What Is The Way?

I figured this counted as a reflection in the tradition of Lectio Divina, although it is on a Zen text. The koan is "Ordinary Mind is the Way". My reflection arose out of an assignment in a Zen class on Koun Yamada's book "The Gateless Gate" at Two Arrows Sangha in Salt Lake City, UT.

Author, Teacher, Student Assignment (Case 19 Mumonkan)

CASE 19: Ordinary Mind Is the Way Case: Jôshû earnestly asked Nansen, “What is the Way?” Nansen said, “The ordinary mind is the Way.” Jôshû said, “Should I direct myself toward it or not?” Nansen said, “If you try to turn toward it, you go against it.” Jôshû said, “If I do not try to turn toward it, how can I know that it is the Way?” Nansen said, “The Way does not belong to knowing or not-knowing. Knowing is delusion; not-knowing is a blank consciousness. When you have really reached the true Way beyond all doubt, you will find it as vast and boundless as the great empty firmament. How can it be talked about on a level of right and wrong?” At these words, Jôshû was suddenly enlightened.

Mumon's Commentary: Nansen was asked a question by Jôshû, and Nansen's base was shattered and melted away. He could not justify himself. Even though Jôshû has come to realization, he will have to delve into it for another thirty years before he can realize it fully.



Nansen:

Teachers and students often get mixed up with each other. Joshu asks the question, Nansen answers, Joshu is enlightened. Simple, really. Or is it?

Just look at Mumon’s comment:

“Nansen was asked a question by Joshu, and Nansen’s base was shattered and melted away. He could not justify himself. Even though Joshu has come to realization, he will have to delve into it for thirty more years before he can realize it fully.”

(I can’t decide if it’s a blessing or curse, that I always look at what words and sentences actually say. In this case, Mumon calls our attention to what happened to the teacher, Nansen. I can relate, I think. Teaching karate for so many years, it often happened to me that a student would ask me a question which made me re-order my understanding of something that I thought was a given. That was always an interesting and educational experience, and it almost always made me a better teacher.)

So, off I go, splashing through Nansen’s mind like a puppy in a puddle. I pretend to think I can speak for Nansen…

“What is the Way?”

“Wait a minute, what did he say? Why would he ask me that? Who’s teaching who here? God, I hate being put on the spot like this! I can feel Joshu’s bony little metaphorical finger poking me in the ribs!

I feel like I’m age 9, in the back seat of a car on a long road trip with Joshu as my 4-year-old brother who won’t stop bothering me, and there aren’t any handy parents in the front seat to complain to. He’s going to make me answer him, isn’t he?

Hold on, I think I’ve got it…. it’s not the Way he’s after, it’s his toy that he dropped on the floor!

Hee hee, now I can give him as good as I got! Hold on, let me pick it up and hide it from him. Then he starts whining, “I wanna look for it” and I say, “Nah, you won’t find it no matter how hard you look,” and he says, “I’m looking anyway” and I say, “Maybe you just thought you dropped it. Maybe I have it. Maybe there never was a toy in the first place. Maybe it doesn’t belong to you. Maybe you’re not supposed to find it. Maybe there isn’t even a car and we aren’t sitting in the back seat of it. Maybe I have it and I won’t give it back ever!” Then he starts to cry, which makes me feel bad, so I give him back his toy and he stops crying. There ya go—Enlightenment! I wonder, will I still be able to do that to him thirty years from now?

Now I’m bored and start to wonder where our parents are. Shouldn’t they be in the front seat?

Where are we going anyway? Are we there yet?”

Yamada:

I read Yamada’s teisho, but I couldn’t help noticing that he pretty much ignored Mumon’s comment. So, I had to ask myself if I was nitpicking. Maybe so, maybe not, but I couldn’t help remarking on the fact that everything that Yamada says in his teisho comes across as though he thinks that Nansen gets it and Joshu doesn’t. In order to talk like this, he has to ignore Mumon’s comment. Then, he gets all wound up in what Ordinary Mind is. As if ordinary mind was anything different. (Agh!) Yamada tries to defend against my accusation that he’s ignored Mumon’s comment, by telling me that Nansen had to leave “his essential ground” in order to open his mouth and try to answer Joshu. That’s exactly stupid, but adorable.



The whole thing ought to be turned on its head so everything can fall out, just like Joshu’s question turned Nansen’s notions all askew and left them somewhere under the car seats.



See? Who’s teaching who? Then there was my teacher’s instruction to look at the koan from both the “ordinary” and the “awakened” perspective. This caused me to scream, “Agh!” in frustration again.

Okay, let’s see what else I can find under the car seats—

“Oh, look, here’s Yamada sorting through the trash under there, just like Cinderella sorting out lentils from the ashes.



“What are you doing here?” I ask him.

He says, “Just look at these dusty old numerators and denominators! I found a half-eaten chunk of Mu under here, and a torn-off corner of the Tao too.”

I say, “Well, are you gonna vacuum out the car, or not?”

He says, “Oh, go on with you, I was having fun.”

I say, “Well at least you could look for some spare change while you’re down there.”

He says, “You can’t fool me, I know you looked under here before and got it all. It might just be enough for you to buy a candy bar, yeah?”

I say, “Maybe.”

You gonna share?” he says.

I say, “Won’t be time to eat it before we get there.”

He says, “Will too!”

I say, “Will not!”—

“Will too! Will not!” —

And then somebody who’s not in the front seat doesn’t say, “Oh get up off the floor and put your seat belts back on!”



Then I notice that Yamada is trying to eat that moldy piece of Mu he found under the seats, and he isn’t squared away in his car seat. I make him spit it out, and I get his seat belt fastened right. Then I share my candy bar with him. Now we both have chocolate all over our faces.

Are we there yet?”

Joshu:

Ha ha, just noticed I did this all out of order from the assignment. Oh well, on to Joshu’s attitude about the whole thing—

(I think I’m bored with the car-ride metaphor, so let’s see what shakes out if I start over.)
Here’s me pretending to be Joshu:

“Am I a bully? I don’t think I’m a bully—

I don’t pick on the other kids, I pick on my teacher. That’s because I like to live dangerously—

So, I waited for Nansen outside the toilet until he came out, just so I could ask him

“What is the Way?” God, he looked pissed!

He said, “Get your mind out of the gutter.”

I said, “Should I think about it or not?”

He said, “If you have your nose in the air, you’ll trip over it.”

I said, “What? My nose? Seriously, did you really mean for me to stay out of the gutter?”

He said, “Gutter, schmutter, I don’t give a shit. It’s up to you. If you really want to know, the gutter doesn’t care whether you get drunk and pass out in it, or whether you step watchfully over it because you don’t want to get your feet dirty. Besides, gutters are everywhere. Why do you care?”

I said, “Okay! Okay, I get it, old man!” 

I’ll have to give up for the time being. Old Nansen’s just a bit too smart for me.

I’ll get him eventually though, even if it takes me thirty more years.



Are we there yet?”