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My Moments of ZenI have studied Zen for the past 5 years, albeit 3 of those years were more academic than philosophical. However, I have come to appreciate the teaching of Zen. The understanding that life is often not what it appears to be, but rather existents as, and in, a duality: a duality of purpose, a duality of understanding, a duality of being. (Yeah, this page is kind of deep and philosophical, but in true yin and yang fashion, it exists as a balance to the Darwinian Awards Page.)
The Tea Cup 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?" EmptinessYamaoka Tesshu, as a young student of Zen, visited one master after another. He called upon Dokuon of Shokoku. Desiring to show his attainment, he said: "The mind, Buddha, and sentient beings, after all, do not exist. The true nature of phenomena is emptiness. There is no realization, no delusion, no sage, no mediocrity. There is no giving and nothing to be received." Dokuon, who was smoking quietly, said nothing. Suddenly he whacked Yamaoka with his bamboo pipe. This made the youth quite angry. "If nothing exists," inquired Dokuon, "where did this anger come from?"
A Parable Buddha told a parable in a 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. |
