From "Lectures, Questions & Answers", The Recorded Sayings of Zen Master Joshu (Green)
27
The master entered the hall and said, "Brothers, you are certainly in the third world of karmic retribution.1 For this reason there is the saying, 'Only remake the deeds of the past, don't remake the person of the past.'2 Each of us has left our own homes, and has become carefree.
"Furthermore, we ask about Zen and ask about the Way. Twenty or thirty of us come together and ask. However, it looks very likely that you are lacking Zen and the Way. Though you call me an 'accomplished person', I have received the same sentence as you.3 I'm not a good talker and don't want to get bogged down with the ancients, so I talk about the east and talk about the west."
1. This refers to the birth as a human being in the world, but why it is called this is unclear.
2. The source of the reference is unknown.
3. The sentence of being born in the 'third world of karmic retribution.'
wrrdgrrl: Notes can help shed light on obscure texts, and In this case, not so much. :/ However, this selection was grouped purposefully by the "expert" (Green), and so I take the selection whole, like a full dose of vaccination. Not part. As I reread the bit in its entirety, something else jumped out at me (not just the obscure reference) - The master reminds the group that he is one of them and has the same limitations as they struggle with. Except he does not struggle; he talks about what he can see and point to - the east and the west. He is a human who is positioned in this physical world. He uses the compass, but is not defined by his position.
Submitted October 29, 2019 at 07:25PM by wrrdgrrl https://ift.tt/2JuCHMc
No comments:
Post a Comment