Subtle Sound (eBook)

Chapter1: The Illusion of 'I' ShakyamuniBuddha taught many wonderful things, and he taught them according to thecircumstances. He spoke according to the profession, the understanding, andthe experiences of the person with whom he was speaking. When he talked to apoet, he spoke in and of poetry. When he talked to a mother, he talked abouther children. Above all, he spoke of the unity of life everywhere, and ofcompassion for every living being. His teaching came from his own experience ofthe human condition, from his intuitive understanding of its essential character. Buddhismembraces all religions, all traditions. We Buddhists have deep respect forevery one of them, and realize that fundamentally, we are all one. We may usedifferent phrases at different times, but we are all one. Thispractice that we are engaged in is very down to earth and pragmatic. At thesame time, it is preeminently of the spirit. It is a balanced and satisfyingway of life, with feet firmly planted on the ground and heart open to the wholeuniverse. This practice does not impose any creeds or dogmas upon us. Itdemands no blind faith, no submission to any separate deity or person or thing.This is an essential matter. In Buddhism, all beings, without exception, are seen in the beauty anddignity of their original perfection, not their original sin. By our ownefforts and intuitive insights we may uncover this perfection, which is ourreal and intrinsic Buddha-nature. This is enlightenment. Our Buddhist practice,deep and simple, is a way of life. It is a lifelong study and practice—,notonly for this life, but for the next life, and the next, and so on. It can be aprofound study, with inner meanings and depths endlessly expanding before us,and it can also be extremely simple, just teaching the basic ethical practicesof daily living, practices of unselfishness, compassion, and good will towardevery living being. Buddhism emphasizes the transiency of all material things, and theillusory and impermanent nature of what we think of as our own personal ego. Italso teaches the unity and kinship of all life. This practice involvesmindfulness in every aspect of our lives. So it is, as Mumon says, like walkingon the edge of a sword, over the ridge of an iceberg, with no steps, noladders, climbing the cliffs without hands. There is no deviation from thispath, this sword's edge, this ridge of the iceberg. We must be mindfullypresent with whatever difficult part of the path comes along. Everything we do in the zendo—,the arrangement of each object, thesitting in this wonderful posture, the walking with mindfulness—,is exceedinglyimportant. Not just in the zendo, but wherever we are, this mindfulness isimportant. Not to step on insects, to see if there is an impediment in the roadand take care of it so somebody else doesn't fall, all of this is an extremelyimportant part of our practice. Then,of course, there is our meditation, our zazen. In awakening this intuitivemind, we awaken a deep compassion for all living creatures not as beingsseparate from ourselves, but as part of our own being, as we are of theirs.This, too, we feel in the zendo. We don't talk to one another, we don't gossipabout things, we don't chat about the weather. We are sitting in deep silence,sensing what it is that belongs to every human being, animal, plant, tree,stone, the whole universe. And it makes us very compassionate and openheartedto one another, if we permit it. This is living practice. Books are beautiful and inspiring. Lectures may help us. Scriptures arealso important, but these are not enough. It's living...