The Wisdom of Zen Buddhism

I have been studying Buddhism for about thirty or so years. In those years I have collected, on paper (now computer) and in my mind, what I believe is great wisdom. On Facebook, I subscribe to something entitled Zen of the Day. I have found in these daily sentences very little that I would add to my collection of Zen wisdom.

Today, after reading the Zen of the Day, I decided to share just a bit of my collection.

Buddha said: "I consider the positions of kings and rulers as that of dust motes. I observe treasures of gold and gems as so many bricks and pebbles. I look upon the finest silken robes as tattered rags. I see myriad worlds of the universe as small seeds of fruit, and the greatest lake in India as a drop of oil on my foot. I perceive the teachings of the world to be the illusion of magicians. I discern the highest conception of emancipation as a golden brocade in a dream, and view the holy path of the illuminated ones as flowers appearing in one's eyes. I see meditation as a pillar of a mountain, Nirvana as a nightmare of daytime. I look upon the judgment of right and wrong as the serpentine dance of a dragon, and the rise and fall of beliefs as but traces left by the four seasons."

Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era (1868-1912), received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen.

Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitor's cup full, and then kept on pouring.

The professor watched the overflow until he no longer could restrain himself. "It is overfull. No more will go in!"

"Like this cup," Nan-in said, "you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?"

Buddha told a parable in sutra:

A man traveling across a field encountered a tiger. He fled, the tiger after him. Coming to a precipice, he caught hold of the root of a wild vine and swung himself down over the edge. The tiger sniffed at him from above. Trembling, the man looked down to where, far below, another tiger was waiting to eat him. Only the vine sustained him.

Two mice, one white and one black, little by little started to gnaw away the vine. The man saw a luscious strawberry near him. Grasping the vine with one hand, he plucked the strawberry with the other. How sweet it tasted!  

Twenty monks and one nun, who was named Eshun, were practicing meditation with a certain Zen master.

Eshun was very pretty even though her head was shaved and her dress plain. Several monks secretly fell in love with her. One of them wrote her a love letter, insisting upon a private meeting.

Eshun did not reply. The following day the master gave a lecture to the group, and when it was over, Eshun arose. Addressing the one who had written to her, she said: "If you really love me so much, come and embrace me now."

Gudo was the emperor's teacher of his time. Nevertheless, he used to travel alone as a wandering mendicant. Once when he was on his way to Edo, the cultural and political center of the shogunate, he approached a little village named Takenaka. It was evening and a heavy rain was falling. Gudo was thoroughly wet. His straw sandals were in pieces. At a farmhouse near the village he noticed four or five pairs of sandals in the window and decided to buy some dry ones.

The woman who offered him the sandals, seeing how wet he was, invited him in to remain for the night in her home. Gudo accepted, thanking her. He entered and recited a sutra before the family shrine. He was then introduced to the women's mother, and to her children. Observing that the entire family was depressed, Gudo asked what was wrong.

"My husband is a gambler and a drunkard," the housewife told him. "When he happens to win he drinks and becomes abusive. When he loses he borrows money from others. Sometimes when he becomes thoroughly drunk he does not come home at all. What can I do?"

"I will help him," said Gudo. "Here is some money. Get me a gallon of fine wine and something good to eat. Then you may retire. I will meditate before the shrine."

When the man of the house returned about midnight, quite drunk, he bellowed: "Hey, wife, I am home. Have you something for me to eat?"

"I have something for you," said Gudo. "I happened to be caught in the rain and your wife kindly asked me to remain here for the night. In return I have bought some wine and fish, so you might as well have them."

The man was delighted. He drank the wine at once and laid himself down on the floor. Gudo sat in meditation beside him.

In the morning when the husband awoke he had forgotten about the previous night. "Who are you? Where do you come from?" he asked Gudo, who was still meditating.

"I am Gudo of Kyoto and I am going on to Edo," replied the Zen master.

The man was utterly ashamed. He apologized profusely to the teacher of his emperor.

Gudo smiled. "Everything in this life is impermanent," he explained. "Life is very brief. If you keep on gambling and drinking, you will have no time left to accomplish anything else, and you will cause your family to suffer too."

The perception of the husband awoke as if from a dream. "You are right," he declared. "How can I ever repay you for this wonderful teaching! Let me see you off and carry your things a little way."

