LIVING by VOW: The Heart Sutra - pp 131 to 138

[Jishin]

My Kung Fu is strong. [emoji869][emoji41]

Gasho, Jishin, _/st\_

[Jundo]

Put down the Hear Sutra and go do something worthwhile.

My worthless 2 cents

Gasho, Jishin, _/st\_

This "Way Beyond Word & Letters" actually has a more subtle history. How many thousands of Zen books have been written about "Silence?" Even the story of the legendary so-called "illiterate" ancestor, Hui-Neng, is in the form of a complicated book!

There is a time to read a book, there is a time to put it down and Just Sit. There is a time to burn the book and get on with life, there is a time to reconstitute the book from the ashes and read it again.

But even when reading a Teaching as we are, always see through to Clarity. Never get tangled or become merely an armchair philosopher.

Such Clarity is the message of the Heart Sutra.





Gassho, J

SatTodayLAH

[Jishin]

A compilation from Nancy Reagan “Just say no!” to drugs and the Koan “Does a dog have Buddha Nature? Mu! (No!) or (Does not apply!):

Heart Sutra in a pinch: Mu! Mu! Mu!.....

[emoji4]

Gasho, Jishin, _/st\_

[Eishuu]

Thank you Kokuu, Shoka, and Jundo for your thoughtful responses to my questions.

I've put Red Pine on my Amazon wishlist. It's good to be reminded about 'in the bones' knowing. I think I tend to get a bit stuck in my head.

Gassho
Lucy
ST/LAH

[Seishin]

First off I'd like to thank Lucy for her post as it has generated some insightful and helpful responses. Anyway here's my 2 cents worth, which is based on just a year of practice primarily here a Treeleaf, so this was the first Heart Sutra variant I've encountered.

Do you think there is any significant difference between the two? (Other than the rhythm)

To me both seem to trying to get the same message across (I think) but the subtle differences and nuances make me uncertain at times. I guess all will be revealed.

Does the Heart Sutra have a particular importance and/or meaning to your practice as it does to Shohaku’s?

When i first started following the sutra during Zazenkai it little impact beyond being part of the ceremony. Having made a conscious effort to memorize it during Ango, its now become a constant companion and perhaps its lessening all that faking. I'm now pretty much chanting it daily and at least a few times. If I'm sitting for 30 minutes and fi d my mind is not settling, I'll silently chant on the zafu and this seems to ease the tension - I find it difficult to physically relax - sometimes I'll just bow sit chant then practice (yes all practice). Weather permitting I'll be out on the tractor mower this pm and it will be Samu with Heart Sutra. So I do think it aids my practice.

What are your thoughts on the emphasis on prajna (wisdom)?

I guess anything we do can be harmful unless applied with wisdom. But mine is so limited at present I know I have much to learn.

My biggest concern is my struggle to understand the essence of emptiness and the absolute but hope this chapter clears some of the mist.

SZIZTM / lah

[AlanLa]

The Heart Sutra is central to my practice. I recite it regularly. In one way I feel I get it, but at the same time I know i will never really understand it. I use it as guidance, a very succinct summary of my Zen practice to which I aspire. Strangely, I also use it as a lullaby. When I have trouble sleeping, reciting it always puts me right out, though sometimes it takes a couple of repetitions which is totally fine; the more the better, I figure.

I have read Red Pine's book on it, which was a great intellectual exercise. On the opposite side of the spectrum, I have also read An Arrow to the Heart, which was a great abstract exercise. When I need a refresher, I go to the Arrow book. Life ain't logic, because I need the Heart Sutra on a more day-to-day basis than I need the its deep historical roots.

The part of the section that hit the hardest was the the false idea that those who follow precepts (commandments) are friends and those who don't are going to hell is an example of group egocentrism Finally, a simple repudiation of my past religious upbringing, and I am so thankful to see this in print where it somehow reinforces views I have had since a young boy in the Lutheran confirmation process. The black/white and right/wrong crutch that people desperately cling to and that causes so much suffering is so sad. Living in the belt buckle of the Bible belt, I see it regularly, and their blindness to that suffering, that separation from the other on religious grounds, is heartbreaking. Just yesterday I had a conversation with a former pastor who is now in our counseling program and he was talking about how his White congregations were all about "building a wall" and couldn't see Jesus' teaching otherwise despite their adherence to Jesus' teachings.

How Mahaya Buddhism emphasizes the six paramitas was very helpful. Being generous, having a right livelihood, and especially being patient are so essential to practice. I am lucky in that my job as an educator about people with disabilities fits in here nicely, and practicing patience applies everywhere in both my personal and professional my life, but the boundary of generosity is a struggle. Where is generosity helpful and not seems so subjective as to be impossible to ever clearly have a line drawn around it. A simple example is if my help for others harms myself, and what is the context of help that we are talking about? There is so much gray area in this paramita that makes it impossible, I think, to ever really fulfill. it I understand how the paramita of wisdom is so essential to the other two paramitas of diligence and meditation, but being wise and diligent in my practice is a daily process that will never end, and I skip zazen when I don't feel well*. I feel comfortable with how Okamura explains all these paramitas and ties them together. He does so in a clear and concise manner that is very helpful.

