zen

Zen Master Seung Sahn wrote thousands of letters to his students, most of which concluded with a version of this sentence:

I hope you only go straight - don't know; try, try, try for 10,000 years non-stop; keep a mind which is clear like space, soon get Enlightenment, and save all people from suffering.

This summarizes his entire teaching, especially in its emphasis on try-mind.

Try, non-stop, for 10,000 years.

I went on my first long retreat in 1991 and one afternoon Zen Master Wu Bong came to give a talk. After the talk, he took a few questions. Someone asked, "What is the most important thing in Zen practice?"

I was a pretty new student and expected him to say something that seemed (and still seems) impossible, like "you must attain enlightenment" or "always keep a clear mind."

But, instead, he answered the question with one just word:  "Try."

I've never forgotten the power of that moment, contained in one three-letter word.

Just try.

When we bring try-mind to our life, Zen Master Seung Sahn's wonderful teaching phrases appear naturally, without effort.

May we together try, try, try - non-stop! Soon get enlightenment. And save all beings from suffering.

 

When I consider Zen Master Seung Sahn's teaching words, one phrase seems to go against the grain of Western identity:

Together action

Together action means: let go of John Wayne-mind and act in harmony* with others. 

For Dae Soen Sa Nim, this wasn't just good advice.

It was the basis of all practice. Because, harmony arises only when we put down our opinions and ideas.

No wonder I struggle so much with together action - I would actually have to let go of my very good opinions!

So, to help people like me, Dae Soen Sa Nim created impossible projects and situations (see yesterday's post about preparing the grounds of the Providence Zen Center). And his dharma heirs continue to encourage the impossible.

Those of us foolish enough to attempt these tasks (Three month retreats! Travel the mountains of Tibet! Teach in Communist-controlled Europe!) have the opportunity to learn something new about ourselves.

We're not separate. No matter what we think.

* Harmony does not mean being polite or stuffing feelings, of course. It simply means: just do it!

You probably have the experience of feeling a deep connection with certain teaching words, while others may seem less resonant or meaningful. I certainly have that experience.

Of all of Zen Master Seung Sahn's teaching phrases, the one that feels most alive to me is:

You can, you can. You cannot, you cannot.

I remember the first time I heard this phrase. A group of us were racing to prepare the grounds of Providence Zen Center for the Kwan Um School's 20th Anniversary celebration (in 1992). Rain was flooding the grounds but we rolled out sod around the new pagoda, planted shrubs and raked autumn leaves.

The day before the ceremony, Zen Master Seung Sahn came outside and stood in the rain to watch us. As his clothes became soaked, he turned his palms up to the sky and said, "Ah, wonderful!" And then went back inside.

I was a newbie and, later, asked a monk about this: "Why did the master think that the rain and mud was wonderful?"

And that's when I first heard, You can, you can. You cannot, you cannot.

Although I never heard Zen Master Seung Sahn put it this way, this particular teaching phrase seems to encapsulate the entire Avatamsaka Sutra, which says:

If you want to understand all the Buddhas of the past, present, and future, then you should view the whole universe as being created by mind alone.

We create our world and its possibilities and impossibilities. If we take responsibility for this creation, we can accomplish more than we ever might imagine. We might even wake up!

On that rainy day 18 years ago, those of us working outside could. And we did. The grounds looked wonderful.

Dae Soen Sa Nim would also encourage us to:

Just do it!*

Just do it! was perhaps his shorthand version of You can, you can. You cannot, you cannot. It points to the importance of setting aside our ideas, opinions, and beliefs and confronting what's right in front of us.

If we believe in ourselves 100%, then it gets done.

And it's wonderful.

* Dae Soen Sa Nim's usage of "just do it" precedes the Nike advertising slogan by about 10 years. Nike first introduced the slogan in 1984. Perhaps they followed Dae Soen Sa Nim's lead!

This week, Ox Herding will focus on several of the essential teaching phrases used by the Korean Zen Master Seung Sahn (Dae Soen Sa Nim).

When Dae Soen Sa Nim first came to America, he spoke no English so he quickly learned to encapsulate vast chunks of Buddhist teaching into a few short English phrases. He deployed these with great precision, even after he gained fluency in the language.

Of all these expressions, none was more central than don't know. He used this phrase repeatedly but never wore it out. Here's a sample:

Throw away all opinions, all likes and dislikes, and only keep the mind that doesn't know. This is very important.

Don't know mind is the mind that cuts off all thinking. When all thinking has been cut off, you become empty mind. This is before thinking.

Your before thinking mind, my before thinking mind, all people's before thinking minds are the same. This is your substance.

In Zen, this don't know mind traces directly back to Bodhidharma, who famously replied, "Don't know!," to Emperor Wu's question about his identity.

But the tradition of not-knowing greatly precedes Bodhidharma, appearing even in early Greek philosophy:

The Greek philosopher Socrates used to teach, "You must understand your true self."

One time someone asked Socrates, "Teacher, do you understand your true self?"

Socrates replied, "I don't know. But I also understand this don't know."

And, of course, about the same times as Socrates, the Buddha emphasized the importance of not-knowing, which he called wisdom ("prajna" in Sanskrit). Prajna means "before thinking" (pra=before; jna=thought).

And what is before thinking? Don't know. The Buddha said:

"The sharp butcher's knife" is a term for noble wisdom - the noble wisdom that cuts, severs, and carves away the inner defilements, fetters, and bonds. (Nandokovada Sutta)

Correct wisdom [says]: "This is not mine, this I am not, this is not my self." (Dhatuvibhanga Sutta)

By cutting away everything, the Buddha taught that don't know precedes name and form, including the names and forms of Buddhism. Thus, Zen Master Seung Sahn once said:

I don't teach Korean or Mahayana or Zen. I don't even teach Buddhism.

I only teach don't know.

Fifty years here and there teaching only don't know. So only don't know, okay?

Okay!