Dear Moonlighters,
We will read from the bottom of p. 62 (starting with "Our enlightenment is like the moon reflected in the water"), stopping in the middle of p. 64 (just before the boat passage).
Assignment 1
So, the moon is a symbol of the illumination of enlightenment, and Dogen wishes to present an image of the light shining in all the many things of this world, big and small. He does this with a poetic image of the moon shining within countless drops, ocean waves and bodies of water, each holding the moon, shown shining fully and completely and brightly from each and all.
But, although so much harder to see than in the case of beautiful dewdrops and ocean waves, it is just as true for any place in this world ... ordinary and common, even ugly and revolting to the eyes. The moon is reflected from rusty tin cans, bullet casings and broken crack pipes as much as from lakes or puddles (granted, much harder to see in all the ugliness and violence that such objects represent.) The moon is shining from your plastic kitchen appliances and cluttered office desk, though the heart may prefer a mountain waterfall or a glistening rain drop. However, it takes a very wide heart and wise eye to see past the ordinary and ugly to something sacred. Overly dehumanizing office "cubicle" life, urban clutter and decay, revolting and tragic violent scenes, and political fighting with anger are truly poisonous to the heart ... to be avoided when we can, turned in beautiful and peaceful directions instead ... yet the moon shines there too.
Please rewrite the following paragraphs, replacing the indicated words, with some place and scene from your daily life, or even a place or scene from news reports, history, wherever touches you. The lesson is that, though hard to see, the moon shines even there. For example, pick some reflective or shiny image: It could be your coffee in your office space, the jars in your kitchen, the oil and tools in your garage, the stage during a Justin Bieber concert, the plants in your garden, a bloody battlefield during war, the scene in the U.S. capital during an protest ... you name it!
Again, please write your own before reading what other folks have written.
Assignment 2
Next, Dogen teaches this:
The point is that life keeps moving on, so enlightenment means we keep moving on in life. To say otherwise would be like saying "to be a true airplane pilot means that you can finally stop flying." So, here are a couple of examples of activities. Pick an activity from your life which brings you joy or inspiration, and rewrite it:
Examples:
So, when [art] does not truly fill your whole body and mind, you think the situation is already enough
and that you can stop [painting]. But when [art] fills your body and mind, you understand that there is always something more [to express], so you keep [painting] onward.
So, when [cooking] does not truly fill your whole body and mind, you think the situation is already enough and that you can [baking]. But when [cooking] fills your body and mind, you understand that there is always something more [to try or taste], so you keep [baking].
So, yours:
The point is that Dogen saw enlightenment and practice as such an "art of living," alive and moment by moment, not something frozen and stagnant.
Gassho, J
STLah
We will read from the bottom of p. 62 (starting with "Our enlightenment is like the moon reflected in the water"), stopping in the middle of p. 64 (just before the boat passage).
Assignment 1
So, the moon is a symbol of the illumination of enlightenment, and Dogen wishes to present an image of the light shining in all the many things of this world, big and small. He does this with a poetic image of the moon shining within countless drops, ocean waves and bodies of water, each holding the moon, shown shining fully and completely and brightly from each and all.
But, although so much harder to see than in the case of beautiful dewdrops and ocean waves, it is just as true for any place in this world ... ordinary and common, even ugly and revolting to the eyes. The moon is reflected from rusty tin cans, bullet casings and broken crack pipes as much as from lakes or puddles (granted, much harder to see in all the ugliness and violence that such objects represent.) The moon is shining from your plastic kitchen appliances and cluttered office desk, though the heart may prefer a mountain waterfall or a glistening rain drop. However, it takes a very wide heart and wise eye to see past the ordinary and ugly to something sacred. Overly dehumanizing office "cubicle" life, urban clutter and decay, revolting and tragic violent scenes, and political fighting with anger are truly poisonous to the heart ... to be avoided when we can, turned in beautiful and peaceful directions instead ... yet the moon shines there too.
Please rewrite the following paragraphs, replacing the indicated words, with some place and scene from your daily life, or even a place or scene from news reports, history, wherever touches you. The lesson is that, though hard to see, the moon shines even there. For example, pick some reflective or shiny image: It could be your coffee in your office space, the jars in your kitchen, the oil and tools in your garage, the stage during a Justin Bieber concert, the plants in your garden, a bloody battlefield during war, the scene in the U.S. capital during an protest ... you name it!
Again, please write your own before reading what other folks have written.
Our enlightenment is like the moon reflected in the [ ].The moon does not get wet, the [ ] is not broken. Although the light shines wide and vast, the moon is reflected in a [ ] a foot or an inch wide. The entire moon and the whole sky are reflected in countless [ ], and even in a single [ ]. Enlightenment does not divide a person, just as the moon does not shatter the [ ]. We cannot obstruct enlightenment, just as a drop of [ ] does not obstruct the moon in the sky. The depth of each [ ] is the measure of the height of the moon. No matter how long or short the duration of each reflection, it expresses the largeness or smallness of that particular [ ], yet completely holds the boundlessness of the moonlight in the heavens.
Next, Dogen teaches this:
So, when the Buddhist truth does not truly fill your whole body and mind, you think the situation is already enough and that you can stop. But when the Buddhist truth fills your body and mind, you understand that there is always something more, so you keep moving onward.
Examples:
So, when [art] does not truly fill your whole body and mind, you think the situation is already enough
and that you can stop [painting]. But when [art] fills your body and mind, you understand that there is always something more [to express], so you keep [painting] onward.
So, when [cooking] does not truly fill your whole body and mind, you think the situation is already enough and that you can [baking]. But when [cooking] fills your body and mind, you understand that there is always something more [to try or taste], so you keep [baking].
So, yours:
So, when [ ] does not truly fill your whole body and mind, you think the situation is already enough and that you can stop [ ]. But when the [ ] fills your body and mind, you understand that there is always something more to [ ], so you keep [ ] onward.
Gassho, J
STLah
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