Thursday, June 09, 2011

Let it be

With palms together,


Good Evening Everyone,



Master Fuke travelled around saying, “If a clear mind comes, I let it be clear. If a deluded mind comes, I let it be deluded. If the wind comes from all directions…I let it be a whirlwind. And if a space comes I will strike it again and again.” Upon questioning, Master Fuke said, “Tomorrow there will be a formal dinner in Dai-hi Temple.”



This makes perfect sense to me. The first part points to being completely present in the moment, the second part is the same as saying, “Three pounds of flax!” when asked, “What is Buddha?”



Life offers us a variety of possibilities, doesn’t it? We can feel perfection and be completely calm and serene on one day. On another day, we might be hurried, frustrated, and crazy with worry. Special one day, common the next, we encounter each moment and respond according to the state of mind we are in. We may seem to be a slave to this “who knows what will happen next” mentality, but our practice reveals that we are not.



Zazen teaches us to accept that this is this and that is that and in this state of being we are to do what is in front of us to do with equanimity. Crazy is buddha. Serene is buddha. Full is buddha. Empty is buddha. Release yourself, as the Beatles crooned, “Let it be.”



Be well.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

In the beginning I think one seeks 'special' states of mind.

In the end maybe ordinary mind or "Don't mind Mind" because Mind is no longer a fetish.

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