Verses1
Not understanding the mysterious purpose
In vain to think quietly
By not understanding the deep meaning,
the serenity of the heart is disturbed in vain.
Comment
How to understand the deep meaning? Reading and studying? To some extent intellectual study is necessary, but we can only reach deep wisdom through direct experience. It is useless to try to understand only from the intellect. Reading and studying the wisdom that our ancestors have left us is essential, through it we can develop intuition. But this is still like the finger pointing at the moon, we must be careful not to stare at the finger, forgetting to experience the moon. We have to walk the path putting our understanding into practice and understanding our experiences.
Not seeing reality as it is, disturbs our natural state which is the serene peace of the heart. We continually get entangled in the chaos caused by our ignorance., our blindness, our inability to see clearly. We confirm it, For example, in the continuous conflicts that arise in our interpersonal relationships. We are like an elephant entering a china shop, reacting impulsively to any stimulus that we judge as intolerable or inappropriate.
Is your heart becoming more serene? It is the best indicator that your steps on the Way are going in the right direction.. Through the correct and continued practice of zazen we are harmonizing with the awakening to reality as it is, naturally, day by day and connecting more and more deeply with the imperturbable serenity of the heart.
- From the work Xìn Xīn Míng Song to the Heart of Trust,
of the third Chan ancestor Jianzhi Sengcan.
Translation and comments by Dokushô Villalba.
Editions i, 2008. [↩]