"Light" number 11 of 200 from Robert Aitken's book Miniatures of a Zen Master.
This miniature points to being confirmed by the ten thousand things. There is a field of energy where the sound of the wind chime, the hum of the stove, the rustling of the sleepy dog all confirm us as alive. Alive together as this field. This is all so wonderful, cozy and Zen like.
Aitken Roshi doesn't leave it there. NO! We get pushed on, don't settle, look more.
A couple of days ago, we looked at the miniature "The Timeless" where we were admonished to "dismiss all concepts" and "dismiss all thoughts". Yet in this miniature we are asked to investigate "What are "things" that give light?" and at the end of a long list of classical, warm, cozy, Zen like "things", Aitken Roshi throws in "your thought"!
Let's see if together we can flush this out a little. In the lingo of Zen, the ten thousand things means everything. Your thought and my thought are obviously included in everything. Everything is this field of energy that we point to when we say the word life or light. Ergo, thought is this field of energy or light that Aitken Roshi asks about.
Is this investigation of thought a skillful means or 'upaya' for "dismiss all concepts" and "dismiss all thoughts" or is it just another concept/thought? Seeing what concept and thought are diminishes there ability to grab us and keep us tied down.
This is all too much talk about reality and not enough plain, vanilla, reality experienced. Time to start moving with the ten thousand things.
This miniature points to being confirmed by the ten thousand things. There is a field of energy where the sound of the wind chime, the hum of the stove, the rustling of the sleepy dog all confirm us as alive. Alive together as this field. This is all so wonderful, cozy and Zen like.
Aitken Roshi doesn't leave it there. NO! We get pushed on, don't settle, look more.
A couple of days ago, we looked at the miniature "The Timeless" where we were admonished to "dismiss all concepts" and "dismiss all thoughts". Yet in this miniature we are asked to investigate "What are "things" that give light?" and at the end of a long list of classical, warm, cozy, Zen like "things", Aitken Roshi throws in "your thought"!
Let's see if together we can flush this out a little. In the lingo of Zen, the ten thousand things means everything. Your thought and my thought are obviously included in everything. Everything is this field of energy that we point to when we say the word life or light. Ergo, thought is this field of energy or light that Aitken Roshi asks about.
Is this investigation of thought a skillful means or 'upaya' for "dismiss all concepts" and "dismiss all thoughts" or is it just another concept/thought? Seeing what concept and thought are diminishes there ability to grab us and keep us tied down.
This is all too much talk about reality and not enough plain, vanilla, reality experienced. Time to start moving with the ten thousand things.
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