"Consolation"

When someone dies, it takes great skill to determine what's a skillful way to respond to the news. "...no death, and no extinction of it..." could comfort some, others not at all. But to this Zen practitioner it was great consolation. Eunsahn Citta gives the Dharma talk on June 23, 2021 at One Mind Zen.

"Supporting all Living Creatures"

"Support all living creatures, refrain from killing" says the First Precept. We ourselves are among the living creatures we should support. Our support for living creatures doesn't mean we impose our view on how to do that on others, it means we ourselves support all living creatures, in whatever way that may be accomplished. Jonson Sunmin Miller gives us the Dharma talk from One Mind Zen June 9, 2021.

This is not who I am (and I’m sorry if I offended anyone)

By Rev. Mike Jinji Sunya Wood

 

“Cancel Culture,” if it exists, would probably not exist if those caught in the spotlight doing or saying something harmful would just apologize, rather than offer a non-apology that looks like contrition only at first glance. It is human to make mistakes, human to make the most hurtful decisions for yourself and other people, human to create good and bad, evil and sacred. It is also human to own one’s actions, reflect on them and learn from them; it is human to admit you are human. Whenever anyone gets called out or their actions begin to hurt their image or pocketbook, the line is usually used, among others, is something like “I’m not like this,” “This is not who I am,” “Anyone who knows me I’m not like this,” etc. 

That selfish, cruel person committing those actions is a part of who they are.

And 

Surprise! That is who you are too!

If you did something, of course that’s you who did it! Is anything more straightforward? That’s not all you are; a person shouldn’t be judged based on one action or comment. But neither should they avoid the fact that all humans, as complex, flawed beings are capable of anything. It’s just a fact. You may not wake up one day and think it is a good idea to use (and sell) as a protest against vaccinations the Star of David badge that Jews were forced to wear as identification, to shame, to draw attention to them as objects for abuse; but watch out if you think you can’t do something similar, especially in such shrill, thin-skinned times. That woman who did obscenely  exploit a sacred symbol, rightfully enraging and appalling millions in the process, never thought she was the type to wake up with an idea like that either. 

I think that those insincere, defensive public apologies are driven by fear, fear of losing business, influence, reputation, of the now-inevitable death threats and trolling. Part of it too, perhaps, is a fear of being treated as one-dimensional, defined by one incident, villain. They fear being treated in the way in which they probably saw other people who fucked up in public before them; they may also fear the rage which they felt for those others was now to be turned on them.

We all have a hard time admitting we are vulnerable. We have an even harder time sitting with the idea that we are also capable of causing great pain, making someone vulnerable feel worse about themselves. 

 

So, to the only question there is: 

 

Who are you?

(ie What is this? Or Does a dog have Buddha Nature?)

 

Does the woman selling the Star of David in the belief that state-supplied vaccines are equal in tyranny to the Nazi state-mandated extermination of an entire race have Buddha Nature?

It is important, I think, to try and understand just what surprise is. Surprise may be understood as being of two main types:

The “surprise” that comes from encountering people or situations in life that disappoint us; an expected promotion turns out to be a layoff; a first spin in a new car ends in an accident that paralyses you for life; the sudden death of a loved one, etc.. The most common surprise in this context is that which comes from other people letting us down.

But the deeper we examine ourselves, observe what arises and recedes around us and in us, sooner or later we learn to realize, if not accept, that we let other people down too. We hurt people. 

The other type, then, is the surprise of the curious, not the deluded, of the one bold enough to realize one’s own potential for harm, and for being harmed, and for failure, that leads to compassion, to an understanding of interdependence, of the brief, fragile nature of all beings. Hold people accountable, directly, publicly and legally, for the hurt they cause—just don’t let yourself be lulled into a satisfying dream that they and their actions or words are beneath you.

Instead find surprise in how, in the next moment, in every moment, you have everything you need to be free. Not tomorrow, not down the road, not with more wisdom or with more repentance; you can recognize the basic sanity you were born with right now. You may forget it for the next hour, but it is accessible any time. Even in your mean and arbitrary moments, you still have that sanity.

We are all flawed, poignantly and maddeningly so. It takes a lot of guts to wade thru all that with consistency and dignity. I guess that’s why compassion is such a bitch to practice: to not take those flaws personally, to recognize that if people were “in their right minds,” they would not hurt others, deliberately or thru ignorance. But they do, I do, we all do. Those insights are hard won, and hard to accept. As Dharma practitioners, we choose to work towards realizing them, and that means accepting pain and disappointment are central to everyone’s story. Those who stay greedy, angry, and ignorant of that are those that keep hurting other people. 

Do the dirty work; it is the base and peak of the mountain at once. Here you are the novice and the Bodhisattva at once.

 

 

 

"Spend the Night in a Cave"

Eunsahn Citta's Dharma talk on Wonhyo at One Mind Zen on June 2, 2021.

"In Korea, Wonhyo (617-666) was on his way to China, in the hopes of finding a master who would teach him Buddhism. While on his long walk, he became thirsty, but kept walking. By nightfall he was becoming dehydrated, and retreated into a cave. By luck, he found inside a bowl filled with water. He drank greedily and fell asleep. The next morning, in the light of day, he realized in quick succession that the cave was a tomb, the bowl was a skull, and the water inside it was fetid and filled with maggots. He threw up violently, at which point he was enlightened and saw no need to continue on to China".

--From "The Vomit of Insight" by Mike Jinji Wood.