Why Practice ?

Once Master Dogen wrote ” If we were born with the Dharma, why all the

Holy Masters in the history needed to practice hard to attain Enlightenment ?”

——-well, he was young then.

Has been born with Dharma, but to able to see it, is the different matter.

We still need to practice to eliminate all sorts of destructive delusions and

thoughts, in order  to see invisible Dharma.

——-in here, me to use the word ” see ” was a metaphor.

We never able to see the Dharma itself. Like the gravity, we see

an apple falling but not the gravity itself. What we can see is only in

its effect, as a revelation.

So far, what I found other than intricacy of the existences but something

peculiar is, when something completely out of blue, with a sheer coincidence,

yet still it could affect one’s life has happened, I believe it is an

intervention of the Dharma.

——– If you reading this just by chance, you to encounter this, could be

the intervention of the Dharma, by which you might have crucial study

of the Buddhism by seeing the Truth, otherwise a sample of sheer Misunderstanding.

( which ever the case you may find)

———————

Me to start this blog site was a pure coincidence.

I didn’t have such intention at all.

On the beginning, I met a man working for BBC at an art exhibition , who

suggested me to see a Buddhist blog site which I did..

And, in order to put my comment, I needed to register to the WordPress.

By doing so just lightheartedly, my blog site was created in the same time.

( I don’t have web-site to publicize, and never joined Facebook, Myspace

kind of SNS, even though I was a well known photographer before)

Once it was created, I have to take care of it in my best.

What ever happened or who ever comes, I have to deal with it as a duty

without any thought, since it was not my plan, but it was given.

As I don’t think about too much to start, neither think about its

consequence. Since it was given by the Dharma, it must be a

part of my fate.

So that, if its turned out to be good, Congratulation, if not, cry.

( But so far I only having had very interesting kind of life, without getting

any ill / I still don’t have GP even after 34 years in England. —–whether

it was thanks to the Buddhism or just lucky, I don’t know, neither care )

—— In this aspect, Buddhist is a fatalist (or at least I am )

BIG JOKE

Once I told a man who asked me What is the Zen.

I said him, I am the Zen, my daily life is the Zen.

Making tea as the Zen. Drinking it as the Zen.

Cutting a metal as the Zen. Soldering electronic circuit as the Zen.

As I believe it is the Zen while I’m doing it, so it become the Zen.

Whether it looks mythical and fancy to others, is not a matter at all

and whether it is perfect or yet is the matter of time.

One day it might become perfect.

At moment, I only doing it in my best.

Tomorrow’s best may be better than today’s,so I just keep doing it.

And it may get perfect one day. Who knows ?

———–

Nirvana ?

I have no idea as I’m still here.

If I got it I have no idea neither because when I got it

I’m dead and can’t answer you, Can I ? Ha Ha Ha 😀

Starting point of Yoshizen

It was the last moment as I was leaving the temple, when Master Kogetsu stopped me at the gate and asked me,

“I’ve been wondering since I saw you on the first day. Who the devil this guy ?

Have a tea and talk before you go”

While receiving his tea I told him who I am.

Finding my father’s name in the Soto Temples Directory and heard that I was a veteran mountain climber,

he understood why he felt me as if I were a seasoned monk.

It was the time soon after the collapse of the 70th students’ uprise (lots of ex-activist left Japan then) and

my Degree was in Sociology, I had enough ammunition to ask him about the viability of the Buddhism

in the aspect of the society and human existence.

His answer was what I wrote before, still I promised him I’ll see him again.

I’m afraid it must be too late to report him back, still I feel my duty to tell his tombstone what I found.

——Since, without encountering Master Kogetsu, Yoshizen couldn’t exist today and I believe it was

the destined Karma.

And me to encounter a new friend who directed me to Zen blog site, and me to start blogging was

also a pre-destined Karma which meant me, the time is ripe.

[]

PS :  To follow-up this, you may read a post “Tiny Comment” which would explain the point best.

[]

This is the answer to BlindRob

* * * This blog was originally posted on a site which has been talking about whether Zenist should be

allowed to use cushion or chair for their meditation practice.

And this one was intended to be the response to BlindRob who asked me the sitting situation among

the Japanese young people today.

Hi Rob

The situation in Japan is what you guessed it. Now a day, to have Tatami mat room is only kept by rich people,

as its labour intensive product became too expensive and the dwindling number of the craftsman who makes it.

In the same time, the westernization of the culture and life style made even the body shape changed.

In the old days Japanese had bent shoter legs.

(which is good for Judo and Sumo—–incidentally it is one of the reason why Japanese lost its dominance)

When young people happen to attend such as Tea ceremony or even funeral, they can not sit in traditional way

more than 15 minutes —- let alone lotus posture.

When Master Dogen started his Soto sect, he was a young man of only late 30 th. I don’t think he could foresee

what would happen in the later age.

In Japan a doll called “Daluma” is very popular.

It is a round egg-shaped doll without leg and painted in red. It is the effigy of the BodiDahrma.

The legend says, he kept sitting facing the wall for 9 years and got enlightened (with the price of legs )

——-M M M ? ? ?

I rather like to remain a man with legs, walking around meeting the people

and live as an ordinary folk like Vimalakirti.

——- When I submitted this, it was blocked and disappeared. I found the script in the server’s memory

as a previous page. And when I re-submitted it again the screen showed a notice;

“Duplicate comment detected; it looks as though you’ve already said that !”

It signify that they received it and has been filed,though they do not publish it, in another word “Censorship”

——Yet here in my site, this is the answer to Rob.