Greetings All, I just joined ZenForum at one of your member's suggestions and would like to introduce myself. My background is yoga and advaita with a liberal sprinkling of Zen Buddhist readings.
As my first offering to the group, here is an ancient analogy I came across recently in my readings. The analogy centers around already possessing what one is seeking. For Ramana Maharshi, the analogy was a lady and her necklace. For Huang Po--the 9th century AD Chinese Zen master, it was a warrior and his forehead pearl. Here then, are the two analogies and their significance as expounded by these two masters of non-dualism. ===========RAMANA MAHARSHI'S ANALOGY========== This excerpt taken from The Teachings of Ramana Maharshi edited by David Godman, found at <http://www.hinduism.co.za/self-.htm>: Sri Ramana Maharshi: You are already that. Time and space cannot affect the Self. They are in you. So also all that you see around you is in you. There is a story to illustrate this point. A lady had a precious necklace around her neck. Once in her excitement she forgot it and thought that the necklace was lost. She became anxious and looked for it in her home but could not find it. She asked her friends and neighbours if they knew anything about the necklace. They did not. At last a kind friend told her to feel the necklace round her neck. She found that it had all along been round her neck and she was happy. When others asked her later if she had found the necklace which was lost, she said, 'Yes, I have found it.' She still felt that she had recovered a lost jewel. Now did she lose it at all? It was all along round her neck. But judge her feelings. She was as happy as if she had recovered a lost jewel. Similarly with us, we imagine that we will realise that Self some time, whereas we are never anything but the Self. ===========End necklace analogy======= ===========HUANG PO'S ANALOGY========== This excerpt is taken from <http://www.stephenmitchellbooks.com/anthologies/enlightenedMindExcerpt04.html> When most people hear that the Buddhas transmit the teaching of the one mind, they suppose that there is something to be attained or realized apart from mind, and they use mind to seek the teaching, not realizing that mind and the object of their search are one. Mind can't be used to seek mind; if it is, even after millions of eons have gone by, the search will still not be over. Suppose that a warrior forgot he was already wearing his pearl on his forehead, and sought for it somewhere else: he might search through the whole world without finding it. But if someone simply pointed it out to him, the warrior would immediately realize that the pearl had been there all the time. In the same way, if you students of the Tao are mistaken about your own mind, not recognizing that it is the Buddha, you will look for it somewhere else, indulging in various practices and hoping to attain something. But even after eons of diligent searching, you won't be able to attain the Tao. These methods can't be compared to the elimination of conceptual thinking, when you understand there is nothing that has absolute existence, nothing to hold on to, nothing to depend on, nothing to dwell in, nothing subjective or objective. When you prevent the rise of conceptual thinking, you will be free men, and this just means you will realize that the Buddha has always existed in your own mind. Eons of striving will turn out to be wasted effort; just as, when the warrior found his pearl, he simply found what had been hanging on his forehead all the time, and his discovery had nothing to do with his efforts to find it elsewhere. Therefore the Buddha said, "I didn't attain a single thing through Supreme Perfect Enlightenment." It was because he was concerned that people wouldn't believe this that he taught by less direct methods. This statement of his isn't idle chatter; it expresses the highest truth. ===========End forehead pearl analogy============ gassho, David ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Make a clean sweep of pop-up ads. Yahoo! Companion Toolbar. Now with Pop-Up Blocker. Get it for free! http://us.click.yahoo.com/L5YrjA/eSIIAA/yQLSAA/S27xlB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Noble Eightfold Path: Right View, Right Intention, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, Right Concentration, Right Livelihood Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZenForum/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
