"Understanding-Knowledge"

In the days of the original Sangha, it was thought that only a monk of the Sangha could become an Arhant—someone who sees the True Nature of existence. If you were a woman, the best you could hope for is a fortunate rebirth, possibly as fortunate as to be reborn as a monk. Fortunately the teachings have evolved since then, and due to all of us intrinsically having Buddha Nature, gender, lay or ordained status, occupation, none of that matters. We just need to realize our True Buddha Nature to actualize our inherent buddhahood. Some may still contend that it’s a lot easier to pull that off in a monastic environment, without all the distractions of modern life in the “real world.” That may be a romanticized view of life in a Zen center or temple; modern life doesn’t stop at the front door, it might just wear robes.

Dahui Zonggao, Chan Master from the 11th Century CE, lived as a monastic, but his Dharma teaching wasn’t limited only to monks. The writings we have of his (as compiled in “Swampland Flowers”) are largely correspondence he had with lay practitioners. He understood what it took to realize one’s Buddha Nature, and he also understood that there were those who were no less dedicated to the Dharma, but circumstances dictated that “leaving home” was no more an option for them than it was for Layman Pang or Vimalakirti. Being a lay practitioner does not relegate us to second-class status or being unable to awaken in this very lifetime. 

Bodhidharma said that the “Great Way is beyond words and letters.” But to function in life, there are many words-everything from Sutras to recipes—that we need to use. While knowledge does not equate to wisdom, and you can’t intellectualize yourself into awakening, knowledge and intellect do not have to be a hindrance. 

As Dahui said, “At the very moment one speaks of knowledge, knowledge itself is mind, and this very mind itself is knowledge….People with great wisdom have all taken knowledge as their companion, considered knowledge an expedient means, practiced the compassion of equanimity in knowledge, and done all the business of buddhas in knowledge, like dragons reaching the water, like tigers taking to the mountains—they never considered this knowledge an affliction, because they thoroughly understood the origin of knowledge.” 

Knowledge is nothing more than a collection of facts. In and of themselves, these facts aren’t good or bad. When our knowledge gets us in trouble is when we use it to escape from this moment, right hereandnow, and let the concepts that knowledge can bring become a hindrance. Right now, you are reading this piece. When reading, just read. When watching the video, watch the video. There may be some combination of words, ideas, and facts contained in them that will be of benefit to you and help you realize your True Buddha Nature. And more importantly they may help you point the way so that all beings can realize their True Nature as well. There is no reason to “escape the real world” in order to facilitate our following the Great Way. It’s all the real world.

Myeong Jin Eunsahn gave the Dharma talk April 10, 2024.

Text as Raft

When Bodhidharma came rom the West to China, he carried a robe,  bowl, and the Lankavatara Sutra. He passed these on to Huike, the Second Patriarch, but what he transmitted wasn’t fabric, or a receptacle, or a sheaf of paper. He transmitted Mind. But he still gave Huike the book, the bowl, and the robe. He may have been done with them, but Huike still needed them.

Bodhidharma said, “Reciting Sutras results in good memory; Keeping precepts results in a good rebirth; And making offering results in good karma; Yet, none of those result in finding the Buddha.” He didn’t say not to do these things, just that the product of doing them is not seeing your True Buddha Nature. It is said that Ananda, the Buddha’s attendant and source of the Sutras (“Thus have I heard”) didn’t achieve liberation because he grasped only the words of the Buddha, not the Mind of the Buddha.

Much of what we think of as Zen comes from the Lankavatara, and other teachings of the Buddha collected in the Sutras. But having a good memory of what is in the Sutras doesn’t necessarily mean that the marrow of the message has been attained. The word-head has to be grabbed and hung onto like when riding a wild horse. Grabbing the tail only results in disaster. 

We can’t disregard the teachings of the Buddha and Masters.

Once we’ve internalized them to the point where they are no longer words and concepts, then we can say we’re liberated. We have to listen for that right word, the sound of a rock hitting a stick, or a baseball hitting a bat, and when we do, there is no need for words or concepts. It happens before the first thought, and Mind has been transmitted. 

But until we have reached that point, we’re still stuck in the middle of the river of our discontent, and are still in need of the raft to get across, and the words we hear and read are the raft. We may need to use that raft countless times not only for ourselves, but like Bodhidharma and Huike, to help ferry all sentient beings until they have also reached the shore of liberation.

Haengdal Citta gave the Dharma talk March 20, 2024.

