The Absolute and the Relative
By
Rev. Yin Zhi Shakya,
Translated from the Spanish by Zhèng chún
(Fernando Valencia) from Bogotá, Colombia
I was working on my
word processor finishing up an essay when I heard the bip of an incoming e-mail
message; I saved what I had written, closed the program and opened the new message.
It contained a lovely letter from one of my students. Someone who had already
entered the way and that was observing closely the movements of his mind, in order
to be capable of properly handling the orders of his ego and the fossilized archetypes
that kept him coming in and out of the same suffering.
In the following paragraphs
you will find excerpts of the message I am talking you about, with the answers
to some of his questions.
Letter No. 11 - from a student - John Doe
Viernes,
25 de enero de 2002
Rev. Yin Zhi Shakya:
I am hereby sending you some
of the questions that have aroused during my practice. I look forward to your
answers and advice:
I've been observing myself. I want to free myself of all
the constant judging and classifying people (the worst of it is that I don't even
know most of these persons and I have already condemned them). I am doing a conscious
effort to improve myself but, for certain, I have to do much better.
Question
# 1
What must I do? Concentrate on repeating the name of the Buddha Amithaba?
I want to be able to look without my prejudices. I am beginning to understand
the beauty in a name like ""Empty Cloud"". I want to achieve
that state of emptiness in which I can live free of this burden I've been carrying
with me.
Answer # 1
You are, in fact, answering your own question, but
you are not aware of it. You keep on repeating: I want to ... I want to ... So,
why don't you do what you want to do! Just make up your mind and do it.
There
are many ways to practice Buddhism; each different from the other, however, it
doesn't mean that one is better than the other. After all, they all lead us towards
the same goal: enlightenment, to the correct thoughts, to the correct points of
view and to mental purity. If you want to repeat the name of the Buddha "Amithaba",
that's all right. Repeating the name "Amithaba", meditating in him and
putting into practice his teachings will lead you to enlightenment, to the correct
thoughts, to the correct points of view and to mental purity. On the other hand,
it is totally wrong to keep on repeating and chanting the name of the Buddha "Amithaba"
hoping to obtain a promotion or material gain. This is superstition and goes against
his teachings. Whatever method you decide to practice it has to be done with the
heart.
The most important part is the "Right Here - Right Now".
The Chan attitude requires that we live in the present. Don't allow your mind
to wander around, coming and going from here to there, like a chimpanzee/monkey
gone nut.
What we should be concerned about is our criticism. Just stand back
without hurting anyone and do something else. As a matter of fact, "Empty
Cloud", which you say to admire, was empty of the relative, of the illusion,
of the created, of the ego; but he was not empty of the truth, of the absolute.
If you look at everyone as a potential Buddha and someone is speaking to you,
the lotus flower in him will blossom in its entire splendor. If you practice tolerance
in each and every moment of your life, with everyone and everything, if you recognize
the truth everywhere, starting with yourself, if you pray and chant and concentrate
yourself repeating the name of Buddha Amithaba with solely intention of reflecting
your Buddha-nature to all and everyone, then, you will live in the world of permanent
reality and without ego, what in Buddhism we call Nirvana, a secure and reliable
world and you'll be able to leave behind the mental chaos in which you are living.
Question # 2
On the other hand, I've been working in my Chan practice.
Christmas and New Years Day celebrations I spent without drinking alcohol, relaxed,
pleasantly participating in family events. I kept a quiet and simple conversation,
and I tried my best not to be vain. I had nothing to demonstrate to no one. Today,
after those agitated days have gone by, I feel happy.
Answer # 2
That's
wonderful! It's a great improvement. Congratulations! Excellent!
Question
# 3
Questions keep up arising: There are people I love, family and friends,
with whom I enjoy sharing some time together. As I read in the Seventh Word of
Chan Buddhism or on Empty Cloud, I'm not sure which one; I am dedicating part
of my weekends to these people. Weekdays I dedicate to my practice and to my wife
and daughter. (Telephone is, indeed, a torture!).
The question is: what do
I talk them about? Lots of conversations with these people consist of judging
other people, personalities and politics, and so on. I don't want to be part of
this "endless opinion machinegun".
Answer # 3
Don't talk. They
are not interested in what you have to say, anyway... They are only interested
in what they have to say. Judge for yourself. It's better to use this time to
learn how to listen to others and you'll be the dearest of all. Furthermore, listening
is a way of meditating. But don't tell anyone what you are doing, that would be
pride on yourself and anyhow, they won't appreciate it. We must not humiliate
anyone.
Question # 4
All of my life I've been a music lover. My music
preferences have been the result of a truly personal search (obviously, frequently
going through my bluff periods, showing off what an expert I am; or the usual,
that's great, that's crap, and so on ... the know-it-all). Nowadays, I feel like
I've listening to certain type of music to nourish my ego, maybe that's the reason
why I even got into Wagner. I wish I could listen to music without knowing whom
the composer is, or which band is playing; I would like to listen to music without
prejudice of any kind, without mental relations to nourish my ego.
