Zen Practice

Great Faith, Great Doubt
On the pull between faith and doubt that can spark awakening - by a Zen teacher

Most of the work in Zen practice takes place while sitting zazen
because, in reality,
there’s nothing anyone can give us.
There’s nothing that we lack;
each one of us is perfect and complete.

That’s why it is said that
there are no Zen teachers and nothing to teach.

But this truth must be realized by each one of us.

Great faith, great doubt, and great determination
are three essentials for that realization.
Great faith is the boundless faith in oneself and
in one's ability to realize oneself and make oneself free;
great doubt is the deep and penetrating doubt that asks:

Who am I?
What is life?
What is truth?
What is God?
What is reality?

Great faith and great doubt are in dynamic tension with each other;
they work to provide the real cutting edge of koan practice.

When great faith and great doubt are also accompanied by great determination --
the determination of “seven times knocked down, eight times up” --
we have at our disposal the power necessary
to break through our delusive way of thinking
and realize the full potential of our lives.

-- John Daido Loori

Shanti Mantram

शान्ति मन्त्रं
ॐ
स ह नाववातु स ह नौभुनक्तु
सहवीर्यम करवावहै
तेजस्विनावधीतमस्तु
मा विद्विषावहै
ॐ शांतिः शांतिः शांतिः
Swami Dayananda's commentary: http://www.arshavidya.org/literature_sample.html#shanti
May He (the Lord) protect both of us. May He nourish both of us (with knowledge)May both of us make effort for the capacity (for knowledge to take place)May what is studied by us be brilliantly clearLet us not have any misunderstandingPeace! Peace! Peace!
sa ha nAvavatu (saH ha nau avatu)
saH means Ishvara, the meaning of the word tat in the statement: "You are that." tat ivam asi. The meaning of the word tat is the Lord. May that Lord definitely, indeed (ha) protect, bless (avatu) both of us (nau). The word om is also from the same root as for avatu, the root av. ; av is used in the sense of protecting, the one who protects being the source of blessing. Thus, the Lord's name is Om. You can also say he is the one who sustains everything. May that Lord bless both of us, teacher and student.
sa ha nau bhunaktu
May that Lord (saH) definitely, indeed (ha) nourish (bhunaktu) both of us (nau) - that is also in the sense of protection. There is no meaning of eating here; (for in that case, the verb would have to have different endings - Atmane-pada). The sense here is only of nourishing. May he nourish both of us with knowledge. May the Lord indeed, or may the Lord certainly, condoning all my omissions and commissions, being blind to them, bless us and nourish us both. Both student and teacher seek bhagavAn's blessing:
saha vIryam karavAvahai
May both of us together exert, make effort (karavAvahai). What kind of effort? With (saha) vIrya; vIryam here is the capacity required to gain knowledge (vidya-sampAdane sAmarthyam). Whatever is required to gain this knowledge, may we make an effort for that. In gaining this knowledge a certain capacity, certain conditions are required. May we both cultivate those conditions, abilities. There are two types of conditions that have to be fulfilled here. As the teaching takes place, the student is supposed to see the meaning (grahaNa-sAmarthyam). That is a capacity, and it consists of lot of things. In giving the knowledge also, the teacher needs a certain capacity (sAmarthya). Your (teacher’s) memory should help you and you should also be able to see the condition of the listener, and decide what exactly will drive home the idea. There are a lot of things in the shAstra. If we tell all of them in the beginning it will be confusing. Also, you cannot make a statement which will have to be withdrawn later. You have to say the same thing in a form that is understood by the student at the stage that he is at. At one stage one thing is relevant, at another stage, a little more. It all depends on what you have already taught—and what the student has understood. This giving of knowledge (yidyA-dAnam) is not easy, especially if the vidyA has a certain intrinsic difficulty. You have to use words where words have no access, and cannot have access. But only through words you have to communicate. Therefore, you have to make sure you negate what is to be negated and take the student to a corner from where that student cannot but see. This is what they call the analogy of [seeing] the moon [through] a branch - shAkha-chandra-nyAya. nyaaya is a conclusion, a particular fact revealed through an analogy, like an adage or proverb.
This shAkha-chandra-nyAya is a very interesting nyAya. A person wants to communicate his experience of the crescent: moon, the third day moon, let us say. They say it is auspicious to see the third day moon and this person wants to share his experience of seeing it with his friend who is by his side. He says. "Look at the moon." His friend looks at the sky and is not able to see the moon. Here is a problem of communication. He can tell his friend to look up and scan the sky, but the sky is too vast to scan. So he follows a very simple method. He sees a tree and asks his friend to look at the tree and find the branch that is projecting towards the left side of the trunk. The friend says. "Yes. I see it."

