The Zen Master's Dance - 16 - Genjo Koan (Bottom of p. 62 to Middle of 64)

[Jundo]

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 new 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 insurrection ... 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.

Assignment 2

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.

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:

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.

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

[aprapti]

Assignment 1

Our enlightenment is like the moon reflected in this book.The moon does not get wet, the book is not broken. Although the light shines wide and vast, the moon is reflected in a book a foot or an inch wide. The entire moon and the whole sky are reflected in countless books, and even in a single book. Enlightenment does not divide a person, just as the moon does not shatter the book. We cannot obstruct enlightenment, just as a drop of a book does not obstruct the moon in the sky. The depth of each book 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 book, yet completely holds the boundlessness of the moonlight in the heavens.

Assignment 2

So, when reading does not truly fill your whole body and mind, you think the situation is already enough and that you can stop reading. But when the book fills your body and mind, you understand that there is always something more to read, so you keep reading onward.

aprapti


sat

[Meiun]

Assignment 1

Our enlightenment is like the moon reflected in the window of the car.The moon does not get wet, the window is not broken. Although the light shines wide and vast, the moon is reflected in a window a foot or an inch wide. The entire moon and the whole sky are reflected in countless windows, and even in a single window. Enlightenment does not divide a person, just as the moon does not shatter the window. We cannot obstruct enlightenment, just as a (drop of) dirty window does not obstruct the moon in the sky. The depth of each window 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 window, yet completely holds the boundlessness of the moonlight in the heavens.

Assignment 2

So, when love does not truly fill your whole body and mind, you think the situation is already enough and that you can stop trying to love. But when the love fills your body and mind, you understand that there is always something more to love, so you keep loving onward.

Gassho [emoji1317]

Mike

Sat today

[Jundo]

[Tairin]

Assignment 1

Our enlightenment is like the moon reflected in a cup of tea. The moon does not get wet, the tea cup is not broken. Although the light shines wide and vast, the moon is reflected in a tea cup a foot or an inch wide. The entire moon and the whole sky are reflected in countless cups of tea, and even in a single cup of tea. Enlightenment does not divide a person, just as the moon does not shatter the tea cup. We cannot obstruct enlightenment, just as a drop of tea does not obstruct the moon in the sky. The depth of each tea cup 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 tea cup, yet completely holds the boundlessness of the moonlight in the heavens.

Assignment 2

So, when music does not truly fill your whole body and mind, you think the situation is already enough and that you can stop playing guitar. But when the music fills your body and mind, you understand that there is always some more music to play, so you keep strumming onward.


Tairin
Sat today and lah

[Jundo]

[DanM]

Assignment 1
Our enlightenment is like the moon reflected in a record. The moon does not get waxy, the record is not broken. Although the light shines wide and vast, the moon is reflected in a record a foot or 7 inches wide. The entire moon and the whole sky are reflected in countless records, and even in a single/EP. Enlightenment does not divide a person, just as the moon does not shatter the record. We cannot obstruct enlightenment, just as a drop of vinyl does not obstruct the moon in the sky. The depth of each record 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 record, yet completely holds the boundlessness of the moonlight in the heavens.

Assignment 2
So, when music does not truly fill your whole body and mind, you think the situation is already enough and that you can stop playing. But when the music fills your body and mind, you understand that there is always something more to write, so you keep practising onward.

Gassho,
Dan
ST/LAH

[Jundo]

[Amelia]

I was recently caught in a small snowfall during the night, so I thought of it this way:

"Our enlightenment is like the moon reflected in the snow. The moon does not get wet, the snow is not broken. Although the light shines wide and vast, the moon is reflected in a snow patch a foot or an inch wide. The entire moon and the whole sky are reflected in countless snowflakes, and even in a single particle of water. Enlightenment does not divide a person, just as the moon does not shatter the snow. We cannot obstruct enlightenment, just as a drop of water does not obstruct the moon in the sky. The depth of each snowfall 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 snowfall, yet completely holds the boundlessness of the moonlight in the heavens."

Assignment 2:

I am enjoying taking care of the Springtime changes in my garden:

"So, when gardening does not truly fill your whole body and mind, you think the situation is already enough and that you can stop gardening. But when the gardening fills your body and mind, you understand that there is always something more to garden, so you keep gardening onward."

Gassho
Sat, lah

[Jundo]

[Amelia]

Snow garden!

Gassho
Sat, lah

[Tomás ESP]

1:

Our enlightenment is like the moon reflected in the toilet.The moon does not get wet, the toilet is not broken. Although the light shines wide and vast, the moon is reflected in a toilet a foot or an inch wide. The entire moon and the whole sky are reflected in countless toilets, and even in a single toilet. Enlightenment does not divide a person, just as the moon does not shatter the toilet. We cannot obstruct enlightenment, just as a drop of a toilet does not obstruct the moon in the sky. The depth of each toilet 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 toilet, yet completely holds the boundlessness of the moonlight in the heavens.

2:

So, when skiing does not truly fill your whole body and mind, you think the situation is already enough and that you can stop skiing. But when the skiing fills your body and mind, you understand that there is always something more to ski, so you keep skiing onward.

Gassho, Tomás
Sat&LaH

[Jundo]

No. 1 is interesting. It is correct, the moon shines as everything, both the beautiful and the dirty and profane. Sometimes you will find this in Zen teachings, such as that the Buddha is a "sh*tstick" and such. So, what you write is good, wise, correct. However, usually we find beautiful images (moon in the dewdrop, not the toilet) to remind us of something Beautiful (Big B) at the heart of the Buddha's message.

The Zen of Everything podcast this week was exactly about that.

https://www.treeleaf.org/forums/showthread.php?20011-The-ZEN-of-EVERYTHING%21-Podcast-Ep-72-Beauty

Gassho, J
STLah

71segrFOHML._AC_SL1391_.jpg

[Tomás ESP]

Noted, thank you Jundo Will listen to the podcast later

Gassho, Tomás
Sat&LaH

[Onkai]

Assignment 1
Our enlightenment is like the moon reflected in the eyes of a cat, The moon does not get wet, the eyes of a cat do not get broken. Although the light shines wide and vast, the moon is reflected in the eyes of a cat a foot or an inch wide. The entire moon and the whole sky are reflected in countless eyes of cats and even a single eye of a cat. Enlightenment does not divide a person, just as the moon doesn't shatter the eyes of a cat. We cannot obstruct enlightenment, just as a drop of an eye of a cat does not obstruct the moon. The depth of each eye of a cat 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 eye of a cat, yet completely holds the boundlessness of the moonlight of the heavens.

Assignment 2
So when writing fiction does not truly fill your whole body and mind, you think the situation is already enough and that you can stop. But when writing fiction fills your body and mind, you understand that there is always something more, so you keep moving onward.

Thank you, Jundo. These exercises are inspiring.

Gassho,
Onkai
Sat/lah