New-Age vs. Original Zen | A reflection on Huangbo’s “Detachment from dust”

 

Here’s a Gāthā (verse/poem) from Huang Po, a Zen Master of the original Zen lineage:

 

To detach oneself from the dust of the world, This is no ordinary task.

Hold firmly to the end of the rope, and go at it With all your might.

Without undergoing a whole spell of cold That bites into your bones,

How can you have the plum-blossoms regale you With their piercing fragrance?

 

Context

 

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Here’s my reflection:

 

To detach oneself from the dust of the world, This is no ordinary task.

New-Agers don’t seem to like discipline - they say the world is perfect as it is.

So how come Huang Po mentions ‘dust’ and how come he says it isn’t straight forward to ‘detach’ from it?

 

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Hold firmly to the end of the rope, and go at it With all your might.

Huang Po says: Do your best to stay detached from dust, and do so to the very best of your ability.

A New-Ager would say “Don’t worry about playing with dust, everything is one/empty anyways.”

So why does Huang Po recommend discipline?

 

.

Without undergoing a whole spell of cold That bites into your bones,

How can you have the plum-blossoms regale you With their piercing fragrance?

Huang Po asks: Without struggle, how can you be unmoved by a strong force?

 

Is the answer to be disciplined in detachment from dust?

 

.

And..

What is this dust?

 

Submitted October 27, 2019 at 09:07PM by UhExist https://ift.tt/36dPXPo