Description
Explanations of Zen, or of anything, are not it. Zen does not try to make you pure—it tries to make you whole. We can trust in the Dao, but by explaining it, we move away from it. Something deeper is going on, carrying us.
Summary
Explanations of Zen, or of anything, are not it.
Zen does not try to make you pure—it tries to make you whole.
Zen is a mash-up of Buddhism and Daoism. Buddhism categorizes and speaks in terms of opposites: yin and yang, good and bad; whereas the Dao is not understandable, and tends to flip opposites into unexpected territory. The Dao questions from a vast viewpoint.
With Zen, and in the Dao, we’re looking at something without prejudice.
We can trust in the Dao, but by explaining it, we move away from it. Something deeper is going on, carrying us. The Mother Deep is Chan’s Buddha nature.
As koan work deepens, we get held, more—we’re just here. Something opens out in the darkness.
Sesshin dharma talk on February 3, 2023.
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