"If you wish," assented Gudo.

The two started out. After they had gone three miles Gudo told him to return. "Just another five miles," he begged Gudo. They continued on.

"You may return now," suggested Gudo.

"After another ten miles," the man replied.

"Return now," said Gudo, when the ten miles had been passed.

"I am going to follow you all the rest of my life," declared the man.

Modern Zen teachings in Japan spring from the lineage of a famous master who was the successor of Gudo. His name was Mu-nan, the man who never turned back.

Below are a few of the books on Buddhism that I have (or have had) in my library. Well, these are a few that are still in print. Some of these books can be obtained in digital form for little or no cost.

Thich Nhat Hanh, Engaged Buddhism, & Burma

With all that is happening in the world today, it is easy to overlook spots that drew our attention just a few weeks or even days ago. After the protest led by Buddhist monks in Burma (Myanmar) in the fall of 2007, the issues there seemed to slip away from new coverage until the devastating cyclones recently drew the world’s attention back to that Southeast Asian land.

The issues related to pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, her party, and the valiant protests of the Buddhist monks still exist, even as the media centers on the cost of oil, disaster in China, the U. S. Presidential race, etc. This was brought back to me this morning as I followed a link from the Digital Dharma blog to the site Tricycle magazine’s wonderful Change Your Mind Day 2008. There I found numerous videos including a couple featuring the Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk with whom I hope you are familiar.

I was so impressed with these words of Thich Nhat Hanh that I want to share them with you:

Every day we do things, we are things that have to do with peace. If we are aware of our life..., our way of looking at things, we will know how to make peace right in the moment, we are alive. ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

Thursday Stuff

Dental Update

Unfortunately our insurance agents may not be as knowledgeable about our PPO as they could be ~ Humana Representative, March 27^th, 2008

The above isn’t an exact quote, but it is the gist of what I was told by the human I finally reached at Humana this afternoon. Unfortunately, as a former insurance agent, I already knew that! During the months I worked for Liberty National Life Insurance Company as an agent selling life and health insurance, I received no training and very little information on the policies I was selling—other than how to “entice” (my word) people to purchase them.

I may also add that none of the several books that Humana has sent me since I enrolled with them through the Social Security Administration says that I have no dental coverage. Rather, the book that lists the in network providers has a long list of available dentists and dental specialists. So… if there is no coverage, why in the hellacious ways of the U.S. health insurance industry are they listed?

After my conversation with the Humana rep, I decided to attempt to obtain my need met via another channel. I undertook the long process of calling, pushing buttons, and being placed on hold that it takes to reach my Veterans Administration primary care nurse practitioner. Of course, when I did get through, I wasn’t permitted to speak with her directly; I was able to speak with her nurse. The result was that a referral will be made to the VA dental clinic and I will be informed of the appointment not later than (NLT as we used to write in the army, which is also my initials) the beginning of next week

Introducing Vaughn

As I have previously written, Vaughn has replaced Tasha as my VA homemaker since Tasha gave birth to her son. Yesterday Vaughn gave me permission to share with you his photograph (below) as well as his “celebrity look-alikes that we obtained yesterday. As with my look-alikes, we had problems recognizing the similarity between him and them.

Becoming Serious About the Oppression in Tibet

I wonder why the nations of this crazy world do not say to China “Either back off from Tibet or our athletes will not attend the Beijing Olympics?”

A Buddhist Prayer for Peace

May all beings everywhere plagued

with sufferings of body and mind

quickly be freed from their illnesses.

May those frightened cease to be afraid,

and may those bound be free.

May the powerless find power,

and may people think of befriending one another.

May those who find themselves in trackless,

fearful wilderness—

the children, the aged, the unprotected—

be guarded by beneficent celestials,

and may they swiftly attain Buddhahood.

Dilbert Teaches Me a New Word…

…but you’ll not see it in next Saturday’s comics.

Ohio Snapping Turtle

While reading the entertaining blog of Scott Adams, the creator of the comic strip Dilbert, I learned a new, uh, slang word. Adams used it in a one panel of the strip that will appear on October 6^th. Unfortunately, Adam’s editors nixed the use of the word, even though Adams had, as he wrote “thought (he) could get away with (it) because the naughty meaning isn’t universally known.”

