A Tale for the Disenchanted

Getting Out of the Disenchantment of Entanglement

Here’s the ticket to get out of entanglements: be ready to participate fully devoted to what comes next with reverence. Let us call this holding Dharma.

reverence (n.)

Reverence is nearly equivalent to veneration, but expresses something less of the same emotion. It differs from awe in that it is not akin to the feeling of fear, dread, or terror, while also implying a certain amount of love or affection. We feel reverence for a parent and for an upright magistrate, but we stand in awe of a tyrant. [Century Dictionary]

awe (n.)

1. 1300, aue, “fear, terror, great reverence,” earlier aghe, c. 1200, from a Scandinavian source, such as Old Norse agi“fright;” from Proto-Germanic *agiz-(source also of Old English ege “fear,” Old High German agiso “fright, terror,” Gothic agis “fear, anguish”), from PIE *agh-es- (source also of Greek akhos “pain, grief”), from root *agh- (1) “to be depressed, be afraid” (see ail).

Holding Dharma

When we are able to hold Dharma no matter what arises we will not fall apart. Now, I realize that the sentence in itself is not enough explanation. You see, and of course I hope you do see, that there is work involved when the wind blows and we find ourselves entangled.

In order to hold onto Dharma, we need to develop the capacity to stand our ground in stillness and silence when desires arise. Let me repeat what we need to develop. We need to develop the capacity to stand our ground when desires arise. Desires refer to our reactive thoughts, feelings, impulses, and perceptions of the entangled mess we have made within ourselves. The key word is reactive.

These reactive mental formations arise to drive back something that our senses have experienced. Reactions, however, when acted out verbally or physically cannot be called back. It is very much like mixing two chemicals together; once they come together there is no separating them. An example from household cleaning is baking soda and vinegar; once the two substances come together, they form a new substance called carbon dioxide gas.

In order to practice the capacity to stand still we need to use our power to drive back the inner mental formations to prevent harm to others as well as diminish our mental selfishness that rises up. It is helpful to understand that we have the power to drive back our mental reactive patterns before they turn into something toxic. It is called, repercussive or repercussion. Most, if not all of us, have experienced the repercussions of our actions.

Our actions and the results of our actions are our closest companions. Check for yourself. What pops up in the mind? Mostly the repercussions of our actions. Repercussions echo and reflect our tendencies and attachments. The echoes remind us of our work to be done. When we react, we are no longer holding Dharma, we are reacting to our selfish ego that wants something.

repercussive (adj.)

late 14c., repercussif, “having the power to drive back” (originally in medicine, in reference to excessive concentrations of a humor), from Old French repercussif and directly from Medieval Latin repercussivus, from Latin repercuss-, past-participle stem of repercutere “to strike or beat back” (see repercussion). Related: Repercussively; repercussiveness.

repercussion (n.)

early 15c., repercussioun, “act of driving back,” from Old French répercussion (14c.) or directly from Latin repercusionem (nominative repercussio), noun of action from past-participle stem of repercutere “to strike or beat back; shine back, reflect; echo,” from re- “back” (see re-) + percutere “to strike or thrust through” (see percussion).

Even the strongest desires will not overtake us when we have developed our capacity to stand our ground in still silence. There we are holding Dharma; in stillness and silence.

*****

The Perfect Way is only difficult

for those who

pick and choose;

Do not like, do not dislike;

all will then be clear.[1]

There we have IT. We are not guided by dogma or doctrines, but by clear, straightforward truths about the Way. We are not to worry that at present we pick and choose and like and dislike. Not at all. In fact, we all find ourselves on the roulette wheel of for and against. Recognizing that we spin between striking-it-rich and striking-it-poor in terms of getting-what-we-want and not-getting-what-we-want. We begin to see the roots of our disenchantment. The roots being reactive tendencies and the repercussions thereof.

We react and experience the repercussions and then we experience disenchantment. Spiritually, disenchantment is a step on the path of the Way. An encounter of disenchantment gives us the possibility to let go of wanting it our way.  Letting go of our enchantment frees us from our compulsion to repeat the same mistake over and over again.

