesn't mean that much to me To mean that much to you.
I've been first and last Look at how the time goes past. But I'm all alone at last. Rolling home to you.
Old man take a look at my life I'm a lot like you I need someone to love me the whole day through Ah, one look in my eyes and you can tell that's true.
Old man look at my life, I'm a lot like you were. Old man look at my life, I'm a lot like you were.
There is no misfortune greater than not knowing when you have enough.
Lao Tzu
If you’re lonely when you’re alone, you’re in bad company.
Jean-Paul Sartre, Essays in Aesthetics (via philosophybits)
Temper
A Zen student came to Bankei and complained: “Master, I have an ungovernable temper. How can I cure it?”
“You have something very strange,” replied Bankei. “Let me see what you have.”
“Just now I cannot show it to you,” replied the other.
“When can you show it to me?” asked Bankei.
“It arises unexpectedly,” replied the student.
“Then,” concluded Bankei, “it must not be your own true nature. If it were, you could show it to me at any time. When you were born you did not have it, and your parents did not give it to you. Think that over.”
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Half Empty and Half Full
I wonder sometimes what would Buddhism be like if Buddha had not been born as a prince, but rather as a poor person struggling to afford housing, food, education, and medical care. Someone accustomed to violence and crime. And what would happen to that long suffering, yet extraordinary person if he were suddenly shown life changing kindness, compassion, and generosity? Would Buddhism be the same?
Instead of focusing on suffering, perhaps the four noble truths would have explored happiness like a glass half full instead of half empty. Regardless, truth is truth.
Half Empty:
Suffering exists
There is a cause of suffering
There is an end to suffering
To end suffering, follow the Eightfold Path
Half Full:
Happiness exists
There is a cause of happiness
Happiness may be present always
To experience happiness, follow the Eightfold Path
There is no need to intellectualize about what our pure original nature is, because it is beyond our intellectual understanding. And there is no need to appreciate it, because it is beyond our appreciation
Shunryū Suzuki, founder of San Francisco Zen Center.
When I first learned about Buddhism, I felt a sense of Deja Vu. I was taken back to childhood. There I was sitting in the Pacific Ocean on my surfboard without a care in the world waiting for a good wave to ride to shore.
Bryan @finewindclearmorning
At the bottom of great doubt lies great awakening. If you doubt fully, you will awaken fully.
Hakuin Ekaku
To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders.
Lao Tzu
Right and Wrong
When Bankei held his seclusion-weeks of meditation, pupils from many parts of Japan came to attend. During one of these gatherings a pupil was caught stealing. The matter was reported to Bankei with the request that the culprit be expelled. Bankei ignored the case.
Later the pupil was caught in a similar act, and again Bankei disregarded the matter. This angered the other pupils, who drew up a petition asking for the dismissal of the thief, stating that otherwise they would leave in a body.
When Bankei had read the petition he called everyone before him. “You are wise brothers,” he told them. “You know what is right and what is not right. You may go somewhere else to study if you wish, but this poor brother does not even know right from wrong. Who will teach him if I do not? I am going to keep him here even if all the rest of you leave.”
A torrent of tears cleansed the face of the brother who had stolen. All desire to steal had vanished.
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