[AUDIO AND TEXT]
Some of you may recall Case 19 of the first koan collection used by our Zen lineage, The Gateless Gate, or Mumonkan. Here’s an abbreviated version of Case 19:
Joshu earnestly asked Nansen, “What is the Way?” Nansen said, “The ordinary mind is the way.”
When we talk about “ordinary mind,” we’re talking about experiencing things as they are. “Just the facts, ma’am. That’s what we want.” Sleeping / waking, walking / being still, talking / being silent, standing up / lying down, eating, working – all the activities of our daily lives. And as we focus our attention on our daily lives, on ordinary mind, we cast off all the delusions – the mental constructs – that obscure our immediate awareness of what is, of the “just this” dimension of being.
Much of our mental time is spent wanting things to be different. “I don’t like things this way; I’d rather it be that way.” Mental time. Well, this is the way when we’re dwelling in the world of form, the phenomenal world. We forget that the distinction between “this” and “that” is irrelevant, actually non-existent, in the essential world, which is the source and ground of our very being.
Seeing things in the light of the essential world, of essential nature, we can allow all things, all distinctions, to dissolve into the emptiness of the essential, the serenity of the essential. And this dissolution manifests in mind, as ordinary mind.
I believe that the actions of our leaders, their supporters, and world leaders at large, are most often driven by conceptual frameworks – ideologies – that people have developed or embraced, frameworks sourced from somewhere outside their own inner-awareness. Even notions of right and wrong are grounded in concepts we’ve glommed onto and cling to and seek to impose upon our segment of humanity.
In embracing these conceptual frameworks, these ideologies, we depart from “ordinary mind” and go into flights of fantasy that have so often led us to separate into factions and promote division within societies and civilizations. But I’m diving into deep waters here, so let me stop and come back to the shallow end of the pool.
When we recognize this tendency to behave according to some conceptual framework, it’s possible we can recall ordinary mind, and in so doing, we can discover an alternative way of being: peace of mind. We can return to ourselves and then act (or not act) in accordance with our true nature – in equilibrium with true nature. And we discover the equanimity and freedom of original mind, don’t-know mind, no-mind, that undergirds our very being.
No-mind casts off preconceived mental constructs and allows our actions to proceed freely and naturally, like waves crashing on rocks or sea foam embracing the shore. Things may look or seem to be the same on both sides, but on one side they’re born of thought, while the other they’re not born at all. They just are what they are. Period. “Just the facts, ma’am.” And it’s no-mind that our spiritual practice, our meditation practice, our Zen practice, helps us to cultivate. Peace of mind. Original mind.
Let me share a few quotations from Ch’an masters, both contemporary and ancient, that may shed some light on what you’ve just heard. Here is just one line from the contemporary teacher Guo Gu, in his commentary on Case 19 (see his edition of the Mumonkan, Passing Through the Gateless Barrier, 2016, Shambhala):
Practice is not about gaining freedom but about realizing what obstructs you. Vexations obstruct; you must recognize that: face it, embrace it, respond to it, then let go of it.
Don’t cling to preconceived conceptual frameworks. See them for the obstructions they are, and act accordingly. No-mind. Original mind. Peace of mind.
And here are two short poems from the 13th century Chinese poet known as Stonehouse (see the Red Pine translations in Dancing with the Dead, 2023, Copper Canyon Press):
137
People say our everyday mind isn’t our buddha nature
I say our buddha nature is simply our everyday mind
Afraid no one will do any work
They teach grinding iron rods to make needles
Everyday mind, ordinary mind. Essential nature is just that, just this. Buddha nature, our original nature. No need to go “… grinding iron rods to make needles.” No need for what we today might term “whack-a mole.”
145
From outside my round pointed-roof hut
Who would guess how big it is inside
All the worlds in the universe are there
With room to spare for a meditation cushion
The vastness of the universe – of essential nature, as I see this figure of the round-pointed-roof hut – accommodates all the worlds, everything that is and is not. And it still has room for a cushion upon which we can practice. What more do we want? What more is there?
That’s all. Thank you. And so, we practice.
EMPTY CLOUD ZEN 