Let me clarify.  Each and everyone of us are conditioned to go after something or someone in life. At first, as children we go after all the things in our environment, but because we lack discernment we need to be watched as a baby. Otherwise, we may injure ourselves or even go after something fatal to our existence. As we grow-up, we expand our horizons from the playpen to the outdoors and school and other children. And, as we all know, we then seek self-sufficiency regarding the things that help us survive in our social environment. Each development comes with the paired condition of for and against. There are many paired-condition sets which all have the underlying truth of being seen as both separate and opposite, i.e., right and wrong, good and bad, mine and yours. We have many, many opposites because our human nature tends to divide the world into one of two categories: good or bad. Because we are so conditioned it is very difficult to contemplate giving-up like and dislike and picking and choosing.

Yet, the teaching tells us:

The Perfect Way is only difficult for those who pick and choose;

Do not like, do not dislike; all will then be clear.

 Now many of us may feel that the Perfect Way teaching is impossible or harder than picking and choosing and liking and disliking. The reason it seems harder is we have fabricated our tendency to pick and choose, like and dislike. Every day we are asked to choose, to pick, to like or dislike. And since we may believe it is impossible, we give up our practice of this teaching. But we do not need to give it up because we already practice it even though we may not like it or in some cases, we do not recognize that we already practice letting go of these hindrances. Let me explain.

In life, we choose again and again to accept or reject what comes into our life as our life. It does not mean that we give up in despair or melancholy or run wild in an ecstatic stupor. No, we do our best with what shows up. We devote ourselves to excellent, thorough and complete effort with what shows up without measure.

The best way to define this is all acceptance or devotion to what shows up. We cannot offer devotion without giving up the opposites of selfish picking and choosing, or selfish liking and disliking. We cannot, in meeting what shows up, meet what shows up with selfish interest. When we have ideas in our mind such as what’s-in-it-for-me, we are caught by like and dislike.

The Perfect Way may seem harder than picking and choosing, but that is not true. It is far easier to love without judgement and measure and hard edges with all the things that come into our life. There is a line from a film that seems to point to out the Perfect Way in simple terms; one worth memorizing.

“It is so much easier to love what you have…” than to complain, judge and measure what you did and did not get, what you do and do not like.

 The Perfect Way is easier for those who do not pick and choose.

Find out for yourself.

May we with all beings realize

the emptiness of the three wheels,

giver, receiver and gift.

Don’t give up. Keep going.

OM

Fashi Lao Yue

[1] Hsin Hsin Ming: On Trust in the Heart Attributed to Seng-ts’an; The third Patriarch of the Dhyana Sect

Facing Everything
Zen Buddhist Training Right Here. Right There.

It is essential that we are able and open to respond to everything and everyone without judgment and measurement. To respond in this way, is the Way of facing the world of everything, especially to the things which feel as too much with us. Without blame or shame we must face ourselves in such a way that we realize we have invited the too much world into our living room of our mind.

The easiest example is to begin with the external, digital gadgets that bring the world into our everyday life. The gadgets are not to blame. I say this because throughout history we humans have felt the burden and bondage of the world with or without gadgets and the access to 24/7 information. We humans are prone to grab and push things to the degree we either attach to a thing or abhor it. Both are a form of attachment. Attachment and our unwillingness to relinquish our attachment to oh-so-many things is part of the glue that keeps our suffering stuck.

All the great sages come into the world to point out that birth, sickness, old age and death are constants no matter what period of history we live.

Furthermore, suffering, that which disturbs and obstructs our knowing our true-original-nature, is rooted in our taking the world personally. “Why me?” is a cry heard ‘round the world. A more precise way of thinking about this cry is to say it in terms of “why did I get this and not that, and why did I lose that and not get this other thing I wanted.”

The truth is whether we get what we want or not, both are rooted in desire and lead to suffering.

