Bell and Robe

Let it never be said that my teacher fails to miss hitting the moment where I'm at. It's uncanny. In his most recently published teisho, "Bell and Robe," Case number 16, from the Mumonkan, Genjo Marinello Osho discusses "Why we do what we do." As ever he touches the earth and makes it a home.

"…You know we don't have very much choice over a lot things in life. We just have to take it as it comes. We have to learn from everything that comes and allow it to be our next point of maturity. There are many, many potential so-called distractions or hindrances, but through Zen practice we turn all those distractions and hindrances into challenges and they become our turning point of how to go deeper and become more mature and over time become less distracted and disturbed by a wider range of phenomena, both inside and outside our physical form. This is a a good thing. This is called maturity in the Way…

But still after 30 years of training... shaving my head 30 years ago, this year, When I find myself distracted or disturbed or overwhelmed or conflicted… worried… you name it, and especially with this new building that we have taken on ownership of and figure out how to make it all work… And I'm very pleased by the way, how many people have taken up the cause form making donations to samu projects to organizing committees and it just amazing how we are all participating in this. But I can also feel the tension of this extra new responsibility both personally and collectively. So this is our challenge, to make this our learning and any distraction or hinderance or disturbance that I may feel inside myself, I can say ohhh ohhh, this is my new challenge… this is my new opportunity… this is my new learning, to stretch 30 years of training into more maturity and ultimately more equanimity, even with a wider range and spectrum of the human condition.

We say human condition, but it's interesting in our practice of Zen, we realize that the human condition is the condition of the universe itself. It's a pretty daaaang big spectrum for whatever you look at or hear or touch or taste, if you do so fully, you transcend the supposed distinction or difference between whatever it is that you are engaged in, whether it's chopping vegetables, sweeping the floor, listening to the bell, putting on your robe or taking it off. We become seamless with whatever activity we're engaged in and that's referred to as samadhi.. or harmony with our surroundings, where the distinctions between self and other, in and out, host and guest begin to fall away..."

If you would like to listen to the complete teisho, you can get it for free from iTunes or the Choboji Podcast site. No matter where you get it from, enjoy it. It's beautiful.

With Hands Palm to Palm,

Jaye Seiho Morris, Curator
digitalZENDO

Comments

[Jamie G.]

It was a great Teisho... I listened to it on my iPod while on patrol when I work night shift. Timely stuff.