03. Not Easy !

The Spiritual Path is not easy. It is a difficult path - it is not a path for everybody. It is a path - only for those who are strong and determined. Below is an excerpt from a Poem by Kabir ( 1440 - 1518 ) - a Sufi Master and Indian Mystic - which illustrates how hard the journey is.

Tell me , Brother ,
how can I renounce Maya ?
When I gave up the tying of ribbons,
still I tied my garment about me :
When I gave up tying my garment,
still I covered my body in its fold.
So , when I gave up passion,
I see that anger remains ;
And when I renounce anger,
greed is with me still ;
And when greed is vanquished,
pride and vain glory remain ;
When the mind is detached and casts Maya away,
still it clings to the letter.
Kabir says : ' Listen to me, dear Sadhu !
The true path is rarely found ! '

Kabir : 5

Comment :

The Path is not easy. This poem is a wonderful illustration of how 'slippery' a spiritual path is. Anand Krishna - translated this poem freely but clearly - as far as meaning is concerned :

Katakan kawan,
bagaimana membebaskan diri dari Maya,
dari Ilusi Dunia ?
Tali pengikat sudah kulepaskan,
tapi bajuku masih tetap ada.
Ketika baju pun kulepaskan,
lipatannya masih membekas.
Aku tetap juga tidak bebas.
Saat kulepaskan nafsu, kulihat amarah masih tersisa.
Dan saat amarah kulepaskan, keserakahan masih tetap ada.
Bebas dari keserakahan,
Aku tetap terjerat oleh keangkuhan.
Pada suatu ketika,
Pikiran pun terbebaskan dari Maya,
Namun , ia tetap tidak bebas dari Nama dan Rupa.
Wahai Jiwa Tenang yang kucintai,
Jalan menuju- Nya sungguh jarang ditemui.

02. You are Buddha !

Illustration : Chinese Calligraphy - Chan / Zen - meaning Meditation

A Note on Hakuin Ekaku Zenji ( 1685 - 1768 ) :

Hakuin - the great Japanese Zen Master - was known as the reformer of Zen in addition to being a great poet and artist. Many of his paintings have been held as national treasures in Japan - each of which has been created very freely and manifests in each of them the Zen spirit.Below is Hakuin's Zazen Wasan - Hakuin's Song in praise of Zazen. This is a song - not a scholarly work about Zazen. A song comes from the heart, expressed by Hakuin based on his own personal experience of enlightenment. In this Song of Zazen lies all Hakuin's ideas about the fundamental principles of Zen Buddhism.

I first heard this Zazen Wasan from a recorded Teisho (Dharma-Talk) by Richard Clarke Roshi on 29 September 1984. Richard Clarke Roshi is one of the foremost contemporary Zen Masters in the West. It is my personal opinion that understanding Hakuin's Zazen Wasan is a shortcut indeed to grasp the underlying principles of Zen Buddhism : Turn Inward, Zazen at the Core - and Enlightenment. Purify the Heart - and all the rest will follow. The approach is quite different from the rest of Buddhist schools which have been institutionalized as organized religions. Zen points directly to the Heart : Turn Inward - You are Buddha !

Hakuin's Zazen Wasan :

From the beginning all beings are Buddha
Like Water and Ice -
without water no ice, outside us no Buddhas.
Like one in water crying : ' I thirst ! '
Like the son of a rich man wandering poor on this earth - we endlessly circle the six worlds.
The cause of our sorrow is ego delusion.
From dark path to dark path we wander in darkness,how can we be freed from the Wheel of Samsara ?
The gateway to freedom is Zazen Samadhi.
Beyond exaltation , beyond all our praises -the Pure Mahayana.
Observing the Precepts, Repentance
and Giving the countless good deeds and the Way
of Right Living, all comes from Zazen.
Thus one true Samadhi extinguishes evil.It purifies karma, dissolving obstruction.
Then where are the dark paths to lead us astray ?
The Pure Lotus Land is not far away.
Hearing this truth, heart humble and grateful.
To praise and embrace it, to practice its wisdom,brings unending blessings, brings mountains of merits.
And if we turn inward and prove our True Nature, that True Self is no-self, our own self is no-self,we go beyond ego and past clever worlds.
Then the gate to the oneness of cause and effect is thrown open.
Not two and not three, straight ahead runs the Way.
Our form now being no-form, in going and returning we never leave home.
Our thought now being no-thought, our dancing and songs are the Voice of Dharma.How vast is the heaven of boundless Samadhi !
How bright and tansparent moonlight of Wisdom !What is there outside us ?
What is there we lack ?
Nirvana is openly shown to our eyes.
This earth where we stand is the Pure Lotus Land !
And this very body, the body of Buddha!

Hakuin Ekaku Zenji ( 1685 - 1768 )

Solo , 14 November 2010 - Aryanto WONG

01. The Sound of Silence

The Sound of Silence :

If you want to find the highest Truth
Be inside. Deep deep - be very deep inside
But - Just Be. Just Be - and Nothing Else
In Soto Zen tradition - this is called Shikantaza
Shikantaza. Just sitting. Just Be.

And then you will hear the Sound of Silence
It is the Sound of the One -
Hindus call it - Shruti or Drishti
It is the Sound coming from the Source which -
Fire cannot burn it, the Wind cannot blow it and even Water cannot make it wet
The Sword cannot kill it and even Death cannot make it cease to exist
It is the Sound from the One - Brahman, Tao - or whatever you call it
It is the Sound of Silence - the Sound of One Hand Clapped !

( Aryanto - 24.10.2010 )

Illustration :

Kamakura Daibutsu - the Great Buddha of Kamakura
Amitabha - the Meditative Buddha