Reflections on Bankei's 'Song of the Mind' Verses 22-24
You consider that goodMeans hating what is badWhat's bad isThe hating thoughts itself
Good, you say,Means you do goodBad indeedThe thoughts that says so!
Good as great as bad alikeRoll them both in to the single ballWrap it up in paper as great as thenToss it out - forget it all!
Bankei Yotaku (1622-1693) was an amazing Zen master. In simple, direct denunciation he cuts to the chase, as great as reveals the heart of the make the difference with the pithiness to die for. Take the 3 verses under scrutiny here; firstly, he dispels any thought of being holier than thou; secondly, the master destroys all ideas of goodness being the indicate of Buddhist use during all; as great as thirdly, he invites incredulity, assumingly rejecting probity altogether! And yet, if you were to stop the reflections upon these verses during this point, you would be blank during least half of Bankeis meaning. For, as with any great Zen master or mystic, he requires the clever courtesy if were not to have fools of ourselves usually when you thought the knowledge was resplendent oh-so brightly!
You consider that goodMeans hating what is bad
Usually, you do exactly what Bankei describes here: you creed that to be vexed whatevers bad is the height of goodness. For example, if you covet the neighbours ass, so to speak, you competence quarrel such squalid feelings, classifying them as ignoble as great as destructive. And, depending upon usually how attractive the neighbours donkey essentially is, it competence take the lot of loathing to the desires for them to be denied through suppression. Putting the neighbours donkey aside for the moment, an additional critical thing to note is that Bankei writes of what you consider being great ! is. He i s encouraging us to reflect upon the worth of thoughts compared to actions: Is meditative about what constitutes being great essentially being great or merely meditative about it? You see, Bankei is the consummate Zennist, pulling us to open the Dharma Eye wider as great as wider with any word.
What's bad isThe hating thoughts itself
Heres where Bankei unequivocally starts to challenge us. Not usually is he telling us that to hate crime isnt indispensably good, though that in hating what is bad, you have been formulating the divisive, harmful thoughts state. The Buddha taught that the 3 poisons, or harmful mental roots, have been greed, hatred, as great as delusion. Whenever the single of these mindsets is present, you have been formulating bad karma, as great as disastrous results will be the contingent result. So, even when you have hate for something that itself is unwholesome, such as covetousness, you have been still creation the rod for the back, as it were.
Good, you say,Means you do good
Conventional meditative dictates that great consists in you do what is good, as great as here is zero out of the ordinary. And, moreover, Buddhist ethics agree with this appraisal, putting much worth upon keeping the 5 precepts, that involve avoiding the following actions: killing, stealing, passionate misconduct, lying, as great as taking intoxicants. Now, the male of Bankeis knowledge positively kept these as great as his monkish precepts, for virtue is the substructure of the Buddhist Path to enlightenment. Only chagrined murderers, thieves, adulterers, liars as great as drunkards comprehend enlightenment. (This is the single sure-fire approach to tell if youve picked the wrong spiritual teacher; if he or she is indulging in any of the above, get the ruin out of there!)
Bad indeedThe thoughts that says so!
Hang upon the minute! Isnt Bankei contradicting the indicate done above t! hat he a lmost positively was the precept-keeping priest who promoted just behaviour? Not during all! The master is essentially referring to the thoughts that says so, rather than the chairman that does so. He is concerned here with assisting us to see over the attachments to both ideas of great as great as ideas of bad. This doesnt meant that you can be anarchists or libertines, you do what the ruin you want, for you will positively end up in ruin if you do so! It simply equates to that you dont adhere to either. Certainly, upon the required level of existence, if you do good, you will get great karmic results, as great as if you do bad, great reap the disastrous results of that, too. However, if you do bad stuff, you also have the added separator to note that weve combined harmful thoughts states thatll emanate barriers to the thoughts saying over itself. Nevertheless, Bankei declares:
Good as great as bad alikeRoll them both in to the single ball
This the single ball of Bankeis equates to concepts or ideas. If you put all the ideas of what constitutes great as great as bad (and anything else for that matter) in to the ball of assumptions, you have been in the position to absolved ourselves of it. We can do this by noticing mental objects as they arise as usually what they are, as great as not attaching or rejecting them. In meditation, for example, watching any successive thought as it arises reveals the fleeting as great as ethereal nature, allowing us to disencumber or let go of any connection to it. Another technique is to demeanour during that in that all thoughts occur, saying again that they have been transitory as great as transparent phenomena. Whatever approach you achieve this awareness, it is crucial to the fulfilment of enlightenment, for the latter is not an thought or concept, no make the difference how great or surpassing the thought may be.