I must admit that I was unaware of the word's impish meaning. And I suspect that perhaps one of the few people whom I know who would be aware of the definition is the witty, rascally mischievous, (sometimes, uh, often) anally fixated Bucky Four-Eyes.

Anyway, the word is turtlehead (or, turtle head) and you can find it’s, uh, off color definition HERE.

And, if you want to see the context in which Dilbert (Scott Adams) uses it that won’t appear in next Saturday’s comic, click HERE to go to The Dilbert Blog.

Free Burma Coalition

Burma & The Weeping Buddha

Known variously as The Humble Buddha, The Praying Buddha, The Sleeping Buddha, and The Weeping Buddha, this carving resides on the coffee table in my living room. He has been there for as long as I have lived in this house. Before that, he resided in the “meditation sanctuary” of the apartment in which I lived.

At times when I have mediated in his presence he has been humble and compassionate; at other times he has prayed with me; we have even slumbered in each other’s presence. But now when I sit with him, he weeps—and he has much for which to weep.

In the land of Myanmar, once known (and by many still known) as Burma, monks who are called by his name are being brutalized and killed. Their monasteries are surrounded by soldiers and armored war vehicles. The people of the land are being slain and crushed. And the Buddha weeps.

Blood soaked sandals are seen on a street following a shooting by soldiers during a protest in downtown Rangoon, Burma on Thursday, Sept. 27, 2007. (The Mandalay Gazette)

Perhaps you have heard the story; perhaps you have not. Either way, I invite you to read the words of Hanna Ingber Win, wife of a native Burmese who now lives in Los Angeles: Praying For Better Burma. She tells of the people's desire and hope for liberty, of the peaceful protests, of the arrests of leaders, of the oppression, as the military junta stomps out opposition and attempts to destroy the people's longing for freedom. And the Buddha weeps.

As I was searching for the latest developments of the current plight of the Burmese people, I came across these words, attributed to an anonymous Burmese:

He weeps for our country! Courage is waning. Fear prevails. Intolerance grows. Innocent children die in the womb. There is no shame. Our country dies.

And the Buddha weeps. And many of us around the world also weep, and pray, and act.

Amnesty International on Burma: Join the Protest

Buddhist Wisdom

For over thirty years I have been an ecumenist, not just relating to Christian denominations, but all religions. During the same time span I have studied Buddhism and found among its writings significant wisdom:

The essence of Buddhist teachings does not change; wherever it goes, it is suitable. ~ H.H. The Dalai Lama

Suffering I teach, and the way out of suffering… ~ The Buddha

The Dharama (the teachings of the Buddha) is not something to believe in, but something to do. ~ Stephen Bachelor

There is no way to happiness; happiness is the way. ~ Buddha Shakymuni

If my desires are unable to be fulfilled even by everything upon this earth, what else will satisfy them? ~ Shantideva

There are many different philosophies, but what is of basic importance is compassion, love for others. ~ H. H. The Dalai Lama

There is no evil like hatred, and no fortitude like patience. ~ Shantideva

Just like a dream experience, whatever things I enjoy become a memory. Whatever has passed will not be seen again. ~ Shantideva

The way to cessation of all suffering, which is liberation or freedom, is the fourth noble truth, the noble eightfold path. ~ Ayya Kerma

The Noble Eightfold Path:

Right View

Right Thought

Right Speech

Right Action

Right Livelihood

Right Effort

Right Mindfulness

Right Concentration

Peace of mind, mental tranquility, may not necessarily be felt as a specific sensation, but can provoke a physical sensation of joy and happiness. ~ H. H. The Dalai Lama

We must train the mind to know the sense impressions and not get lost in them. To make it peaceful. Just this is the aim of all this difficult practice we put ourselves through. ~ Ajahn Chan

Mindfulness…makes us accessible to depths of awareness and clear seeing into the way things are. ~ Christopher Titmuss

To meet the perfect teacher is more valuable than gaining a kingdom. Look at how those with no devotion treat the teacher as their equal. ~ Patrul Rinpoche

You yourself must make the effort. Buddhas only point the way. Those who have entered the Path and who mediate will be freed from all the fetters of illusion. ~ The Dhammapada

When at last in a single flash you attain full realization, you will only be realizing the buddha-nature that has been with you all the time. ~ Huang-Po