Law of the Reversed Effort

'Yield and you need not break:'

Bent you can straighten,
Emptied you can hold,
Torn you can mend;
And as want can reward you
So wealth can bewilder.

Aware of this, a wise man has the simple return
Which other men seek:

Without inflaming himself
He is kindled,
Without explaining himself
Is explained,
Without taking credit
Is accredited,
Laying no claim
Is acclaimed
And, because he does not compete,
Finds peaceful competence.

How true is the old saying,
'Yield and you need not break'!
How completely it comes home!
-Lao Tsu

This statement follows his famous
Law of the Reversed Effort
The Law which sees to it that
When you try to stay afloat, you sink;
When you try to sink, you float;
When you hold your breath, you lose it.
Those who justify themselves, do not convince.

It is in the letting go,
that we are enabled to receive;
In the stillness, that we can participate;
In the silence, hear;
and, out of the dark night, see.

To know the Truth, one must get rid of knowledge.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In Upadesa Saram, Sloka 27, Ramana Maharishi states:
jñana-varjitâ'jñâna-hîna-cit,
jñânam-asti kim jñâtum-antaram.

chith (Awareness) is jñanam which is unqualified knowledge.
When we are free from objective knowledge (jñana-varjitâ)
and when we also get rid of the notion "I am ignorant" (â'jñâna-hîna)
through Self-enquiry, thereby gaining Self-knowledge,
there is no difference between the knower and the known.
There is one Awareness and that is yourself.
There is, then, nothing else to know. (asti kim jñâtum-antaram)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Further statements illustrating the Law of the Reversed Effort:
from Kahlil Gibran:
Only when you drink from the river of silence
shall you indeed sing;
And when you have reached the mountain top,
then you shall begin to climb;
And when the earth shall claim your limbs,
then shall you truly dance.
-----------------------------------------------------------
from Alan Watts
Unless a grain of corn fall into the ground and die,
it remains alone.
But if it dies,
it brings forth much fruit"...
What religion calls the vision of God
is found in giving up
any (pre-conceived) belief in the idea of God.

By the same law of reversed effort,
we discover the "infinite" and the "absolute,"
not by straining to escape from the finite and relative world,
but by the most complete acceptance of its limitations.

Paradoxical as it may seem,
we likewise find life meaningful only
when we have seen that it is without purpose,
and know the "mystery of the universe"
only when we are convinced that we know nothing about it at all.

SUN'S CHARIOTEER

From our Puranic lore
A motivational story for disabled persons.

Hindu mythology portrays the Sun as a divine being who traverses the sky daily in a chariot drawn by seven horses (VIBGYOR), with Aruna as the charioteer.
Aruna is the son of Vinata, daughter of Rishi Kashyapa. He was born prematurely, without legs. Even though disabled, he rose to an exalted position as the charioteer of the Sun-god, Surya. Since ancient times, he continues to spread Sun's light and energy daily
around the world, sustaining us with vital nourishment without which life would be impossible. He is ever punctual and appears with his master, Lord Sun, brilliantly painting the sky red (Aruna also means red). Riding majestically across the sky, he guides the seven horses in their steady march around the Globe. No wonder that the ancients gratefully named sun-rise after him as Arunodaya, the appearance of Aruna!

Lovingly, his master Surya the Sun-God, identified himself closely with his devoted charioteer and wanted himself also to be known as Aruna! Therefore, Aruna is also one of the names of Sun.

Aruna is an excellent role-model for loyalty, service and puntuality. He never misses a day in attendance, he is always on time and brings his master to the world to perform the divine service of nurturing the world.

May we all emulate him and serve others similarly.

Bridal virginity - a tyranny?

Pure Tyranny by Judith Warner in NY Times:

Righteous indignation is so easy, so pleasant, when you can sit back and fling it overseas. I had that edifying experience on the D.C. Metro Wednesday morning, reading in the Times about the Muslim women in France who are going to cosmetic surgeons for hymen replacement surgery so that they can bleed as seeming virgins on their wedding nights. . .
Read full article http://warner.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/12/pure-tyranny/index.html?8ty&emc=ty

Reader Comments:
_________________________________________________________________
"When something is so widespread from culture to culture, you have to ask why this is so. Unfortunately I’m thinking that in this case, unless we work very hard against it, biology is destiny. When women are sexually active they often become pregnant. Pregnancy and motherhood require much self sacrifice. Perhaps the value of virginity began as a concern for the futures of our daughters–a hope that they are not required to sacrifice too much too soon. . ." - Posted by Elizabeth Fuller
_________________________________________________________________________________
Just for clarification-

In Islam, someone (woman or man) can be:

(1) an actual virgin (someone who hasn’t engaged in sexual intercourse)
(2) an effective vrigin (someone not known to have engaged in sexual intercourse)
(3) a non-virgin (someone previously married such that they would have consummated their marriage, or someone openly known to have engaged in premarital sex).