"Right Word, Right Time"

The question in old dialogues is often posed, “What is Buddha?” Some answers have been “Dried shite on a stick,” or, “The Cypress tree in the courtyard.” These are both fine answers, if you happen to be in a Tang Dynasty latrine, or actually have a Cypress tree and you have a courtyard. Neither of these statements are appropriate for me, as I don’t have that tree, and I’m not in the latrine, and I don’t use a stick. We also say in our Zennie way to “Go drink tea,” or, “Go wash your bowls.” Again, unless I have a kettle on, or just had a bowl of Weetabix, not appropriate (and somewhat passive-aggressive when you get down to it). What does “Go drink tea” mean, when is appropriate, and why sink into using a cliche when more accurate and appropriate words are available?

Bodhidharma said Zen is “Directly pointing to the human mind; seeing one's nature and become a Buddha; do not establish words and letters.” Words are all we have—what Bodhidharma had, Mazu, Huangbo, Seung Sahn, and myself. The Buddha had 45 years worth of teaching, and they went well beyond the words of Four Truths, and beyond the Flower Sermon for the wordless. 

When we attach to words we get in trouble, either by taking them literally in some cases, disregarding the ones we don’t like, and not knowing the meaning of them. When we have an aversion to them, using Bodhidharma’s statement about “Not establishing words & letters” as an excuse not to read a Sutra or quotations from the old Masters or not to listen to our teachers and others, we miss literally Millenia of teachings. 

Huineng and Jinul are both said to have had awakening experiences by reading, so it can’t be al bad. So it’s not the words that are the problem or the hindrance, it’s missing the other lines from Bodhidharma about seeing our True Buddha Nature and becoming buddhas by way of investigating mind.

So again the question pops up, “What is Buddha?” Mazu said “Mind is Buddha.” Huangbo taught, “All Buddhas and all sentient beings are nothing but One Mind, beside which nothing exists….It is that which you see before you—begin to reason about it (create conceptual thinking), and at once you fall into error.” Bodhidharma taught “Everything that appears in the three realms comes from mind.”

Zen Master Seung Sahn said, “If you sincerely ask, ‘What am I,’ you will run into a wall where all thinking is cut off. We call this ‘Don’t Know.’” Zen is keeping this ‘Don’t Know’ always and everywhere….’What is this?’ One Mind is infinite kalpas.” 

One Mind, Zen, Buddha, all are what is in front of you. Right here, right now, what is it? When the concepts are gone, and even the words that led to their erasure, just this is it—Mind, Buddha, Zen, everything is it, nothing excluded, nothing rejected.

Tell me to go drink tea or to wash my bowls, I’ll hit you with a stick 30 times…wait. No I won’t, but I probably would roll my eyes, mutter to myself under my breath, and sigh. That’s what’s here, right now. 

"Tough Times for Tolerance"

It seems like it’s human nature to focus on the negative. There’s an expectation that everything is always going to be just how we want it to be, all sunshine and good food. But in reality, most of these things we perceive as negative are mere inconveniences. The Buddha pointed this out when he stated that life contains some difficulties, unpleasantries, and struggles. He advised us to stay in the middle of the road, not veering off into the ditch of despair on one side, or eternalism on the other. Two of the habits we can develop are kshanti paramita (patience and tolerance) and virya paramita (taking energetic action, having zeal, persevering).

Even though our nature may be to exaggerate our inconveniences, there are times when things really are bad. Undeniably not right. And they can be dismissed as “empty,” or “impermanent,” but there are times when kshanti & virya need to be exercised. The equanimity of patience, tolerance, and acceptance isn’t apathetic. The energy and action of not settling doesn’t have to be a grand gesture that calls attention to ourselves as much as it does the issue at hand. 

This can be seen as how we accept events, but not settle for them. We accept that there are indeed serious difficulties, struggle, pain and suffering. They’re there, and our attitude toward them doesn’t change them any or make them go away. My dismissing as “empty” the suffering of a starving child doesn’t fill their belly. 

There have been a couple self-immolations recently outside the Israeli Consulate in Atlanta, and outside their embassy in DC. We may be aware of the number of the same happening in Tibet, in protest to the PRC’s actions there. And we may be familiar with the photo of the Vietnamese monk who set himself alight in Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City—which technically wasn’t about the war, but against the Vietnamese regimes treating of Buddhists and Buddhism. These weren’t suicides of despair, centered on “I” feel bad, “I” can’t get out of this, but rather to call attention to a situation that seems to be met with a combination of apathy and lethargy. Their sacrifices were for the benefit of others, a benefit that the suicide knows they won’t enjoy personally.

