One of the most prominent ancestors in the Zen tradition was Master Mazu (709-788) who famously uttered the now much used phrase, “Everyday Mind Is The True Way.” He was described as being completely formidable in his presence. Biographers say that Mazu had the eyes of a tiger in their sharpness and the movements of an ox – solid, sturdy and firm. Everyday mind implies that all of our daily actions and words are themselves the dharma. We don’t have to look outside for the sacred. Simply be content with situations and conditions as they present themselves in daily life.
A famous exchange between Mazu’s disciple Nam Cheon (Nansen) and his student Joju (Joshu) goes something like this:
Joju asked Namcheon “What is the true way?”
Nam Cheon replied “Everyday mind is the true way.”
Joju then asked, “How should I seek for it?”
Nam Cheon replied, “If you seek for it, you will already be going in the wrong direction.”
Joju earnestly petitioned, “But if I don’t seek for it, how will I ever know what the Way is?”
Nam Cheon then said, “The true way is neither knowing or not knowing. Knowing is delusion, not knowing is indifference. When you truly reach the Way, you will find it vast and boundless, like space, a clear presence devoid of concepts of a right or wrong way.”
Our present condition without mediation or constructs that erroneously support an opinion or position is our original nature.
Penetrating the essence of the above quoted dialogue is key. Ordinary daily actions such as walking, standing, sitting and lying down, as well as our interactions with other human beings are truly the Way.
However, there is a built in risk of ascribing all of this as some sort of self affirmation. Over and over in these weekly writings I have reinforced the letting go of our judgements and conditions, a habit that commonly results in a dualistic, preference related way of living. Moreover, devoting “everyday mind” to the ordinary can be manipulated when we contrive
elements through our preferences. At all times we must be dedicated to this moment. Only this moment. Any deviation is leaning toward goal seeking which is as Nam Cheon replied, “the wrong direction.”
My teacher, Zen Master Seung Sahn always said, “When doing something, just do it!” After all is said and done via our endless seeking, there is actually nothing that is not ordinary. Just be careful in each moment not to introduce constructs and concepts. In a previous blog I said that “Our religious practice is to maintain continuously clear mind moments.”
Focus on the present moment with no interruptions of past or future, or separation of body and mind. “Keep it right here” as television reporters sometimes say during an important news event. Discard your ego based intention to obtain “ordinary mind.” Most importantly, just don’t defile your day to day by constantly being pulled and prodded by circumstances.
The final words from the Fifth Ancestor to Hui Neng who he had just given transmission to was: “Don’t be in a hurry to teach. Just cultivate that place of not being moved by anything.”