Both (1) and (2) are considered “virgins” when it comes to the rulings of the Shariah, and can state that they are “virgins” without this being considered a lie or deceit. The reference for this is a *19th century* shariah manual: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radd_al-Muhtar_ala_al-Dur_al-Mukhtar , Additionally, it considered highly inappropriate in Islam to question someone, or to answer questions, about past indiscretions. Unfortunately many Muslims follow non-Islamic cultural traditions which contradict religion. But this is not the fault of Islam. — Posted by Ilyas L.
=================================================================================

You make your life

We generally ascribe our failures to Fate;
the sanskrit aphorism: यत् भावं तत् भवति yadbhaavam tat bhavati (as one conceives, so things happen) contradicts
this assumption, reminds us that we are responsible for the consequences of our actions, and advises us to remember that -

Life is a do-it-yourself job:
We build our lives in a distracted way,
reacting rather than acting,
willing to put up with
less than what is best.for us in the long-term.
At important points
we do not give the job our best effort.
Then with a shock
we look at the situation we have created
and find that
we are now living in the house we ourselves have built.
If we had realized earlier,
we would have done it differently.

Think of yourself as the carpenter
Who builds your house.
Each day you hammer a nail,
place a board, or erect a wall.
Build wisely.
It is the only life you will ever build.
Even if you live it for only one day more,
that day deserves to be lived graciously
and with dignity.

The plaque on the wall says,
"Life is a do-it-yourself project"
Who could say it more clearly?
Your life today is the result
of your attitudes and choices in the past.
Your life tomorrow will be the result
of your attitudes and the choices you make today.

The Ramayana story illustrates this very well. Dasaratha acted to make Rama his successor, ignoring ghis promise to Kaikeyi that her son will succeed him as King. He suffered the consequences of his action - his own death, exile of Rama for fourteen years, abduction of Sita and battle with Ravana. None can escape the operation of this rule: "Your life tomorrow will be the result of your attitudes and the choices you make today".(See the Post: "On Kaikeyi" 22 June 2008)
___________________________________________________________
If you find travelling the correct spiritual path difficult, help is always available: from the Wisdom of the past contained in the scriptures or
the experienced, wise and competent teachers who are willing
to advise and guide. Life's path is like the razor's edge, dark
and difficult to tread - as explained in Kathopanishad:
kshurasya dhaaraa nishitaa duratyayaa
durgam pathastat kavayo vadanti
and therefore:
praapya varaan nibodhata
get the know-how from competent sages.
____________________________________________________________

There is an another, easier path to liberation from the sufferings of failures: the ego's surrender to Krishna
and resting in his hands as his flute. He himself has advised: मामेकं शरणम व्रज maamekam sharaNam vraja .
This theme is lucidly brought out in the song "kuzhaloothi":

குழலூதி மனம் எல்லாம்
கொள்ளை கொண்ட பின்னும்
குறை ஏதும் எனக்கேதடி? ...........
kuzhaloothi manamellam
koLLai konda pinnum
kuRaiyethum enakkEthadi ..............
Link to the music: Flute Vocal
Audio_Flute

Audio_Vocal


I am safely resting in His hands
It is He who blew the first breath of life into me and
it is He who will determine the last breath of my life.
I should rest my self in His hands as His flute
and let Him play the sweet song of my life.

Tired of this stressful life and senseless pursuits?
Come; let us surrender to our dear Lord Krishna!
Let us place our ego as the flute in His hands.
Our every action will then becomes a note
in the music that He will gladly play through us.
Then, where will there be place in our mind
for regrets about failures, or for unfulfilled
wants and wishes that ceaselessly haunt us?

We can blissfully chant thenceforth
in harmony with His divine music:
குறை ஏதும் எனக்கேதடி
I am wanting in nothing;
I am full; I am full; I am full.
OM! Poornamadah Poornamidam!

