What's In Your Mind?

The Way Things Are (2)

I re-read The Way Things Are, the first book I read on Buddhism. I am now able to grasp its meaning much more profoundly than I did back in July last year. It makes me realize that spiritual writings are characterized by several layers of DEPTH, which reveal themselves to you gradually as you progress on the spiritual path... (This starts giving me the idea to re-read the Christian stuff... I suppose I would be able to see that towards which it points now?) Some of my favorite bits:

"Unenlightened beings miss their innate perfection because of basic ignorance. This state may be understood as consisting of four or two veils. In the former case, one distinguishes between basic ignorance, the disturbing feelings arising from it, the clumsy actions which follow, and the unpleasant results and short-sighted habits which propel one into further harm. According to the second view, constantly changing states of mind are one’s first obstacle. (…) The second hindrance is stiff ideas and the narrowing of experience through concepts."

"The finger pointing to the moon is not the moon, and words and ideas are only the shadow of experience."

"Harmful people are more confused than evil and, while a few minutes in their company is trying to others, they have to live with themselves day and night. Hurting them in addition to such suffering would be unsportsmanlike. Instead, it is wise to give any difficult situation lots of space, learn from it for the later benefit of all, and then quickly let it go."

"Seeing beings as attractive and meaningful brings only good, while searching for their faults produces spiritual poverty."

"Information moves slowly from the head to the heart, from thoughts to experience."

"Buddha said: "Don’t believe anything just because a Buddha told you, but check everything for yourselves. See if the teachings fit with your experience and be your own guiding lights"."

"One no longer needs to hope for a good film; one owns the cinema and can play what one wants."

The finger and the moon, the river and the raft

One of the most used metaphors in Buddhism (especially Zen Buddhism) is that of the finger and the moon. It warns against mistaking the finger which points to the moon, i.e. your teacher, guru, teaching, religion, etc, and the moon, i.e. that towards which the finger points (enlightened state, Buddha-nature, God-consciousness, etc). Another popular metaphor for it is the river and the raft: once you have crossed to the other shore, you don’t need the raft anymore.

As I start to mingle with "spiritual circles" (especially Buddhists), I am actually surprised at how many of them do not seem to have integrated this most basic teaching, which says: do not cling to the teaching! To my amazement, a number of the Buddhists I meet, from this or that particular flavor of Buddhism, seem convinced that their particular chosen path (not only Buddhism but their particular school, or teacher!) is the only path -- and do not understand what I mean with my finger and moon parable.

I suppose it is not dissimilar to the phenomenon of transference in psychotherapy...

On teaching: my favorite Zen story!

From Zen Flesh, Zen Bones. The true master doesn’t need words!

"Many pupils were studying meditation under the Zen master Sengai. One of them used to arise at night, climb over the temple wall, and go to town on a pleasure joint.
Sengai, inspecting the dormitory quarters, found this pupil missing one night and also discovered the high stool he had used to scale the wall. Sengai removed the stool and stood there in its place.
When the wanderer returned, not knowing that Sengai was the stool, he put his feet on the master’s head and jumped down into the grounds. Discovering what he had done, he was aghast.
Sengai said: "It is very chilly in the early morning. Do be careful not to catch cold yourself."
The pupil never went out at night again."

Know who you are: a Zen story

From Zen Flesh, Zen Bones:

"The Zen master Hakuin was praised by his neighbors as one living a pure life.
A beautiful Japanese girl whose parents owned a food store lived near him.
Suddenly, without any warning, her parents discovered she was with child.
This made her parents angry. She would not confess who the man was, but after much harassment at last named Hakuin.
In great anger the parents went to the master. "Is that so?" was all he would say.
After the child was born it was brought to Hakuin. By this time he had lost his reputation, which did not trouble him, but he took very good care of the child.
He obtained milk from his neighbors and everything else the little one needed.
A year later the girl-mother could not stand it any longer. She told her parents the truth - that the real father of the child was a young man who worked in the fish market.
The mother and father of the girl at once went to Hakuin to ask his forgiveness, to apologize at length, and to get the child back again.
Hakuin was willing. In yielding the child, all he said was: "Is that so?""