Whatever circumstances we find ourselves we tend to find suffering arising. Suffering comes in myriad, endless mental formations: not getting what we want and getting what we don’t want; losing those we want to be with and being with those we do not want to be with. It is evident that desire is the root.

Many of us have heard this teaching and yet, we do not feel as though we get free of suffering. Suffering continues to come and come and come. The reason for this continued assault is our mind of desire, attachment, feelings and all the mental formations. It is there where we take life personally and when we do that, we externalize our suffering outward to just about everything. The pandemic, the grocery line, the boss, the lack of money, too much money, crowded highways, unavailable help, too much work, not enough work. Too much time, not enough time.

OH, you can see the list goes on and on and on. Most of us have “personal” favorites that we repeat and repeat. Even when we get what we want it changes and we suffer.

Those of us who have been around in this practice get “jaded” and begin to think the teaching is not true; that no one can be liberated. No one is liberated. We may be better, but not liberated. This “jaded” place is just another version of taking it personally and blaming the external conditions.

We need to be willing to study our self.” We need to watch our forms, feelings, mental formations, perceptions, impulses, and everything that shows up in consciousness. AND restrain them to the point that they disappear altogether. Concentration is the practice that will strengthen our ability to restrain our desires for and against. Have you been using your innate ability to concentrate to end your suffering? Do you know how to do that? Are you willing to practice? Are you willing to come clean about yourself and all of your bag of tricky, sticky desires in such a way that you see them as obstructions to realizing that you are not only the child of mankind, but the child of the unborn, undying, immutable Source?” It requires a transformative change in attitude.

Perhaps you suffer with laziness and accept your misery as comme ci, comme ça; a so-so life of drifting along. Or perhaps you are confused and cannot commit to anything. You try this, you try that but it’s not that important. Or you are on a roller coaster of yes one day and no the next. Up and down with commitment. You lack dedication and devotion or you devote yourself to things that are impermanent which leads to dissatisfaction. You may find yourself lacking conviction or you have a conviction about something in the world and not the Source of everything.

On and on the interferences and obstructions come. This is where I once again encourage each and everyone of us to study the mind, your mind in such a way that you begin to see for yourself your hindrances. And as usual, a teacher is helpful.

Some of the qualities that we need to make the ascent to a spiritual life will be what this retreat will offer. Spiritual practice helps us go beyond the material world that swamps us again and again, Our practice needs to lead us to a higher consciousness that is beyond suffering. Really? You might be doubtful. That is OK. No one is persuading you to be anything else than what you are right there, right now. But say, there is an encouragement. You do have the right to choose how you live out this lifetime and this retreat may not be for you. No crime, no fine. We wish you well. But for those, who are sincere and willing, consider it.

In this retreat we will touch upon four basic teachings of Zen Buddhist training. These four instructions are already within you, but like many things we must search and find them for ourselves.

1. Concentration as Discipline

2. Surrender, Whether Adequate or Not, Surrender is the Direction

3. Seeking Comfort: Stopping the Bane of Likes & Dislikes & Comparisons

4. Purifying the Tendencies and Habits of Mind

Each week you will receive at least one teaching by e-mail and if need be, more than one.

These are a few of the teachings to guide you. Think of them as instructions for you to discover your original nature.

Underlying these basic teachings is contemplation. Contemplation is the practice of bringing together, as best as you are willing and able to do, these qualities from within yourself:

1. Silence  Solitude Stillness  Study  Sitting

It requires commitment of time, attention and effort. Do your best without seeking a reward is the daily encouragement that helps you determine your practice in the world. Followed by the boost, don’t give up.

The Cook’s Prayer will be the supporting sutra for the five weeks along with five lines from our ancestor Hongzhi.

If you want to know more about it, send your questions to the teacher, Marilyn at laodizhishakya@gmail.com.

Author: Fashi Lao Yue

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 If for some reason you need elucidation on the teaching,

please contact editor at: yao.xiang.editor@gmail.com

[1] Wordsworrth, William. 1802, “The World is Too Much with Us.”