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Thread: A good old story

  1. #1

    A good old story

    This is in essence what a Sufi teacher once taught a bunch of greedy believers, torn between fear and awe:

    To the question, how shall I go to heaven, master? The master first remained silent. Then he broke into an irresistible laughter. After a while he said:

    You? In Heaven? What for? Hell is a far better place for people like you...there in the midst of illusion and in a sea of fire you have a great work to do, many people to practice with, a perfect place for saints as they can teach the way to deluded beings. Heaven? A perfect place for criminals and sinners, they have to practice virtue and loving kindness, what a great punishment and unbearable task!


    If you can read Dogen, that is to say, when you look into your life, you ll see clearly that both can be dropped. This teaching is very close to the fierce roar of a famous Zen teacher of old Oka Daijun Sotan who used to be of the great inspirations of the young Sawaki Kodo:

    To students coming in Dokusan , shaking from head to foot, he ised to shout: how do you dare asking for the Dharma, look at you! Look at you!

    Sawaki Kodo said about these moments where priests in training were going in the dokusan room with a cut bowels feel: this was the roar of the lion in a chicken s ear!

    That's the roar of zazen! When you drop lion, chicken, Buddha and self, good and bad, thoughts about this and that, then...Samsara and Nirvana are neither one nor two.

    Please stop worrying about this and wishing to get that.


    Gassho

    Taigu

  2. #2
    I'll never forget this one.
    Gassho
    Myozan

  3. #3
    Thank you, Taigu.
    Thanks,
    Kaishin (開心, Open Heart)
    Please take this layman's words with a grain of salt.

  4. #4
    Mp
    Guest
    Yes, wonderful Taigu, thank you.

    Gassho
    Shingen

  5. #5
    I like it! Highlights a lot of the insecurities about the afterlife and squashes them.

    With metta,
    Alex

  6. #6
    Very nice Taigu! Thank you for that.

    Gassho,
    John

  7. #7
    Thank you Taigu;

    Like looking at a dead man; straight in the eye.

    gassho, Shokai
    合掌,生開
    gassho, Shokai

    仁道 生開 / Jindo Shokai

    "Open to life in a benevolent way"

    https://sarushinzendo.wordpress.com/

  8. #8
    Gassho, Taigu.
    Heisoku 平 息
    Every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home. (Basho)

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Taigu View Post
    :
    You? In Heaven? What for? Hell is a far better place for people like you...there in the midst of illusion and in a sea of fire you have a great work to do, many people to practice with, a perfect place for saints as they can teach the way to deluded beings. Heaven? A perfect place for criminals and sinners, they have to practice virtue and loving kindness, what a great punishment and unbearable task!
    Reminds me of the Sufi Rabia:
    She prayed: "O God! If I worship You for fear of Hell, burn me in Hell,
    and if I worship You in hope of Paradise, exclude me from Paradise.
    But if I worship You for Your Own sake,
    grudge me not Your everlasting Beauty.”

    When we have a 'dharma picnic' in the hell realms, maybe she'll be there begrudging no one entry . . .

  10. #10
    Thank you.

    Gassho.

  11. #11
    Thank you for this teaching and reminder.

    Gassho
    Dokan

    Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
    We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are.
    ~Anaïs Nin

  12. #12
    Thank you for this teaching.

    Gassho,
    Mc.

  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by Taigu View Post
    Please stop worrying about this and wishing to get that.
    thats whats I say to my mind over and over, just he not listens to me ...
    Thank you and Gassho
    Myoku

  14. #14
    Thank you Taigu.

    Gassho,
    Fredrik

  15. #15
    A lesson learned well.

    Gassho,
    Edward

  16. #16

  17. #17

  18. #18
    Treeleaf Engineer Seimyo's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    Yuba City, California, USA
    Thank you Taigu.

    Gassho,
    Seimyo

    明 Seimyō (Christhatischris)

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