My teacher Zen Master Seung Sahn was often heard saying “Open mouth already a mistake.”
It was a simple way of reminding his students that constantly engaging our linear, discursive,
rational, thinking mind essentially leads us into intellectual interpretations and conflicts. “Trying
to fix the mind with the mind is like washing off blood with blood.” It may appear initially as
progress but is a dead end.
Only through stilling the mind, a conscious moment to moment cutting and letting go of
whatever appears, can we stop clinging to our emotional and philosophical constructs. Much of
this evolves from years of habitual thought and action. The good news is that from this still point,
compassion and wisdom (prajna) can flourish.
This is not specific to any spiritual teacher or religious discipline. All great teachers delivered the
same message. Let’s look closely.
Zen Master Dahui Zong’gao and Zen Master Hongzhi were contemporaries during the 12th
century and considered rivals as to how they taught practice. The use of koans vs. silent
illumination or shikantaza as it is referenced in Japan became the basis for what is now
commonly referred to as Rinzai and Soto in the Japanese Buddhist pantheon.
Carefully consider the following quotes: Dahui emphasized that those who are serious students
“must quiet and still their thoughts, not just on the meditation cushion, but throughout the day.”
Hongzhi said “you must purify deluded thinking, illusions, and habits moment by moment.”
Both of these ancestors were pointing directly to the elusive and temporary function of our
thinking process.
Above I say that “all great teachers delivered the same message.”
When Taoism and Buddhism met in the fifth century they fell in love. They had a baby and
named the baby Zen. Ha-ha.
Taoist practice modalities are amazingly forthright. The following could be attributed as a zen
statement but is embedded in Taoism: “Maintain calmness without sticking to emptiness.
“Whether in quietude or in clamor, remain unified and undefiled.”
It is not easy for humans to access this simplicity because of our proclivity towards filling all the
empty mental spaces. A clear, calm mind we often find disturbing. That is why meditation
practice is necessary. Whatever our outside activity, learn to stabilize it. Nurture calmness.
Other teachers use the word “cultivate” when describing working on ourself in this fashion. Not
burdened by attachments, the vast openness of mind appears naturally without prodding of any
type. The freedom we seek is available in each moment of the day.
There is an oft quoted story of a Zen Master who visited a Buddhist scholar. While having tea
together, the scholar talked non stop about the Dhammapada and various Buddhist sutras. The
Zen monk casually picked up the tea pot and began pouring into the scholar’s cup until it was
overflowing whereupon he exhorted “What you are doing. Look! The tea is spilling all over.”
The Zen Master said, Yes, the tea cup and your mind are the same. No room. It is only by
emptying the mind that we can experience Buddha nature.”