BOOK OF EQUANIMITY - Case 19

[Omoi Otoshi]

Hi Risho,
Just wanted to tell you I enjoy reading your posts!

Gassho,
Pontus

[Mp]

Hi Risho

I replaced coffee during the day with peppermint tea or plain water and the change over time is amazing...more energy, less irritation and more balance overall!

Good for you in making these changes...keep it going!

Gassho

Hi Risho,

Thank you for your post ... great job for taking those steps. During Ango I too have removed coffee from my daily life and have replaced it with Peppermint tea and a concoction of honey/lemon/ginger. I have to say that, I find I have more energy and crash less through out the day.

Gassho
Michael

[Risho]

Thanks guys! But I have a secret. At first I got completely away from coffee, but I discovered 2 things: 1. decaf coffee tastes really good and 2. Kyonin is absolutely correct about the French Press. Wow! I've never had coffee taste so good; you get all the oils!

Pontus, I always enjoy your posts too man, thank you

Gassho,

Risho

[Jishin]

"The Book of Equanimity" is available from IBooks for about $10.

JC

[Jundo]

"The Book of Equanimity" is available from IBooks for about $10.

JC

Please make sure that this is the version with commentary by Rev. Shishin Wick, as there are other translations.

http://www.amazon.com/Book-Equanimity-Illuminating-Classic-Koans/dp/0861713877

Gassho, J

[Jishin]

QUESTION: Please describe a thought without a thought, a fault without fault, a problem without a problem, a deadly storm band that is simultaneously eye, that you have or are encountering in your life.

I am that.

Gassho,

JC

[galen]

No thought, Mt Sumeru.

Coming to that acceptance or attainment gives you a double handful. Paradoxical in that, you also get to keep thought. It seems a one sided view lets the coin fall flat.


Gassho

[galen]

I very much agree that we cannot live merely still and unmoving, but must come out to where life is. Bodhidharma sat for nine years gazing at a wall in a cave. I'm not so impressed. Did realization make him sit for nine years? Or did realization make him get up, pick up the hoe and get his empty hands dirty again? Escaping into emptiness can become a sickness that would make one as useful to the world as a bump on a log. True, there are no sentient beings in need of saving from the beginning. But that's only half of the truth. Find Mount Sumeru, but don't stay there. Throw yourself back into the chaos of Samsara and start saving all sentient beings! But don't let yourself be dragged down by chaos either. Stay mindful of the mountain. Always keep Mount Sumaru in the background, and there's calm in the eye of any storm.



True, but how can you be sure until you have passed through? Only after you have passed through are you completely confident, because you have seen it yourself, been there, been Mount Sumeru. Proven to yourself that the ancestors weren't all full of crap. And you know that whatever happens, you always were and you always will be Mount Sumeru (even though there will be days when it's not so obvious). So what to do until you are sure? Well, a good start would be to practice letting go of the unsureness!

Gassho,
Pontus

It could be said, we cannot pass through without being sure (totally). The cart seemingly must follow the horse. If the horse is kept on course (confidence) most assuredly he will pass through unscathed.

Suzuki points to this in reference to a sutra which is basically something like this... everything is emptiness, thus he forsakes all suffering. Then follows that with "It was not 'after' he realized this truth, that he overcame the suffering---to realize this fact is itself relieved from suffering." "It is not after we practice zazen that we realize the truth; even before we practice zazen, realization is there."

This seems to make the point we already have it and once we are confident in that regard, we easily pass through the gate/no-gate to pass through (at that point).


Gassho

[galen]

Geika... not sure if this will help.

Years back I got behind on dental work, and once I came into more monies I decided to catch-up. It cost around $5k. So I decided better maintenance was in order. I kept it simple, because we all can be lazy and since I have always loved the tooth pick (not to suggest this works for you) that became my main weapon in the battle. So know matter what I eat, morning or night, in my car or what ever (even one piece of candy... esp sugar) I grab a pick, which I always keep handy all over the place . My plan was to pick when ever I ate anything, and brush once in the morning after breakfast to get me through the day, and then the last thing before I hit the sack, so there is nothing sitting in my mouth overnight which causes the damage. I replace flossing for the pick, but do floss a couple times a month. Soooooooooooo after almost 5 years I decided it was time to get a cleaning and exrays, bite the bullet for that cost vs $4 or 5k. My doc saw me and got this big huge smile, and his teeth seemed to shine like dollars bills, and I was quite apprehensive because it had been so long. The end of that tale is, I did not have one cavity (and I have 3 bridges), and even the lady cleaning my teeth was amazed on how there was very little build-up of tar, which is what causes cavities. She asked me how I did it and I told her, and she added, when using floss to also floss the backs of the molars. Tooth picks may not seem to women-like or good manners, if not, then I would at least use floss at the bed time brushing......... good luck, its not something to be take lightly, genetics or not, that is sometimes used as an excuse or a rationalization for laziness (not that you are at all).

