“We have been all the way to the Moon and back,
but we have trouble crossing the street
to meet the new neighbour.”
Dalai Lama
Category: buddhism
This category is about everything Buddha and Buddhism, which teaches that:
1) everything is marked by impermanence, to believe in any permanence is to suffer, and the the ultimate cause of suffering is the rejection of the non-permanent self.
2) Enlightenment (contentment) can be found through the understanding of the true nature of existence (trilaksana) as stated here, and by living in accordance to such an understanding.
Basho’s Frog Poem and Gutei’s Finger
Old pond
A frog leaps in –
Sound of the water
Furu ike ya
Kawazu tobi komu
Mizu no oto
Perhaps the most well known haiku.
Often said to embody all that is Zen in it, the old world and now are linked by the sound of the water.
I wrote a poem which goes like this:
There is no old pond.
There is no frog that leaps in.
No sound, no water.
This is a pale imitation of the style of the old masters like Mumonkan or Hakuin. Our fixation with the old pond, the frog and the sound will ultimately undo us. To reach enlightenment it is necessary to forget – so to speak – these things which belong to the mind’s illusion.
There is a koan – Case #3 in the Mumonkan – that is similar:
“The Zen master Gutei used to raise one finger as a gesture of Zen. Once a visitor asked Gutei boy attendant what does his master teach. The Boy raised his finger. Master Gutei hearing this cut off the boys finger. In pain, the boy ran crying. The boy called by his master turned, only to see the master riase his finger. At that moment the boy was enlightened.”
I doubt Gutei really cut his finger off and so the boy was also crying in mock. But doubtless was his enlightenment.
The point is Gutei’s teaching has nothing to do with the finger or the gesture. So the boy’s raising of the finger has no meaning, no power. It is as ordinary as Gutei’s gesture. But Gutei’s gesture has all the ability to bring about enlightenment, as does Basho’s poem, but no the boy’s finger.
Why should this be so? If you can say then you have glimpsed something.
One further note: the visitor to Gutei no doubt was pushing the boy. He had seen something in him. He knew he needed one more nudge to be pushed over the edge. In other words this was no ordinary visitor but someone with insight. Zen koans and their dialogues are not accidental. They are carefully orchestrated for the benefit of the student, to bring about enlightenement in him or her.
Harada Tangen Roshi
Here is an excellent documentary of my master, Harada Tangen Roshi, made by zen practitioner, artist and filmmaker, Madelon Hooykaas. She practiced under him 30 years ago and made this film in 2008 or 2009.
No sound, no water.
There is no old pond.
There is no frog that leaps in.
No sound, no water.
Santoka’s Hailstone Poem
Into
My begging bowl too
Fall hailstones
Teppatsu no
Naka e mo
Arare
teppatsu (steel begging bowl)
no naka e (falling into the)
mo (also)
arare (grain-sized hail)
A teppatsu is a steel bowl for receiving alms from begging or takuhatsu. Begging is an important part of Buddhist practice. Not only should the receiver, the monk, be thankful but also should the giver, the lay people. People often think that takuhatsu is a base practice but it is really the highest of practices in Buddhism. Takuhatsu is different from begging. The begging of the poor is seen as receiving something for nothing. But in the takuhatsu the giver is also receiving the Teaching of The Buddha from those practicing towards enlightenment. Thus the monks hard work is not only for himself but for others as well. So the receiver and giver both should have a spirit of gratitude for this reason.
The e in the second line is a grammatical particle in the Japanese language. It is possible to replace the e with a ni for the sentence to still remain grammatically correct. But there is a difference in meaning, in nuance. E denotes a movement whereas ni denotes a state of existence. With a ni the sentence would then translate to ‘In my begging bowling too are hailstones’. The cruciality of the movement thus signifies the striking of the metalic bowl by the hail, making a sound which brought probably Santoka to some kind of great realization.
For it to be hailing it must have been during the cold winter months. How hard and lonely it must have seem for Santoka. Yet his poem is full of joy and gratitude. How wonderful is the Teaching! How powerful it is! How deep his realization!
It should also be noted that Santoka is famous for his free-form haiku. While the haiku is usually 5-7-5 in syllables this haiku is 5-4-3 departing radically from the norm. Furthermore it is standard to have a season word or kigo. Here the season word is hail but Santoka may not put one in. This freedom of style is powerful and natural for him, making his poetry closer to modern verse. Indeed he lived in a time (1882-1940) of great change in Japan.
Daito Kokushi by Hakuin
The Sure Bet (Short Version)
Death, of course
Is the sure bet
But you are either
The horse
Or the punter, and
Never both at once.
the sure bet
death
is not such a scary thing
not completely unexpected
it happens to everyone
it is the sure bet
so why do we fear it
it’s as natural as birth
to be born is
to be guaranteed a death
a wise man once said
‘what is unborn cannot die’
how wonderful it is, then
to be born and not live forever
because how boring
would life be
as beckett put it, to be
waiting for godot
Fukushima, 11 March 2011, 2:46pm
The devastation
Was shocking.
Made disaster movies look
All the more unreal.
Actuality
Is meant to be infinitely
More frightening and tragic.
But the wide angle
Helicopter view
Of the (un)natural quiet gentle onslaught
Looks like a child’s play puddle
Less CGed and more muddied
The brown mass rolls across
A miniature landscape.
People are puny ants.
Cars are tiny toys.
Unaware until the very last moment
Or aware but it is too late
Everyone, everything is swept away
Reluctantly with the front.
Bridges
Are supposed to be
Over water
Not in.
Houses float down streets like boats
And boats will sit far inland like houses.
A Nuclear power station
Is not supposed to fail
And explode like a fire cracker.
Postmodern and simulating
The world is now seen
Through the colourbox
Like characters
In a soap opera
Unaffecting.
The quake, tsunami and accident
Seem to exist
Only in the images of our memories
Like some far away fictional place
Of the past or future,
And not of the suffering or joy
Of the here-and-now.
In memory of the 18,500 who died or are missing, and thoughts to the 35,000 who survived and are displaced.
Turning the prayer wheel
(Photographer Unknown)
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