Volume 1, Track 12
We live in a dualistic world where something is not big, it is small, and where a statement is either true or false. It is a world of either or. Buddhism is more apt to speak of neither nor, which is like the Neti Neti of Indian philosophy, meaning not this, not that.
Eliminating everything that is not lasting, not permanent, in the search for reality. Once one sees with truly religious eyes, however, it is possible that all viewpoints can be reconciled. All opposites can be in the long run, equal.
Zen insists on seeing with non-dual eyes. When the horse in Hunan sneezes, the cow in Sichuan catches cold. A good example of this appears in another story about Zen Master Tozan strolling with an attendant through the garden one evening, he came upon two monks, bitterly arguing. Crossing his arms and settling himself back on his heels, the Master waited for an explanation.
The first monk spoke. “Yesterday, you gave a talk and said so and so. From that, I gathered we were to do so and so. Am I wrong?” Tozan shook his head, “No,” he proclaimed, “You are right.”
The other monk was dismayed. “But I thought you said so and so, just the opposite,” he blurted out. “I gather you wanted us to do something totally different. Could I have been mistaken?” Again, Tozan shook his head, “You, too, are right,” he agreed.
The young attendant with Tozan was amazed. “But they can’t both be right,” he blurted out. Tozan smiled at the attendant. And “I perceive that you, too, are right,” was all he said.
The Buddha, the Enlightened One, was asked, “Are you a god?” “No,” was his firm reply. “Are you a superman?” Again, the Buddha answered, “No.” The questioner persisted. “Then what are you?” “I am awake,” answered the Buddha.
How wonderful to be able to say “I’m awake” when most of us seem to live in a dream world.
It has often been said that zazen, Zen meditation, is Nowness. How does one realistically realize this Now by harmonizing body and mind? How does one harmonize body and mind by forgetting body and mind? And in what way is the Self realized? By forgetting the Self, is the Self realized? This points at letting go of self-clinging, the biggest cause of suffering. In this respect, Zen training is totally different from psychoanalysis or psychological counseling, which served to strengthen the emphasis on Self, creating a great attachment.
I know a very enlightened woman we’ll call Margaret (not her true name) and this is a story about her. A Christian Scientist, she had gone on a long retreat with a teacher and had had a real awakening. When I asked her what it was like, she answered, “Hilarious.”
When a new home she and her husband were building caught fire, she told me that the two of them watched the fire for a while and went home to bed for a good night’s sleep. I have heard her say, smiling, “There is only one thing going on out there.” Is it any surprise that in her mid 70s, she is a dancer, a sculptress, a painter, and a T’ai Chi Ch’uan teacher.
One time, she and many friends (or rather a few friends) visited me in the hills of Los Angeles where I was living. There was a little sidewalk restaurant at the mouth of the canyon where I stayed, and we decided to go there for a late lunch. Finishing our main course, it was decided to order dessert, the specialty of the house, and they were sacre torts from Vienna. Anyone who has ever eaten one of them knows how rich they are and how hard it is to keep from eating a second one.
As I raised my fork with the first slice to my lips, Margaret suddenly asked, “Can we do without this?” “Sure,” I answered and promptly pushed mine away. She did the same. The others who were salivating at the nearness of the exquisite taste looked on in surprise.
Now that she and I had renounced ours, pushing it away, she smiled sweetly and said, “In that case, we might as well eat it.” I wonder if the others understood the teaching she was giving. In truth we can only enjoy that we can do without.
And now I want to close by twice speaking a short piece from the great Lotus Sutra of the Buddhists. It is a message of hope for a suffering world:
From the state of emptiness,
Each man’s body is a body pervading the universe.
His voice is a voice filling the universe.
His life is a life which is without limit.
From the state of emptiness,
Each man’s body is a body pervading the universe.
His voice is a voice filling the universe.
His life is a life which is without limit.
To listen to Justin reading Spiritual Stories of the East, click here.