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(Rev. Hilbert is a member of this list, but he
regularly contributes to his own list, Zen Living):
Good Morning Sangha,
Recently I have had the pleasure of being asked questions about my small
contributions here. This reminds me of an essay by Master Dogen Zenji entitled,
"Shin-Fukatoku" ( Mind Cannot Be Grasped {the former}).
In this essay, Dogen elaborates on an element of the Diamond Sutra.
He reviews the story of the old woman selling rice cakes. Tokuzan, a Zen Master
who has "mastered" the Diamond Sutra is asked by the old woman to answer a
simple question:
"I have heard it said in the Diamond Sutra that the past mind cannot
be grasped, present mind cannot be grasped, and future mind cannot be
grasped. Which mind do you now intend somehow to refresh with rice
cakes? If the Master is able to say something, I will sell the rice
cakes. If the Master is unable to say anything I will not sell the rice
cakes."
Dogen says that Master Tokuzan is dumbfounded and that the woman just walks
away. Dogen comments that Tokuzan "has not yet become Tokuzan" and thus has
failed to defeat the old woman in Dharma combat.
Dogen suggests that both Tokuzan and the old woman had questions to ask and
answers they could have made to ascertain the true teaching within the three
worlds and the rice cakes. His answers suggest a dialectical relationship
between the teacher and the questioner, Zen and the universe. That not
only do rice cakes refresh the mind, but that the mind refreshes rice cakes and
more, in the process of such a dialectic we have the potential to become
our true selves.
When we sit zazen, we become the buddhas we already are AND the buddhas we
already are become our zazen. There is no difference. There is something
else.
There is clearly a relationship between the question and the answer, the
teacher and the student, the object and the subject. But more, the
relationship is both a directional one and a non-directional one, at the same
time. Once asked, there are myriad answers. Once answered, there are
myriad questions. And at some immediate point, questions and
answers, teachers and students realize they are not seperate, but one,
breathing, vital universe aware of itself.
Be well, Rev. Sodaiho ___ Visit us at: http://www.daihoji.org Daihoji Zen Temple 5 Arrow Road Cloudcroft, NM 88317 Donations Welcome! Current Building Fund: $217.19 Current Book Discussion: Appreciate Your Life by Taizan Maezumi Roshi Yahoo! Groups Links
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