Sickness

With palms together,
Good Afternoon Everyone,

A recent exchange on Zen Living and elsewhere, brought some clarity to a commentary by John Daido Loore-roshi of Zen Mountain Monastery on Case 107 of Master Dogen's Mana Shobogenzo. I will quote it in full here:

Yunmen's " Two Types of Sickness"

Yunmen said, "When light does not penetrate fully, there are two types of sickness. One is that in facing objects it is still not clear if there is something before you. The other is that even having understood the emptiness of all things, in a subtle way there is still something that seems like an object, this is also the case where light has not fully penetrated.

"There are also two types of sickness regarding the dharma body. One is that even having reached the dharma body, one abides at the margins of the dharma body because attachments to the self-view still persist. The other is that even having penetrated it, one cannot let go of having penetrated it. You should examine this state carefully and see what kind of freedom you re really breathing, as this kind of freedom is also a sickness."

Loori-roshi's Commentary:

When the thought-cluttered bucket's bottom is not yet broken through, even a single weed in a parched field will in time multiply and create a field of weeds one hundred feet high. We must be diligent in our practice, realization, and actualization. Thus it is said, "If you have a staff, I will give you a staff. If you don't have a staff, I will take it away.

"Yunnen's first illness is about not really having arrived yet. His second illness is having arrived, but not being sure that you have. His third affliction is knowing that you have arrived, and the fourth affliction is having arrived and not being able to leave. Therefore, when moving outwardly, do not pursue ramifications. When moving inwardly, do not abide in a trance. In this way you will naturally pass through Yunmen's sickness.Teachers of our school compound medicine in accordance with the sickness, always employing the appropriate technique for the particular time, place, and condition. You tell me, what is your prescription for healing these illnesses?

Capping Verse:

My unmoored canoe drifts freely,carried by the current.With each bend in the river,finding wonder with the flow.

see The True Dharma Eye, trans by Tanahashi; commenyary and verse by Loori-roshi

*****

We must constantly check ourselves, especially if we have even a hint of a thought that we are enlightened. Such a thought is, by definition, nonsense. Moreover, we can get caught anywhere in the stream. For example, I like to sit in serene reflection meditation. When I like this, its a problem. When I don't like it, its a problem. So, just sit, no problem.

If we reside in emptiness we might begin to think there is no where else to be: all is empty. We are so full of being one with the universe that we let ourselves drive over a cliff. Splat! On the other hand, when caught in the relative world, we can become so purposeful that we fail to see the forest for the trees. We lose our skillfulness and reside in an ineffectual scramble to get something done.

What is my cure? My legs are tight, let me adjust my posture.

A bow to each of you.