[Omoi Otoshi]

No thought, Mt Sumeru.

Coming to that acceptance or attainment gives you a double handful. Paradoxical in that, you also get to keep thought. It seems a one sided view lets the coin fall flat.


Gassho

Thank you Galen,
I think I know what you mean.

I personally prefer no mind, because many years ago I used to practice no thought as in thought suppression and it only led to a very desolate place. Mount Doom instead of Mount Sumeru. That's why I'm sometimes a little itchy around "no thought", because it can easily be misunderstood. I thought I was quite good at meditation. Sometimes my concentration was flawless. I'm glad I found a better way!

No mind is far from desolate, quite the opposite. It's what the mind is like when it's off the leash. When the hand of thought lets go completely. The free, unfettered mind is crystal clear and very, very active, not like a sleepy trance, but fully awake, in full action. There is no discussion. Attention is not jumping from place to place like it usually does. But there is full, stable, attention, full brain activity.

Huineng said that freedom from thought means having no thought in the midst of thought. To me, this state of no mind is one example of when that is completely true. But there are of course other such moments of freedom from thought in the midst of thought, in everyday life. Mount Sumeru.

Gassho,
Pontus

[Omoi Otoshi]

This seems to make the point we already have it and once we are confident in that regard, we easily pass through the gate/no gate to pass through (at that point).

Yes, it's seemingly a paradox. Yet, somehow, by grace or my accident, it is possible to drop all doubt and pass through. For a split second you forget you're on top of a 100-foot-pole and just step off it into thin air, with no fear of dying. And the next time you try to do the same thing, that pole seems so high again and you are convinced that if you let go you will surely die. So you keep clinging...

Gassho,
Pontus

[Geika]

Thank you for the tips, Galen. I also use a toothpick between snacks and have the same regimen as you, though I sometimes brush my teeth a third time after I get off work. Sometimes, I also swish some oil in my mouth after brushing. Good for the gums, I've heard.

[galen]

Well said, Pontus.

Over 20 years ago, I spent around 3 years in a home study of Yogananda (people already have heard this) and Kriya Yoga. I did not have a clue and no one-on-one, or a group. I was just coming off a very emotional divorce and went on a hard search to keep from blowing totally up. I got weekly booklets and studied this new thought form and after about a year and a half of meditating this way, by accident, naively fell deep inside, also noticing I was barely using any breath, but could feel out side body parts, but felt fully engulfed. This they called super-consciousness or early stages of Samadi. I could `fall-in at the drop of a pen, sitting or laying, no special positioning needed. I used the direct will power not to think, and stayed with it over quite a period till I arrived in this very beautiful state, and noticed it was there with me out `there with other. By the same accident and naivety, at that time my life was changing with much more abundance on all levels, and not realizing it I had gradually I let all this realization go. I did not realize this till years later at what I had attained, and gradually have gotten back to sitting more and more. Our teachers probably would not approve, and with out a goal to get back `there (its back `there but I am not clinging to it, because that makes it much harder, an accident will happen again at one point), but just recently I am doing what I did then and with eyes closed, this seems to be my most comfortable path for now. I sit and I lay , and it is getting better and better.



Gassho

[galen]

Thank you for the tips, Galen. I also use a toothpick between snacks and have the same regimen as you, though I sometimes brush my teeth a third time after I get off work. Sometimes, I also swish some oil in my mouth after brushing. Good for the gums, I've heard.

Good job, you seemingly are learning this at a much earlier stage then myself, and that is really cool and will save thousands and a hell of a lot of pain. I used to over-brush (to hard) and was brushing off the enamal cover of my teeth, so do the two-step approach and love those picks!

[Kaishin]

These days I feel like a "fair weather Buddhist," hanging out in the Eye of the storm until it dissipates. Very distant from this koan. Not sure what to say.
Gassho, Kaishin / Matt