When you know yourself, you do not feel the need to defend yourself when you are being criticized. Your truth you will not find outside of yourself, and especially not in anyone’s opinion! When you know who you are, what people say has no importance. Even if the entire world says something that goes against your own experience, you may want to just laugh about it. But do not try in any case to change people’s opinions. Who are they? They don’t know themselves and try to put a label on you. On the contrary, when you know yourself, you can say: "I am what I am, and this is what I am going to be".

Are you still carrying her?

Another Zen story that I like, from Zen Flesh, Zen Bones:

"Tanzan and Ekido were once traveling together down a muddy road. A heavy rain was still falling.
Coming around a bend, they met a lovely girl in a silk kimono and sash, unable to cross the intersection.
"Come on, girl", said Tanzan at once. Lifting her in his arms, he carried her over the mud.
Ekido did not speak again until that night when they reached a lodging temple.
Then he no longer could restrain himself. "We monks don't go near females," he told Tanzan, "especially not young and lovely ones. It is dangerous. Why did you do that?"
"I left the girl there," said Tanzan. "Are you still carrying her?""

The gates of Heaven and Hell

From Zen Flesh, Zen Bones:

"A soldier came to Hakuin, and asked: "Is there really a paradise and a hell?"
"Who are you?" inquired Hakuin.
"I am a samurai," the warrior replied.
"You, a soldier?" exclaimed Hakuin. "What kind of ruler would have you as his guard? Your face looks like that of a beggar."
The soldier became so angry that he began to draw his sword, but Hakuin continued: "So you have a sword! Your weapon is probably much too dull to cut off my head."
As the soldier drew his sword Hakuin remarked: "Here open the gates of hell!"
At these words the samurai, perceiving the master's discipline, sheathed his sword and bowed.
"Here open the gates of paradise," said Hakuin.""

More finger and moon Zen wisdom

I also love this slightly cruelish one, also from Zen Flesh, Zen Bones, about not clinging to the finger…

"Gutei raised his finger whenever he was asked a question about Zen. A boy attendant began to imitate him in this way. When anyone asked the boy what his master had preached about, the boy would raise his finger.
Gutei heard about the boy’s mischief. He seized him and cut off his finger. The boy cried and ran away. Gutei called and stopped him. When the boy turned his head to Gutei, Gutei raised up his own finger. In that instant the boy was enlightened."

What you see is what you are

Buddhists say: when you have jaundice, the world appears yellow. What you see is what you are. The world is the color of the glasses you’re wearing, etc.

Sages of all times have expressed that truth in many ways. Jesus said "The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore when your eye is good, your whole body is also full of light; but when it is evil, your body also is full of darkness." (Luke 11:34) He also said: "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." (Matthew 5:8), etc.

This is a very basic spiritual truth. Inside world = outside world. One can see outside only what one has inside.

Gardening

Another recurrent Buddhist metaphor is that of planting seeds. In yourself, in people: if you want flowers (good qualities), you first need to plant seeds. In a fertile soil, hopefully. Then you need to be patient. And water from time to time. And be more patient. This is especially what a spiritual teacher will focus on.

Jesus used the exact same metaphor (Mark, 4:3-8):

"A farmer went out to sow. As he sowed, some seeds fell by the roadside, and the birds came and devoured them. Others fell on rocky ground, where they didn't have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of earth. When the sun had risen, they were scorched. Because they had no root, they withered away. Others fell among thorns. The thorns grew up and choked them. Others fell on good soil, and yielded fruit: some one hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty."

If you and I cannot get along, then who will?

My ex Richard is still not really talking to me (we haven’t been face to face in five months), which still bothers me at times. I explain to him why:

"The reason the situation betwen us hurts me is not about you and me – it is about what it is telling me about why the world is so fucked up. If you and I can't get along, can't understand each other, after having been "best friends" and "lovers" – then who will?

This is the reason why the situation between us is making me suffer so much. It is not about you and me – it's about the world, it's about people.

It sort of shakes any belief I would have that there is hope for peace and harmony in this world. And it makes me want to not be of this world.

This is why I was hoping the whole time that you and I would reconcile, this is why I was trying different ways to be friends with you during all these months, this is why I wanted to see you face to face.

That you and I have not been able to reconcile (from what by the way?) really saddens me.

I dream of peace between us, and mutual understanding."