Sense & Essence

Vimalakirti was a great layman in Buddhism, one of the greatest of all Buddhists. He said, “It’s like this. The high plateau does not produce lotus flowers. It is the mire of the lowest swamplands that produces these flowers.” In other words, the lotus, which is so often thought of as a symbol of purity, grows in the midst of dirt, swamplands. The reason I am going into this is that so often I have heard about this issue from people. I have been guilty of this, too.

There was a very strong urge in me many times, particularly after times I spent in the Orient, to get away and live in solitude and devote myself to my own spiritual practice. But certain spiritual experiences told me that was not the way for me and so it went by the wayside. Many feel, “Oh, I have to get away from all this. I have to divide the day in two – my busy day, making a living, screaming at the children, doing the other. And then the time of purity when I get away from it and live the other life.” But that isn’t what is being said here. Right in the time of screaming at the children, you can be aware of the essence while being in the world of the senses. To be in the world of the essence.

Hakuin Zenji, who was certainly an ascetic and one of the strictest of all Zen teachers, said, “Samadhi in actual life is a hundred times better than samadhi in quietude.” He was saying positive samadhi rather than absolute samadhi. Absolute samadhi is like a trance state, a state in which you are away from everything. The senses don’t operate. But Zen says that you must digress from that to positive samadhi that operates in every action that you take.

Zen teachers have always thought much more highly of living the everyday life honestly and being aware of the essence than trying to get away from everyday life. Engo, another Zen teacher, said, “In the busiest marketplace, one will be able to enjoy unhindered movement.” Do you get the essence of that statement? “In the busiest marketplace one will be able to enjoy unhindered movement.” Right in the midst of the transaction, you have the great freedom.

It’s very different from moksha, getting off the wheel of life and death. I know of several people who practiced the Indian ways with the idea of attaining moksha, and one of them got ill and became very frantic about it. He thought he was going to die. And I said, “Well, this is your chance to get off the wheel of life and death.” I don’t know people who want to get off the wheel of life and death. They do the ceremonies and pay homage to it while knowing that really isn’t what they want. If it is your calling, however… For instance, Tom Fernandez […] is one of the best T’ai Chi Chih teachers, a very influential one whom everybody likes. And yet Tom has retired to live a monastic life at the Self Realization Foundation; he has retired from the world. That was his calling. He had attained a growth of certainty and knew he wanted to do that. [I] wonder whether he will want to do it continually. But if you are going to live that kind of a life, there must be no doubt in your mind that is what you want to do.

Vimalakurti, the great layman, said, “If you consider quietude right and commotion wrong, then this is seeking the real aspect by destroying the worldly aspect.” Does everybody follow that? When you like the quiet and hate the hubbub, this is just the time to apply effort. He goes on, “Suddenly, when in the midst of the hubbub, you topple the scene of quietude, that power surpasses the meditation seat and cushion by a million times.” By a million times. Although Vimalakurti was considered at the very top of Buddhism, the Buddha used to send some of his top disciples to see Vimalakurti, who chose to live as a layman. He had a family. He said, “When, in the midst of hubbub, you topple the scene of quietude, that power surpasses the meditation seat and cushion by a million times.” He’s not saying not to meditate or not to follow the contemplative life. He’s saying don’t give up the worldly aspect while seeking the quietude.

One monk said, “Don’t be fond of purity. Purity makes people weary. Don’t be fond of joyful liveliness. Joyful liveliness makes people crazy. As water conforms to the vessel, it accordingly becomes square or round, short or long. Water follows the course of circumstances.” Doesn’t it? If you have a square box, the water is square; if you have a round vessel, the water is round. So when people ask questions like I have been asked so many times, “What do I do about diet?” … “What do I do about sex if I’m meditating?” … “What do I do about this and that?” I answer, be like water; conform to the circumstances, to what is called for.