Wrap it up in paper as great as thenToss it out - forget it all!
So, Ba! nkei wan ts us to throw out all ideas of great as great as bad, leaving us giveaway of any unpractical formations to be firm with. Not usually that, he wants us to hang this ball in paper first. The question arises here as to what sold kind of paper does the master have in mind? Is it jacket paper you should use, creation the notions during least demeanour pleasing prior to you drop them? Or maybe an old newspaper will suffice, covered as it is in the pitiable tribulations of secular types? Then again, it competence be that Bankei has no specific kind of paper in his thoughts during all though he isnt such the awkward poet as that! No, by paper Bankei does in truth have the single sold sort of paper in mind: scripture. As the Zen Buddhist, he knew usually as great well that you have the tendency to adhere not usually to ideas of whats good, though also to descriptions of the spiritual life. Therefore, even the connection to the prime sutra (or poem!) must be relinquished if you instruct to be indeed free. Are you ready to do so? Lets see...
Think of the square of scripture, poetry, the mantra, or dissertation (etc.) that you consider to be holy, wise, inspirational, or the little identical highly evolved quality. Focus your courtesy upon your feelings towards it, taking in the depth of your appreciation of it. Now, see the physical or digital form as merely form, the difference as simply words, as great as the concepts as usually concepts. What have been your emotions towards it now, if you have any? Turn your courtesy to that which is you do all this looking; upon current evidence, does this have any specific form or judgment attached to it. And, if it does, does that form or judgment essentially represent it accurately or not? What is it that surrounds all these thoughts as great as emotions? Is it describable in any way, or is it over any notional imagery? Who is it that is you do all this, right now?
As prolonged as you accept as great as fulfil the basic dignified precepts that prevent us from y! ou do an y radical harm to ourselves or others, you have been in the position to do what Bankei demands of us, as great as toss away all the ideas of great as great as bad. Doing so is the large step towards real freedom, that is indeed without unpractical constraints. And, once this is achieved, it can be combined with saying who it is that observes this process. Thereafter, saying who it is that lets go of the unreasoning sticking encourages further release, that in spin promotes extended judicious seeing: they have been forever spirally deeper in to enlightenment, leaving us without difference or concepts, though naturally residing in the True Nature that is over notions of great as great as bad.
Good, you say,Means you do goodBad indeedThe thoughts that says so!
Good as great as bad alikeRoll them both in to the single ballWrap it up in paper as great as thenToss it out - forget it all!
Bankei Yotaku (1622-1693) was an amazing Zen master. In simple, direct denunciation he cuts to the chase, as great as reveals the heart of the make the difference with the pithiness to die for. Take the 3 verses under scrutiny here; firstly, he dispels any thought of being holier than thou; secondly, the master destroys all ideas of goodness being the indicate of Buddhist use during all; as great as thirdly, he invites incredulity, assumingly rejecting probity altogether! And yet, if you were to stop the reflections upon these verses during this point, you would be blank during least half of Bankeis meaning. For, as with any great Zen master or mystic, he requires the clever courtesy if were not to have fools of ourselves usually when you thought the knowledge was resplendent oh-so brightly!
You consider that goodMeans hating what is bad
Usually, you do exactly what Bankei describes here: you creed that to be vexed whatevers bad is the height of goodness. For example, if you covet the neighbours ass, so to speak, you competence quarrel such squalid feelings, classifying them as ignoble as great as destructive. And, depending upon usually how attractive the neighbours donkey essentially is, it competence take the lot of loathing to the desires for them to be denied through suppression. Putting the neighbours donkey aside for the moment, an additional critical thing to note is that Bankei writes of what you consider being great ! is. He i s encouraging us to reflect upon the worth of thoughts compared to actions: Is meditative about what constitutes being great essentially being great or merely meditative about it? You see, Bankei is the consummate Zennist, pulling us to open the Dharma Eye wider as great as wider with any word.
What's bad isThe hating thoughts itself
Heres where Bankei unequivocally starts to challenge us. Not usually is he telling us that to hate crime isnt indispensably good, though that in hating what is bad, you have been formulating the divisive, harmful thoughts state. The Buddha taught that the 3 poisons, or harmful mental roots, have been greed, hatred, as great as delusion. Whenever the single of these mindsets is present, you have been formulating bad karma, as great as disastrous results will be the contingent result. So, even when you have hate for something that itself is unwholesome, such as covetousness, you have been still creation the rod for the back, as it were.