*I just got diagnosed with hypothyroidism, which means I lately never feel well, at least not yet until it gets under control, which might be a while. Every day is filled with physical pain from my head on down, I have no energy, and I am depressed, among a bunch of other symptoms. When I have a temporary illness, I skip zazen until I feel better, but because this is a chronic condition I have been doing zazen every day (minus one) because this ain't something I can come back to later when I feel better. Doing zazen when you feel like shit means feeling all that SHIT, which is why I haven't done it when sick before. But chronic is different from acute; this is something I can no longer escape, so zazen is my time to accept it as best i can. It totally sucks, but I have a greater understanding now of how zazen does zazen, not me.

[Shugen]

Thank you for your thought provoking posts.

We will be moving on in a few more days.

Gassho,

Shugen

Sattoday/LAH


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[Meitou]

What has struck me here reading all of your interesting comments, is that how many of us, despite many readings of the Heart Sutra in all of its different incarnations, have the sense of not understanding it fully in the conventional sense, but an understanding of it on a different, more visceral level. This sense of knowing in a different way , what is that? How does it work? I've come to believe that there are truths beyond words and that there are some things beyond explanation, which is also why it's not a good idea to be overly attached to books, study and words and to be receptive to understanding on an experiential level. However I was really shaken up by Okumura's speech back in the summer at SFZC in which, as I understood it, he was saying that if we try hard enough it is possible to talk about anything - can that be true? I get into terrible knots trying to talk about the Heart Sutra, yet I feel that it contains everything we ever need to know. How can that be felt without understanding? Intuition? The heart-mind? As usual more questions than answers.
I agree with you Shoka about Okumura's voice, he's wonderful to listen to and having heard him really has added something extra to reading this book. If anyone is interested, the talk I mentioned above can be downloaded here http://sfzc.org/dogens-cypress-tree

Gassho
Frankie,

satwithyoualltoday/lah

[Shugen]

Thank you for the link Frankie.

Gassho,

Shugen

Sattoday/LAH


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[Risho]

I've read all of these posts, and I just disagree with them all. hahaha just kidding.

I've finally caught up with the readings. lol This is a fascinating discussion; I agree with all of this. I personally prefer our version of the Heart Sutra; like, many others here, I chant it daily, so I'm very attached to it - which is sort of ironic. hahah

I think, and Frankie expressed this so well, that these chants are understood on so many levels. On one level, the dharma must be lived. On another, and also equally valid level, it must be studied. I think they go hand in hand. Just like Jundo Roshi's picture above, that pretty much is where I'm at with the Dharma study; I love books; I have a pile of books on my lamp stand to the right of where I sit. They are overflowing with zen books; I love referencing through them. But that's because reading resonates with me; I enjoy it, so it deepens my practice.

I feel that these readings are very encouraging and inspirational, but without sitting on the cushion it doesn't mean anything. Also to echo Frankie, the meaning is beyond the intellect as well. You feel it. Chanting this every day really gets it into your bones, it becomes natural.

I think we are so ready to kill the Buddha here or burn our books. But to be able to kill the Buddha or to burn your books, you need to have had a lot of practice first; if you do it prematurely, I feel that it's really just meaningless. I can't remember his name, but before he burned his library he'd dedicated his whole life to the dharma. So while burning your books may make you feel cool or iconoclastic, that's still ego-attachment; Prajna (or wisdom) is much different; it leads to doing things that are revealed to be the correct course of action rather than committing shallow acts for the sake of being viewed in some manner like a rebel, or cool, etc.

I mean I can't really state it better than what has already been said. But one thing I wanted to talk about is motivation. When we are motivated, it's easy to do things. When we lose that motivation, and our enthusiasm wanes, it's easy to give up. Enter Prajna. Motivation is not what we should rely on. I quit smoking 15 years ago. Motivation does not last long when you are an addict. You have to rely on something much deeper that just sticks to it when you no longer remember why you chose to do this. Zazen, nutrition, anything hard in life is the same exact thing.

There is not one thing that will fix your problems. There are no 5 top things to change your life. You just have to keep going. You make a vow, you rely on that vow. That vow springs forth from wisdom, and consistency (the real deal ) comes from that. For all good things that we do, we must keep doing them, day in and day out. You show up every day. That's wisdom.

That's also what zazen teaches us. We watch those thoughts of "I love this", "I hate this", "just this one time", doesn't matter. We watch them rise and fall, we stay on the path. Renunciation teaches us a lot about ourselves, which is why Ango is such a great revealer of wisdom. Some days, keeping our Ango commitments is easy, some days it's not, IT DOES NOT MATTER. We keep on going regardless of the shallow emotional state that either encourages or discourages us. That's wisdom.

Anyway - thank you for your posts everyone - very good stuff to digest and practice with.

Gassho,

Risho
-sattoday/LAH

[Meitou]

......

There is not one thing that will fix your problems. There are no 5 top things to change your life. You just have to keep going. You make a vow, you rely on that vow. That vow springs forth from wisdom, and consistency (the real deal ) comes from that. For all good things that we do, we must keep doing them, day in and day out. You show up every day. That's wisdom.

That's also what zazen teaches us. We watch those thoughts of "I love this", "I hate this", "just this one time", doesn't matter. We watch them rise and fall, we stay on the path. Renunciation teaches us a lot about ourselves, which is why Ango is such a great revealer of wisdom. Some days, keeping our Ango commitments is easy, some days it's not, IT DOES NOT MATTER. We keep on going regardless of the shallow emotional state that either encourages or discourages us. That's wisdom.

Anyway - thank you for your posts everyone - very good stuff to digest and practice with.

Gassho,

Risho
-sattoday/LAH

Frankie
satwithyoualltoday/lah