I'm sitting in front of a toppled tree stump, staring at the four tortures arms that were once roots. It's cold. I'm in Jasper. The people I am camping with are still asleep. They seemingly will never wake up.
Looking at this end of a dead tree, I realize it's dead roots stretch out into the earth. So what? There are stones popping up out of the earth like new potatoes. There's a rock nestled in the twisted roots. My fingers are cold, typing this on my iPhone.
The car is locked. I can't get a book out. I can't get my stuff to go have a shower. I can't get the cable to recharge my phone.
I bought M&Ms at the vending machine. I'm tired of eating crap. Someone is moving in one of our tents, but I'm not sure if they're getting up or not.
My hands are cold. I hear squirrels an birds and distant cars. I could really go for some hot oatmeal.
Other campers are awake. Just not us.
A zipper!
This tree over here is oozing mustard coloured sap. It looks like an infection.
Wake up!
2 comments:
"Wake up!"
Wake Up!
Zen Master Seung Sahn
From a talk by Zen Master Seung Sahn on December 5, 1992
Buddha's story is very interesting because he had a very good situation, but he gave up this good situation to have a suffering situation. He did suffering practice for six years, and then BOOM! got enlightenment. So today is Got Enlightenment Day. Everybody understands this day, but when Zen Master Man Gong celebrated this day, he called it "I Lost Enlightenment Day." That's a famous story.
Man Gong Sunim was the disciple of a very great monk, Zen Master Chun Song, who did not give the usual style of teaching. Only some people understood. Chun Song Sunim's temple was in the To Bong Mountains of Korea.
It was wintertime. Buddha's Enlightenment Day was coming, so many people came to the temple. They were very cold, so everyone went outside and cut trees to make firewood.
But there was a law against cutting down trees, so a policeman came and took this great Zen Master to the police station. He asked Chun Song Sunim, "Why did you cut down these trees?"
"You already understand."
"WHY?! It's not correct!"
"What is 'correct'? What is 'not correct'?"
"That is the rule!"
"Who makes the rule?"
"The country!"
"Oh! That's a country rule. I don't care about country rules. My rule is important."
"You cut trees, and now you must go to jail. You speak strangely. Who are you?"
"I am a monk."
"Where do you come from?"
"My mother's --------." (Zen Master Chun Song was famous for his scatalogical speech.) A very strange thing to say to a policeman, right?
"WHAT? Where is your hometown?"
"My father's --------."
"You're crazy!" shouted the policeman. "Go away!" And he let Chun Song Sunim go. That was Zen Master Chun Song's action.
On Buddha's Enlightenment Day, Chun Song Sunim said, "Buddha is number one stupid man!" Everybody asked themselves what this meant.
"Everybody already has enlightenment. Why did he sit for six years, see a star, and then get enlightenment? That's stupid! If you see a star, you get enlightenment NOW!"
So everybody wondered: now see a star, now get enlightenment? Where is this star?
Nobody understood. "HERE! HERE! This is the star!" But still nobody understood. Then he hit the floor with his Zen stick and yelled "KATZ!!" Still nobody understood him. But under the floor a sleeping dog was woken by the hit. Jumping up, it hit its head. The dog howled.
"Only this dog has enlightenment," Zen Master Chun Song said.
http://www.kwanumzen.org/pzc/newsletter/v04n07-1993-mar.html
I tend to be extremely suspicious of Western religions. Sometimes it occurs to me I should also be suspicious of Eastern ones. I tend to cut them way too much slack.
What is "enlightenment"? And if monks tell me they're enlightened and I'm not, isn't it all just a big scam? They have the secret, and they want to give it to me -- but to achieve it I have to listen to them, sit zazen, help their monastery exist, all that crap.
All successful religions have a hook. "You have sin -- only I can absolve you!"
"You aren't enlightened -- but I can help you find your path!"
I've read quite a few books about buddhism. One guy noted that he had the koan where everyone knows the answer: MU!
Every so often, he would be called in to see his teacher. The teacher would ask the riddle, and the guy would answer MU!
But his teacher wasn't quite convinced he was saying MU! in the proper way. Months went by, him sitting zazen, occasionally seeing the teacher and saying MU!
Meanwhile, he couldn't help but notice that another teacher, working down the street, was quickly passing everyone on all the koans. His friend was well on his way through all the koans. He thought to himself that his jealousy was a sign of his attachments, stuff he needed to let go of.
But it was extremely difficult not to say, "This is all bullshit."
Would the buddha agree? "Yes, yes, this is all bullshit."
At some point, one is forced to recognize that everything is pointless and silly. We'll all die. May as well do what you want to pass the time.
Is that enlightenment? Probably not.
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