Good, you say,Means you do good
Conventional meditative dictates that great consists in you do what is good, as great as here is zero out of the ordinary. And, moreover, Buddhist ethics agree with this appraisal, putting much worth upon keeping the 5 precepts, that involve avoiding the following actions: killing, stealing, passionate misconduct, lying, as great as taking intoxicants. Now, the male of Bankeis knowledge positively kept these as great as his monkish precepts, for virtue is the substructure of the Buddhist Path to enlightenment. Only chagrined murderers, thieves, adulterers, liars as great as drunkards comprehend enlightenment. (This is the single sure-fire approach to tell if youve picked the wrong spiritual teacher; if he or she is indulging in any of the above, get the ruin out of there!)
Bad indeedThe thoughts that says so!
Hang upon the minute! Isnt Bankei contradicting the indicate done above t! hat he a lmost positively was the precept-keeping priest who promoted just behaviour? Not during all! The master is essentially referring to the thoughts that says so, rather than the chairman that does so. He is concerned here with assisting us to see over the attachments to both ideas of great as great as ideas of bad. This doesnt meant that you can be anarchists or libertines, you do what the ruin you want, for you will positively end up in ruin if you do so! It simply equates to that you dont adhere to either. Certainly, upon the required level of existence, if you do good, you will get great karmic results, as great as if you do bad, great reap the disastrous results of that, too. However, if you do bad stuff, you also have the added separator to note that weve combined harmful thoughts states thatll emanate barriers to the thoughts saying over itself. Nevertheless, Bankei declares:
Good as great as bad alikeRoll them both in to the single ball
This the single ball of Bankeis equates to concepts or ideas. If you put all the ideas of what constitutes great as great as bad (and anything else for that matter) in to the ball of assumptions, you have been in the position to absolved ourselves of it. We can do this by noticing mental objects as they arise as usually what they are, as great as not attaching or rejecting them. In meditation, for example, watching any successive thought as it arises reveals the fleeting as great as ethereal nature, allowing us to disencumber or let go of any connection to it. Another technique is to demeanour during that in that all thoughts occur, saying again that they have been transitory as great as transparent phenomena. Whatever approach you achieve this awareness, it is crucial to the fulfilment of enlightenment, for the latter is not an thought or concept, no make the difference how great or surpassing the thought may be.
Wrap it up in paper as great as thenToss it out - forget it all!
So, Ba! nkei wan ts us to throw out all ideas of great as great as bad, leaving us giveaway of any unpractical formations to be firm with. Not usually that, he wants us to hang this ball in paper first. The question arises here as to what sold kind of paper does the master have in mind? Is it jacket paper you should use, creation the notions during least demeanour pleasing prior to you drop them? Or maybe an old newspaper will suffice, covered as it is in the pitiable tribulations of secular types? Then again, it competence be that Bankei has no specific kind of paper in his thoughts during all though he isnt such the awkward poet as that! No, by paper Bankei does in truth have the single sold sort of paper in mind: scripture. As the Zen Buddhist, he knew usually as great well that you have the tendency to adhere not usually to ideas of whats good, though also to descriptions of the spiritual life. Therefore, even the connection to the prime sutra (or poem!) must be relinquished if you instruct to be indeed free. Are you ready to do so? Lets see...
Think of the square of scripture, poetry, the mantra, or dissertation (etc.) that you consider to be holy, wise, inspirational, or the little identical highly evolved quality. Focus your courtesy upon your feelings towards it, taking in the depth of your appreciation of it. Now, see the physical or digital form as merely form, the difference as simply words, as great as the concepts as usually concepts. What have been your emotions towards it now, if you have any? Turn your courtesy to that which is you do all this looking; upon current evidence, does this have any specific form or judgment attached to it. And, if it does, does that form or judgment essentially represent it accurately or not? What is it that surrounds all these thoughts as great as emotions? Is it describable in any way, or is it over any notional imagery? Who is it that is you do all this, right now?
As prolonged as you accept as great as fulfil the basic dignified precepts that prevent us from y! ou do an y radical harm to ourselves or others, you have been in the position to do what Bankei demands of us, as great as toss away all the ideas of great as great as bad. Doing so is the large step towards real freedom, that is indeed without unpractical constraints. And, once this is achieved, it can be combined with saying who it is that observes this process. Thereafter, saying who it is that lets go of the unreasoning sticking encourages further release, that in spin promotes extended judicious seeing: they have been forever spirally deeper in to enlightenment, leaving us without difference or concepts, though naturally residing in the True Nature that is over notions of great as great as bad.
