Source: Master Ma's Ordinary Mind by Fumio Yamada
Case:
Huairang, hearing that Mazu had begun teaching in the Jiangxi region, asked his disciples about it.
"Is Daoyi really expounding the Dharma for the masses?"
"Indeed he is."
"And no one came to tell me about it!"
Huairang sent one of the monks to see Mazu, telling him to wait until Mazu entered the Dharma hall to deliver his Dharma talk and then to ask him simply, "How's it going?" The monk was to remember whatever Mazu said in reply and then report back.
The monk went to see Mazu and did as he had been instructed. Mazu replied, "It's been thirty years since my dubious start; at present, salt and miso are not lacking."
The monk returned to Huairang and reported what he had heard.
Huairang approved.
Selected Comment: In his response, perhaps Mazu is simply revealing his mind: "I'm just living everyday life. To live without artificial problems is Zen itself. No need to say anything more."
Selected Comment: [T]his natural, no-problem way of being is popularly expressed in the Zen maxim byojo shin, kore michi nari, or "ordinary mind is the Way."
/u/Archaeoculus Thoughts: I wonder if living a simpler life would make the Way any easier to come to. A quiet life in the country, eating wheat and vegetables, sustaining oneself. There is no specific path by which the Way is traveled, but complacency and not paying attention are not the methods either. It is a koan I wrestle with: the gateless gate.
/u/Archaeoculus Question: How's it going?
Submitted June 23, 2017 at 03:37AM by Archaeoculus http://ift.tt/2rX6erh
No comments:
Post a Comment