How do
I get rid of all this structure? Presently I hardly listen to music anymore, but
I feel music is vital to my existence.
Answer # 4
In Chan there is nothing
that keeps us from listening to music. Music is the language of the soul. Listen
to music without prejudice. It's only your mind that keeps on hopping from one
thought to another and doesn't allow you to listen to the music as it is. You
keep on thinking, what is this, what is that. Who is the composer, what's the
name of the song, and so on.
The solution is to allow thoughts to go by and
keep on listening to the music. It will take some time for your mind to leave
you in peace. Afterwards, take care that your mind doesn't capture you again.
That awareness, in case you don't know, is also part of the meditation process.
Why not listen to music if it makes you happy? Hui Neng said that the purpose
of life is 'to see' and I would add, 'see' to find happiness, which is, in fact,
what everyone is looking for.
As I've told you before, due to the fact that
we are all Buddha's, in Chan you can do whatever you like, as long as you do it
without attachment, without egoism, without fixation, without pride and with the
proper respect to every living being.
Allow me, please, to quote the Zazen
hymn where it says: "All sentient beings are essentially Buddhas. As with
water and ice, there is no ice without water; apart from sentient beings, there
are no Buddhas. Not knowing how close the truth is. We seek it far away. What
a pity!"
Question # 5
In Chan, is it possible something like a "gourmet
student"? Can you prepare exquisite recipes and yet keep on with the practice?
Answer # 5
Exquisite recipes? When the word "exquisite" is involved
in something, it seems like fixation, desire, and that is not Chan. Recipes? Why
not? Serve your food to everyone and serve it with love. Do the best you can and
nothing more. Don't pride yourself in being the best cook. Is it clear to you?
No pride, no desire, no fixation, no attachment. That is the real recipe.
As
I've told you before in my previous message and it is stated on the Chapter 17
of the Seventh World of the Chan Buddhism:
"A Chan man is a veteran of
change and has the scars to prove it. He knows that religiosity is not a substitute
for combat. Folks who drip with sentimental fervor because they have survived
the reading of a poem are not in anybody's army."
"The proper Chan
attitude, then, might be said to consist in 'cutting the crap,' of making no public
display of piety, of saving our devotion for those times when we are alone and
can properly express it; in not going out of our way to be vulgar on one hand
but, on the other, in not trying to affect those refined sensibilities which suggest
that we believe shitting and pissing to be quaint customs of the proletariat we
once read about in Daddy's library. Chan is an extremely tough discipline. We
have to turn ourselves inside out and lay bare to a dissecting scalpel our most
private thoughts and acts. People who are too squeamish or too elegant to use
the language of the common man really don't have the guts for Chan. Lin Ji would
have made short work of them."
"The Chan attitude requires that
we abandon our prideful agendas, that we work for the sake of the work and not
for the sense of accomplishment. Where there is pride there can be no loving,
natural attitude. Let no one believe that just because he can't do anything worth
being proud of he will easily succeed in being humble. Humility ought to be -
but isn't - easy to achieve."
"The Chan attitude also requires us
to live in the present, to accept what we have with good grace without always
scheming to alter events in order to provide for a more profitable or enjoyable
future."
Finally, and to conclude my answers to your questions let me
quote chapter 2 of "Empty Cloud - The Teachings of Hsu Yun" entitled
"Chan Training", where it says:
"Many people begin Chan training
by thinking, "Well, since all is Maya or Samsaric illusion, it doesn't matter
what I do or how I do it. The only thing that's important is gaining Nirvana.
So, since there's no such thing as good or evil, I'll do what I want." It
does matter what we do. Chan is a branch of the Buddhist religion and as Buddhists
we must adhere to ethical precepts. Samsara or no Samsara, we obey the Precepts.
And in addition to this, we also follow the strict rules of discipline, which
govern our training. Let's start with the training rules:
While there are
many different methods that may be followed, before beginning any of them, a practitioner
must meet four basic requirements:
He or she must: 1. Understand the Law of
Causality. 2. Accept the rules of discipline. 3. Maintain an unshakable faith
in the existence of the Buddha Self. 4. Be determined to succeed in whichever
method he chooses."
If you have further questions, you can always count
on me. One last advice, read again The Seventh World of the Chan Buddhism",
"The Sutra of Hui Neng" and the "Empty Cloud - The Teachings of
Hsu Yun" and we'll go over your readings later on; don't forget, samsara
is mental chaos, and you can easily recognize it when you are fortified, strengthen,
and prepared with the proper tools, in this case, the readings that I am recommending
you.
Wishing you always the Divine Peace,
Yours truly
Rev. Yin
Zhi Shakya