‘Respect for others begins by not ignoring their words.’
Elias Canneti
From: ‘The Torch in My Ear’Need I say anything more?
A biographical detail for your interest: Elias Canneti won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1981, “for writings marked by a broad outlook, a wealth of ideas and artistic power”. For the last 20 years of his life he live in Zurich. He is buried there beside Irish author James Joyce.
All posts by Mugo
Gourd, Home of Full Emptiness
Hotei is carrying a gourd, a symbol used in Buddhism to represent emptiness, shunyata. Not a negative emptiness, no not at all. My Master would say of shunyata, with a knowing far away smile, “It is the fullest emptiness you will ever know”. And Zen Master Dogen, (somewhere?), says, “Gourd with its tendrils is entwined with gourd.” Pointing to the fact that, in the absolute sense, we are not separate individual beings. No, not at all. Master and disciple, mother and daughter, father and son, inseparable all. Bound together with delicate tendrils, not glue.
This image of Hotei came via email. He is living in the home of a remarkable family who are not unfamiliar with facing hardship, together and individually. And yet, or rather AND, they grow, they shine through and they inspire. They inspire me.
All merit offered to ‘you all’.
In the Eye of the Beholder
A new book has entered my life. It is exactly one and a half inches thick, with gold/yellow writing set into the blue cover, and red grid lines separate the titles of the five books contained within the one book. It is smooth to the touch, I didn’t weight it! That’s one and a half inches of solid reading. Rarely do I remember titles however any book that I have picked up more than a few times is remembered by its cover, the colour most especially. This book is the colour of the much treasured Lapis lazuli, a toned-down version of Winsor Newton’s, Ultramarine. Historically that colour was comprised of pulverize Lapis mixed with binding agents to make a powerful paint used by Old Masters. As with the paint so with the book, it contains much treasure, Dharma Treasure. Hopefully, I’ll be able to draw on and write about some of the contents as I travel through it over the weeks to come.
Many thanks for this book, it’s a valued gift.
Two people sent me links to a news item about the search for a person to play the role of the Buddha in a proposed film. ‘Somehow’ they were going to make a virtual image of an idealized Buddha and then search for a good match via Google. (“Could that be right?”) Anyway, since the Buddha did not allow images to be made in his lifetime they are relying on a number of references to come up with a likeness. I wish them well and await the outcome with interest.
The arrival of the book, my initial involvement with its outward appearance and the news item set me to pondering. It is so easy to evaluate, to judge by surface appearances, and much of the time that’s how we normally operate. We don’t contemplate the deep nature of the bus, we just need to notice that it is number 9, or not, and get on it. From somewhere I remember a saying: “Look with the eye of a Buddha and you will see the heart of a Buddha”. This points to making a deliberate effort not to travel the surface of life, to bring the mind of meditation along with you. No matter how unlike our assumptions, all have the heart of a Buddha.
Everything teaches and the Number 9, in so many ways, has become a ‘Buddha’ for me. It’s the biggest, bendiest bus I’ve ever been on and you meet such interesting people too.
Waiting for IT
Edmonton doesn’t know if it is coming or going. The continuing mild weather has most of us on tender hooks. We’re waiting. We’re waiting for the other boot to drop; for the snow to fly, for the mercury to fall, for double digit below zero temperatures. And none of that’s happened, yet. It’s hard to accept the situation and be warm, since it is warm. Difficult to not mentally crouch in anticipation of the punishing winter weather to arrive?
A monk asked Great Master Tozan Gohon,
‘How can we avoid hot and cold?’
Tozan said,’Why don’t you go somewhere that is neither hot nor cold?’
The monk asked,’Where is a place that is neither hot nor cold?’
Tozan replied,
‘When it is cold, be completely cold;
When it is hot, be completely hot.’
Zen Master Dogen, Shobogenzo.
The monks question amounts to “how do I live beyond the opposites”, at heart it’s a spiritual question. Any problem, however mundane seeming, can be turned into a spiritual question that can lead one deeper. That’s if one is willing to listen to the answer! Zen Master Tozan’s reply points to the heart of practice, of being completely present no matter what’s going on and, above all, not to try and escape ‘what is’. There is an article on the internet by Rev. Master Kinrei of Berkeley Buddhist Priory which expands on the above quote. He is my older brother in the Dharma, I have much reason to be grateful for his wise council over the years.
You’ve got to admit it, the Berkeley web site is really neat!
Further Encouragement
Two messages of support and encouragement to continue writing came in the mail to-day. It makes me smile just to think of my writing ‘mentors’. I’m so grateful to them. Each week, Sunday afternoon and Monday are assigned for ‘Renewal’. To shop, take a longer walk, clean house, do laundry, maybe watch a video… In other words a time to relax and re-charge in preparation for the next week. It is also a good swatch of uninterrupted time to tackle longer writing projects.
It’s amazing how pressing the cleanliness of the bathroom can become when there is a writing project in line! So, with the arrival of those messages of encouragement to ‘keep going’ I have to take note, take heart, and get stuck in with the hammer and chisel! One has a romantic vision of ancients with quill, ink and parchment; of ‘religious’ carving the sutras for wood block printing and, who ever it was, chipping away in stone somewhere. One mentor wrote, “And it will always be hard work”. Not, for sure, the work of ‘drawing water and chopping wood’ traditional to Zen monastic life, ‘honest’ work though for all that.
Yes, most of us can ‘keep going’ and we don’t need or require encouragement to continue. However, walking on with a renewed spring in ones step and a smile in ones heart can certainly be a huge help. And, to be truthful, I cleaned the bathroom yesterday, just didn’t mop. So, in the end, there are no valid excuses to getting on with what needs to be done. There rarely ever are.