Homeless Kodo's "TO YOU" - Chapters 15, 16 & 17

[Jundo]

Dear All,

Moving on, although no place to go ...

As it is a fairly easy read, and chapters are rather short, consisting mostly of small quotes, we will take a few chapters at a time. This week, Chapters 15, 16 and 17.

The rules of the game are pretty easy: Just mention here, in our discussion, any quotes (none, one or many) that ring your bell and resonate with you, and briefly say why.

That's it!

If you need a version to "cut and paste" a quote, there is one here. However, PLEASE PURCHASE THE ACTUAL BOOK! I ask everyone to use the following only for ease in cutting and pasting a quote or two into this discussion, not for purposes of reading the entire book. Thank you!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/13v2...ew?usp=sharing

What trips your trigger, strikes your fancy, inspires and makes your day? Try to say why it does so for you. (You can also feel free to disagree with Ol' Kodo too, but be prepared to say why!)

Gassho, Jundo

STLah

[Geika]

"Some people are detested by their entire family and still believe that only they are in the right. If you think you’re the only one who’s right, you’re wrong."

Though he is speaking of showing of one's satori, I try to be mindful of similar sentiments myself when I feel that I am in the center of a disagreement with family or friends, or vice-versa.

Gassho
Sat, lah

[JudyE]

People’s heads are all rigid. Every “ism” is a form of rigidity. This rigidity is the reason we don’t recognize the buddha dharma no matter how close we are.

Reminds me not to get hung up on “isms” or ideas of doing things the “right” way.

Gassho,
Judy
sat/lah

[Tairin]

Honestly I got less out of these chapters. There was a lot of talk of satori but I don’t find myself particularly focused or hung up on satori

Only zazen.
To ordinary people, this "only" doesn't seem like it's enough.They want to get something in return for their practice.

The koan of our sitting practice.

The same moon sometimes seems to smile, and sometimes seems to cry. Sometimes we simply admire it over a glass of sake. But whichever moon people look at, they only see what corresponds to their karmic perception. None of that is real.

I think about the impacts my perceptions have on my actions and thoughts a lot. Just because I see something a certain way doesn’t mean others do.



Tairin
Sat today and lah

[Tai Do]

Chapter 15:

The buddha-dharma is an interesting teaching because it says that all buddhas and all suffering beings are of the same nature. That's why it isn't buddha-dharma to imagine the buddhas as something over there on the other side.

A fundamental teaching of our Way. But I keep practicing as if I would someday end suffering - greed, anger and ignorance - in myself and become a better person. It is as if I'm always postponing practice-realization.

Chapter 16:

As long as each one of us isn’t truly free, none of us can truly enjoy peace of mind.

So true in our war and violence filled world.

Chapter 17:

You say, “I saw it with my own eyes!” Nothing is as unreliable as your own eyes. They are just the eyes of an ordinary person.

So many times people came to me and said they saw this or that, and this quote answers why I'm skeptic of such claims.

Gassho,
Mateus
Satlah

[Mark-us]

That which serves humans only leads them down a dead end.

I feel like we are seeing this today in terms of climate change. Only working for our needs and not for the planet/other needs leads us down a dead end.

Gassho,
Markus
SatLah

[aprapti]

i do not have a specific quote, but "Ol' Kodo" makes me smile over and over again..


aprapti

[Heikyo]

Chapter 16 about “progress” in science and culture really struck a chord for me.

People love it when things are complicated. Though things are complicated enough, even when we try to keep them as simple as possible, there are still some who make an effort to be especially complicated in everything they do.

It made me think about how we define progress. Progress does not need to mean everything has to be complicated, but both developments in science and culture can often make our lives incredibly complicated and busy. New technologies definitely have their place, but they can often be abused, or used in meaningless ways. I’m showing my age here, but who remembers when we didn’t have an app or a gadget for everything? Who really needs an oven or a toothbrush connected to an app? Weren’t our lives simpler and more peaceful before? I am no Luddite, and I am a scientist myself, but we can still lead good lives without some of the so-called benefits that technological progress brings.

Gassho
Paul
Sat today

[ZenKen]

I'm still behind in my reading, but I finally managed to get to these.

Chapter 15

Just how separate are illusion and satori anyway? In reality, what we create illusions about and what we awaken to is one and the same thing.

I really love this one, the reminder that from whichever 'direction' we approach - illusion or satori - we're still living in the same place, being the same person/universe/nothing/everything.

Chapter 16

How is it that humanity itself, unlike its science, hasn't progressed in the least?

I found quite a few of the quotes in this chapter rather depressing, reminding me of all the things humanity does wrong and gets wrong. This one struck me, though, because this feels like the crux of it: if we as a species would advance in our compassion and our care at the same speed we advance our technology and understanding of everything "not us", perhaps war would be a thing of the past.

Chapter 17

We believe that good and bad, pleasant and unpleasant, right and wrong all exist, that there are always two sides. But there really two sides? No. Reality is only one - and even that "one" is empty.

Again, this one struck me with its simplicity. It feels as if the three that I've quoted here follow on from and intertwine with each other - they're all a form of illusion, from right and wrong to war and suffering, while at the same time being a terrible reality.

[Chikyou]

"The same moon sometimes seems to smile, and sometimes seems to cry. Sometimes we simply admire it over a glass of sake. But whichever moon people look at, they only see what corresponds to their karmic perception. None of that is real."

I can't pinpoint why this one speaks to me so much. It just does.

Gassho,
SatLah
Kelly

[Shinchi]

A little behind in my reading, but these are the quotes that stuck out to me from these chapters:

Chapter 16:
"Even if the whole of humanity were communist, until every one of us attains true freedom, we would still have this ceaseless bickering.

As long as each one of us isn't truly free, none of us can truly enjoy peace of mind."

Chapter 17:
"You cry out, "Peace, peace!" But if you would only be quiet, it would be so much more peaceful.

You say, "In my opinion..." But it's precisely when opinions and theories come into the picture that the bickering starts."

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