The Zen Master's Dance - 13 - Genjo Koan (End of p. 55 to Middle of p. 58)

[Jundo]

Dear Deluded Buddhas,

We continue Master Dogen's Genjo Koan, starting from p. 55 (with the sentence, "And so, Dogen next addresses these questions:"), and finishing on p. 58 (just before the sentence, "Buddha doesn't need to note she is Buddha.").

In our delusion, we try to make the world how we personally wish it to be. We rarely succeed completely, and sometimes not at all. Then, we might expect that, when "enlightened," the world will then be just how we wish it to be. That is also a kind of delusion.

But might "enlightenment" be our letting the world be as the world be? Then our desires and the world will match.

(Nonetheless, as we let the world be as it be, we can also try to fix what we can.)

We might also think that "enlightenment" brings a permanent peace which never leaves us.

But might "enlightenment" be our experiencing a timeless peace right hand-in-hand with the fact that life rarely stays one way, and is constantly changing and often is frustrating and uncomfortable?

ASSIGNMENT:

1 - Describe a problem in your life or in this world, and your frustration that it does not go your way or become as you would like it.

2 - Describe the problem as completely vanishing in "emptiness," as in the second sentence of the opening paragraph of Genjo Koan that we read last week.

3 - Describe your being at peace with the problem when you let it be as it is (including, perhaps, letting the frustration or discomfort it causes you also "be as it is.")

4 - Question: Now answer, are all of the above different or the same? Can they be simultaneously true?

(Note that it may not be a coincidence that my 4 questions are kinda parallel to the 4 sentences of last week's assignment. )

Gassho, J

STLah

[Koriki]

1 - Describe a problem in your life or in this world, and your frustration that it does not go your way or become as you would like it.

I have a chronic illness that affects my ability to process information, that limits how much I can physically do, and that interferes with being able to be around other people as much as I would like.

2 - Describe the problem as completely vanishing in "emptiness," as in the second sentence of the opening paragraph of Genjo Koan that we read last week.

There is no "my illness," no information to process, no other people to be around.

3 - Describe your being at peace with the problem when you let it be as it is (including, perhaps, letting the frustration or discomfort it causes you also "be as it is.")

If I stop comparing my current state with how it was before I would see that I can process enough information to live, that what I can't do I can get help with, and there are other ways to connect with people without being in the same physical space.

4 - Question: Now answer, are all of the above different or the same? Can they be simultaneously true?

Yes, they are all true at the same time.

Gassho,
Koriki
s@lah

[Furyu]

(1) I sometimes wish I could have a more meaningful relationship with my brothers, but - for many reasons - when we get together, things are difficult and often a cause of anxiety for me, perhaps for them too. I often end up feeling bruised. (2) Yet, we each are who we are, there are no villains, no heroes, we are each the expression of everything just as it is, and there is nothing to strive for - in emptiness, there is no separation, no brothers, no judging, no divisions, no cause for anxiety. (3) Therefore, I simply know that there will be discomfort between us but that there is also an effort to connect, even if it doesn't always succeed. And yes, there will be joy too, whether things ever change or not. That is simply how things are. (4) So, yes, all of that exists at the same time, is true at the same time, although I certainly am not always able to see the whole picture. But sometimes I can.

Gasshō
Fūryū
sat-lah

[Hokuu]

1 - Describe a problem in your life or in this world, and your frustration that it does not go your way or become as you would like it.

Lower back pain. It’s so frustrating - it stops me from physically doing what I want and achieving fitness goals I aim for. It’s frustrating to be told by the doctor that the issue won’t probably fully pass till the rest of life.

2 - Describe the problem as completely vanishing in "emptiness," as in the second sentence of the opening paragraph of Genjo Koan that we read last week.

The lower back pain while being so real and exhausting is but a wave in the ocean of oneness; merely an experience of a mind which in turns is but an output of certain set of conditions, not fixed, not substantial.

3 - Describe your being at peace with the problem when you let it be as it is (including, perhaps, letting the frustration or discomfort it causes you also "be as it is.")

(I’m far away from being at peace with the pain but I will follow the assignment).
Accepting pain as part of life experience, as something given and something I don’t have a full control over feels liberating at some level. Pain remains but it’s just here, like the lack of hair on my head, which I don’t care much about, pain is just here as part of the reality.

4 - Question: Now answer, are all of the above different or the same? Can they be simultaneously true?

All of the above can be simultaneously true. It reflects different perspectives on the so complex reality.

Gassho
Hokuu
satlah

[Jundo]

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[Chikyou]

1 - Describe a problem in your life or in this world, and your frustration that it does not go your way or become as you would like it.

Violence and hatred towards others continues to flourish, even though it makes the world a much worse place to be, and frankly, I don’t want to live with it.

2 - Describe the problem as completely vanishing in "emptiness," as in the second sentence of the opening paragraph of Genjo Koan that we read last week.

No violence, no hate, no separate beings to hate, no one to harm.

3 - Describe your being at peace with the problem when you let it be as it is (including, perhaps, letting the frustration or discomfort it causes you also "be as it is.")

When I look past all of the petty squabbling (and suffering it causes!) I experience the great flowing of the universe; when I experience the great flowing of the universe, I cannot be bound by the petty squabbling and suffering it causes.

4 - Question: Now answer, are all of the above different or the same? Can they be simultaneously true?

They are different and the same - while it’s good to look beyond it all and be free from the suffering of this life, we cannot ignore it and must act.

Gassho,
SatLah,
Chikyō