Keeping these things in mind, how does a bodhisattva display patience, tolerance, forbearance, and energy? How do we not only practice as if our hair was on fire, but extend our practice in all matters in life? Do we have to literally set ourselves on fire because there is injustice and suffering? Probably not. But we can ask ourselves, “Who have I helped, and what action did I take today?” 

Myeong Jin Eunsahn gave the Dharma talk February 24, 2024.

"A Single Breath"

In the Sutra in 42 Sections, the Buddha asks, “How long is the human life span?" The Stream Enterer replied, "The length of a single breath." The Buddha said, "Excellent. You have understood the Way." Our lives consist of a series of inhales and exhales with a self-created events that keep us occupied, from the first inhale after birth to the last before death. Some event-moments are enjoyable experiences, some not so much. Some are useful, others frivolous. Some are doing good, some are evil, and some neutral. Regardless of what they are, they’re just filling time.

When we sit on our cushions, it’s easy to focus on those inhales and exhales. That’s what we’re trained to do. Aside from the occasional bout with monkey-mind, sitting and observing the breath is a pretty effective and simple way way not to create these actions. It’s less-often mentioned that those breaths away from the cushion are worthy of our attention too. Not the just breathing per se, but realizing that those distractions we create for ourselves are nothing more than activities subject to causes and conditions and our whims, between and among the breaths. It’s easy for “I, I, I” to come out when all we’re doing is falling prey to our own senses and sensations. We pursue pleasure, avoid pain, get bored when there’s neither. Noticing breathing, and all that entails, can be relegated to the rear when the shiny new object/person/activity catches our eye. 

While between the first inhale after birth and the last exhale before death, it is important that we are mindful of the activity we use as filler. Has our focus been on ourselves, or all beings? Have we performed evil deeds or good ones? Have we been lazy and distracted in our pursuit of the Way, or been diligent in our focus? Have we been loving, compassionate, joyful, and even tempered throughout our time? Most important, have we breathed for the sake of just keeping ourselves alive to wallow in sense-pleasures, or for the benefit of all beings?

Haengdal Citta gave the Dharma talk February 21, 2024.

"Duck Rabbit!"

The old trope is, “You are whet you eat.” In our practice, “We are what we think,” or “The world is what we think.” That’s not to say that what I think actually creates the world, but it creates the view I hold onto so I can make sense of the world. Empty as they are, our perceptions give rise to the thinking, the thinking gives rise to contact, the contact is with the world as we perceive it to be. Yogacara Buddhism, “The Mind Only” school of the Mahayana, is based on this, as is the Lankavatara Sutra. 

We are what we think we are, the world is what we think it is, not that either set of thoughts is necessarily an accurate encounter with reality as-it-is. I create a person according to my thinking, and I tell myself stories about myself, and I believe them. Just because I think I’m the “Greatest Person the World Has Ever Known” doesn’t mean I actually am, neither am I “The Most Reviled Creature Whoever Stained the Earth With My Presence.” Odds are that I’m somewhere in between, but my ability to perceive that and think that are at best a roll of the dice. I might get it “right” from time to time, but just as easily likely to be off by a mile.

These thoughts and perceptions also create our views, and not necessarily Right View. Just a random collections of neurons firing in a particular sequence that creates the thought, that creates the story, that creates the (false) sense of self, and in turn, a false sense of the world. We cling to views, opinions, outlooks, etc. because we take comfort in them, or even familiar discomfort. We may not like to feel angry, but we may have a soft spot for “justified” anger. It creates a world where we are superior to others, as if the world we’ve created revolves around us, which of course, it does. These views are hindrances to our being able to realize our True Nature, where views, perceptions, and consciousness are seen to be characterized by Emptiness and Openness, and there is no problem with that.

Look at the image in the video. Do you see a duck, a rabbit, or a cute kitten? Say Duck, Dae’An will hit you 30 times. Say Rabbit, he’ll hit you 30 times, and if you say kitten, he will roll his eyes. He gave the Dharma talk on February 14, 2024.

4 R’s

https://youtu.be/JYKIVl1qWdI?si=9rbu6as2tKBBGobU

Zen is a practice of reflection and intuitive reaction. Seung Sahn would use “situation, relationship, function.” When we are in contact with a situation—reality as-it-is—we react to it appropriately given the set of circumstances. Questions arise, however. How do we accurately perceive the situation? Do we correctly understand the relationships among the people, places, and things present and interconnected? Do we understand what our correct function is—what do we do—given the situation and relationships?

