This is how it went down…
The Buddha, you know that really famous guy that a lot of bald people wearing bright robes seem to like a lot, well that guy was visiting the great city of the west know as ‘the city that never sleeps.’ Awesome city by the way, if you haven’t been there you should check it out. Anyway, the Blessed one (he goes by a lot of names so just bear with me) was traveling amidst the city with a group of bald headed people, I guess they are called monks, but that doesn’t really matter. I don’t know much about this Buddha character, but there was something awesome about him, he just always seem so at ease and peaceful. Man, I wish I knew what he did. Anyhow, the Blessed one entered a great park in the middle of the great city, found a nice spot under the shade of a tree and calmly took a seat and started doing that no moving, staying still thing he seems to like to do. Between you and me seems real boring, but hey if it works for you I’m cool with it.
So, this young guy, who I later found out was named Seiryu, approached the Buddha. With great respect he got on one knee, folded his hands and addressed the Buddha thus:
“How wonderful it is that the Tathagatha has come to our city and we now have the chance to hear the profound Dharma from the Tathagatha Himself. Please expound on how can one who wished to stop the mind of thoughts and to keep the body still do so in a city of so much activity and movement. I pray to hear what the Blessed one has to say.” He sounded like a kiss up to me. So Buddha said this:
“This city is vast and beautiful, is it not?”
“It is indeed, World Honored One"
“This city is also loud and constantly moving; is it not?”
“It is indeed, World Honored One”
“What makes this city vast and beautiful is that it is loud and constantly moving; is it not?”
“Yes, I see this to be true as well, World Honored One”
“Whereas, if you were to stop all movement of the city and keep it still, would it remain the same vast and beautiful city?
“No, World Honored One, it would not.”
"Well, so is true of the mind and body which are vast and beautiful, yet loud and constantly moving. If you were to stop with force any of these would you still be said to have a mind and body?”
“No, World Honored One, it seems that I would not”
“Listen here,” the Buddha was about to get it on, “one should go about as thus; find stillness in activity, activity in stillness. If one can do this one will find unbounded liberation. And how can one find stillness in activity and activity in stillness? When one goes about in the city, it is not the city that disturbs us, it is our mind that is too active that disturbs us. But go out into the city with a still mind and one will be at peace, going out into a city with stillness of the mind one finds stillness in activity. This is how the Tathagatha moves around in the world of men.
“And when one is doing the practice of all the Buddhas of the three times one should have great activity. When the body is still one should have the great activity of being mindful and alert, of seeing into the true nature of things, of being fully aware of all bodily and mental sensations. It is in this way that one finds activity in stillness. Remember well, find stillness in activity, activity in stillness. Perverse one pointedly in this and one will find unbounded liberation. This is how the Tathagatha moves into the world within.”
Now just between you and me I ain’t understand a word of that, but it sounded awesome to me, Buddha just had that way of speaking. But that Seiryu guy seemed to understand what was said for the light of wisdom rose up in him. He bowed with deep gratitude to the Blessed One and sat down to his side. After a while The Buddha calmly got up and entered back into the world of activity with stillness. For this is how The Buddha does it.
Anyway, I’m off now, I’m gonna to hang around this Buddha guy a little longer, there seems to be something to this.
The Buddha, you know that really famous guy that a lot of bald people wearing bright robes seem to like a lot, well that guy was visiting the great city of the west know as ‘the city that never sleeps.’ Awesome city by the way, if you haven’t been there you should check it out. Anyway, the Blessed one (he goes by a lot of names so just bear with me) was traveling amidst the city with a group of bald headed people, I guess they are called monks, but that doesn’t really matter. I don’t know much about this Buddha character, but there was something awesome about him, he just always seem so at ease and peaceful. Man, I wish I knew what he did. Anyhow, the Blessed one entered a great park in the middle of the great city, found a nice spot under the shade of a tree and calmly took a seat and started doing that no moving, staying still thing he seems to like to do. Between you and me seems real boring, but hey if it works for you I’m cool with it.
So, this young guy, who I later found out was named Seiryu, approached the Buddha. With great respect he got on one knee, folded his hands and addressed the Buddha thus:
“How wonderful it is that the Tathagatha has come to our city and we now have the chance to hear the profound Dharma from the Tathagatha Himself. Please expound on how can one who wished to stop the mind of thoughts and to keep the body still do so in a city of so much activity and movement. I pray to hear what the Blessed one has to say.” He sounded like a kiss up to me. So Buddha said this:
“This city is vast and beautiful, is it not?”
“It is indeed, World Honored One"
“This city is also loud and constantly moving; is it not?”
“It is indeed, World Honored One”
“What makes this city vast and beautiful is that it is loud and constantly moving; is it not?”
“Yes, I see this to be true as well, World Honored One”
“Whereas, if you were to stop all movement of the city and keep it still, would it remain the same vast and beautiful city?
“No, World Honored One, it would not.”
"Well, so is true of the mind and body which are vast and beautiful, yet loud and constantly moving. If you were to stop with force any of these would you still be said to have a mind and body?”
“No, World Honored One, it seems that I would not”
“Listen here,” the Buddha was about to get it on, “one should go about as thus; find stillness in activity, activity in stillness. If one can do this one will find unbounded liberation. And how can one find stillness in activity and activity in stillness? When one goes about in the city, it is not the city that disturbs us, it is our mind that is too active that disturbs us. But go out into the city with a still mind and one will be at peace, going out into a city with stillness of the mind one finds stillness in activity. This is how the Tathagatha moves around in the world of men.
“And when one is doing the practice of all the Buddhas of the three times one should have great activity. When the body is still one should have the great activity of being mindful and alert, of seeing into the true nature of things, of being fully aware of all bodily and mental sensations. It is in this way that one finds activity in stillness. Remember well, find stillness in activity, activity in stillness. Perverse one pointedly in this and one will find unbounded liberation. This is how the Tathagatha moves into the world within.”
Now just between you and me I ain’t understand a word of that, but it sounded awesome to me, Buddha just had that way of speaking. But that Seiryu guy seemed to understand what was said for the light of wisdom rose up in him. He bowed with deep gratitude to the Blessed One and sat down to his side. After a while The Buddha calmly got up and entered back into the world of activity with stillness. For this is how The Buddha does it.
Anyway, I’m off now, I’m gonna to hang around this Buddha guy a little longer, there seems to be something to this.
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