Full text of the song: Kuzhaloodhi Manamellam

composer: ooththukkaadu venkatasubbaiyar
raagam: kaambodhi thaalam: aadhi

kuzhaloothi manamellaam koLLaikonda pinnum
kurai ethum enakkethadi sakiye
(kuzhaloothi)
(miga miga) azhagaana mayilaadavum
kaatril asainthaadum kodipolavum
agamagizhnthilavum nilavoli thanile
thanaimaranthu pullinam kuuva
asainthaadi miga isainthodi varum nalam kaana oru manam naada
thagumigu ena oru patham paada thakita thathimi ena nadamaada
kanru pasuvinamum ninru pudaisuuzha
enrum malarumuga iraivan kanivOdu
(kuzhaloothi)
(kannan) makara kundalamaadavum atharkErpa
makudam oliviisavum migavum ezhilaagavum
(thenral) kaatril milirum thugilaadavum
(agamagizhndhilavum)
(kuzhaloothi)

குழலூதி மனமெல்லாம்
composer: ஊத்துக்காடு வேங்கடசுப்பையர்
ராகம்:காம்போதி தாளம்: ஆதி

குழலூதி மனமெல்லாம் கொள்ளைகொண்ட பின்னும்
குறை ஏதும் எனக்கேதடி சகியே
(குழலூதி)
(மிக மிக) அழகான மயிலாடவும் காற்றில் அசைந்தாடும் கொடிபோலவும்
அகமகிழ்ந்திலவும் நிலவொளி தனிலே தனைமறந்து புள்ளினம் கூவ
அசைந்தாடி மிக இசைந்தோடி வரும் நலம் கான ஒரு மனம் நாட
தகுமிகு என ஒரு பதம் பாட தகிட திமி என நடமாட
கன்று பசுவினமும் நின்று புடைசூழ என்றும் மலருமுக இறைவன் கனிவோடு
(குழலூதி)
(கண்ணன்) மகர குண்டலமாடவும் அதற்கேற்ப மகுடம் ஒளிவீசவும்
மிகவும் எழிலாகவும் (தென்றல்) காற்றில் மிளிரும் துகிலாடவும் (அகமகிழ்ந்திளவும்)
(குழலூதி)
=============================================
The sound of Krishna's flute is the divine call to ecstasy;
it is His call advising us: "Give up attachments and follow Me."
Happy are those who can harken to this call and
commence living in eternal Bliss:
yasya brahmani ramate cittam
nandati nandati nandatyeva
He whose awareness rests constantly in Brahman-Conciousness,
his mind is ever in the supreme Blissful state.

Steady as the Pole Star

He who exercises government by means of his virtue
may be compared to the north polar star,
which keeps its place and all the stars turn towards it.
-Confucius, philosopher and teacher (c. 551-478 BCE)
======================================================================

The word "North Pole star" is merely the designation for the star whose apparent position
is close to the north-celestial pole; this position is currently occupied by the star Polaris.

But even Polaris considered to be 'steady', is near the celestial pole for only a small fraction of the 25,700-year precession cycle; it will remain a good approximation for about 1,000 years, by which time the pole will have moved to be closer to Alrai (Gamma Cephei). In about 5,500 years, the pole will have again moved near the position of the star Alderamin (Alpha Cephei), and in 12,000 years, Vega(Alpha Lyrae) will become our north star; but it will be about six degrees from the true north celestial pole.

The very long time interval (25700) is the reason we tend to ascribe the changeless, fixed state to the pole star.

The pole star is known in sanskrit as dhruva nakshatra . The dictionary meaning of the word is: "fixed, firm, immovable, unchangeable, constant, lasting, permanent, eternal". The puranic story of Prince Dhruva is available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhruva

Like a wobbling top, the orientation of the Earth's north-south axis is slowly but continuously changing, tracing out a conical shape in a cycle of approximately 25,765 years. This movement, known as precession, is caused by the gravitational forces of the Sun and the Moon, and to a lesser extent other bodies, on the equatorial bulge of the spinning Earth.

Ayanamsa
The difference between the starting point of the Tropical and Sidereal Zodiacs, due to the precession of the equinoxes. There are several in use in India today, but the official government-sanctioned Lahiri ayanamsa (22°27'37.7") is the most widely used. The other popular ayanamsas are Krishnamurti (22°21'50") and Raman (21°00'52") though it should be mentioned that there are at least 3 different versions of Lahiri, plus other lesser used models.

More at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celestial_pole
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precession_of_the_equinoxes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equatorial_bulge
http://www.yeatsvision.com/GreatYear.html