When we calm our minds through meditation, our minds become clear. When our minds become clear, the world becomes clear. Our direction becomes clear. When our direction is clear, correct action is clear. “How may I help you” is reflexive, requiring nothing—no thinking, no additional pondering, no second-guessing. It’s the unquestionably the obvious course of action. We react reflexively. 

Our direct experience of reality as it happens and changes from moment to moment is honed through our ability to pay attention to it. What once may have taken much thought and time becomes intuitive, before thought. Our direct experience of reality becomes our meditation, and correct action just happens.

"Zealous Zen"

Joe Strummer did an interview after the Clash broke up, and he described Punk music and fans and bands as almost Stalinist. For a lot of people, Zen is the punk rock of Buddhism. Sort of dangerous, dark, edgy, and can’t always understand the words. And we defend it against anything that isn’t it with the same zeal as a Bolshie overthrowing a Tsar. As punk stripped music down to the minimum, Zen says to see your true nature. That’s it. See your true nature, you’re done. Everything you’d like to be able to count on is as useless as a Tsar or an orchestra conductor. To bring that home, Linji said: “If you meet the Buddha, kill the Buddha; if you meet the patriarchs, kill the patriarchs; if you meet Arhats, kill Arhats; If you meet your parents, kill your parents; if you meet your relatives, kill your relatives. Then for the first time you will see the truth.” Zen is asking for Mozart and getting Stravinsky; wanting The Beach Boys and getting Pere Ubu: expecting Huangbo and Thich Nhat Hanh shows up; Nat King Cole instead of Coltrane. Think there’s something to stand on, finding the carpet you thought was there not only has been the pulled out, but it was on top of the abyss. That can be uncomfortable. No one said Zen was supposed to be comfortable. Or uncomfortable for that matter. While we may be Stalininst in our conceptual understanding and defense of Zen, in reality Zen is to be zealously engaged in our lives, and the lives of all beings. We pay attention, pay attention, pay attention, and we fully participate in life. We help when help is needed, in small or grandiose ways. We have zeal for life and for helping others. That is our True Nature, that is Zen. Myeong Jin Eunsahn gave the Dharma talk January 10, 2024.

"Subject Meets Object"

When the dancer becomes the dance, when the there's no separation between musician, the music, and the instrument, then we're onto something. If there is a cart with wheels, and a driver, and oxen, and they all perform their correct function, then we can fully realize that the cart is a cart. If there are no oxen, or driver, or wheel, or axel, can the cart truly be considered a cart if it isn't performing its function as a cart? It could be a flower pot, or firewood, or just a random collection of indecipherable elements. But when they interpenetration without hindrance, and none of the elements are separate, then a cart is a cart.

When correct function is performed, there is no need for thoughts or analysis, no names required, not concepts to be had. It's "just this." Haengdal Citta gave the Dharma talk January 24, 2024.

"Fear & Fire"

“Monks, all is aflame…eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, mind, all aflame…” So says the Buddha in the Adittapariya Sutta—The Fire Sermon. The Heart Sutra tells us all these things are empty. But empty as they may be, that’s little comfort when they cause, or are caused by fear. Fear is a response to a threat—fight, flight, and freeze are the typical involuntary responses to the threat.

But what about when the perceived threat doesn’t pose actual imminent danger—something short of a hungry tiger when you’re wearing a suit made of meat? The virtually global siege mentality that is prevalent today is based on that type of fear. People are so enchanted with eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, mind…and most of all ideas about them and the perception of “meaning” we assign to them. Feelings of hatred and envy, perceptions of self and other, belief that these feelings and perceptions have some permanence and reflect reality are all inflamed.

They aren’t just dreams, they’re nightmares. Not drops of dew, but tsunamis. Not flashes of lightning, but nuclear explosions. Since they’re all subject to causes and conditions, are characterized by emptiness.

What can we as individuals do about this inflammatory speech, thoughts, and actions? We can contribute our small part to help douse the flames. One small glass of water won’t douse a forest fire, but eight billion glasses could. If we don’t know what our metaphorical glass of water is, we can at least not spew gasoline on the flames, and do no harm.

Won Yong Sunmin gave the New Year Dharma talk at One Mind Zen on January 3, 2024.