The Zen Master’s Stirring Spoon

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"...philosophers have tried to talk about that kind of connection—Hume’s ‘sympathy’ or John Stuart Mill’s ‘benevolence’—their peers grow uncomfortable. How do we prove such ideas? How can we define them? But Magda’s goodness is beyond the reach of such questions. To be able to call out without thinking as she did, ‘Naturally, come in, and come in,’ requires the collapse of our self-centred desires. Spiritual practice can aid in this, but Magda did not share her husband’s religiosity and was actively opposed to its mysticism. Indeed, as the story of the Zen cook shows, attachment to religious or philosophical ideas about right and wrong can even get in the way of goodness."

The Zen Master’s Stirring Spoon

And that's how the Ying-Yang came to be.

Good read.

There is no spoon.

Another zen master in china. I suppose he was making rice for the sushi, while the other monks were writing haiku in kana and practicing with their samurai swords to fight off the ninjas sent by the shogun.

OK, OK, I know, the point of the story is the point of the story.

Sorry CW, I only know zen masters from China. They're adequate to my need, but maybe you could expose us to the teachings of some others. There seems to be sufficient interest.

Two of my personal favorite zen masters are Takuan Soho and Taisen Deshimaru. Dogen's right up there as well.
And massive kudos to D.T. Suzuki for making Buddhism in general and zen in particular more accesible to the Western minds.

Two of my favorite sayings

No snowflake falls in an inappropriate place - unknown priest

One day, two monks were wandering about the temple grounds. At one point, they saw flags waving in the breeze. The two fell to arguing. Do the flags move the wind or does the wind move the flags. Their master, overhearing this nonsense, said to them "It's neither. They're both moving your minds."

Monk #1:"Flag flapping."
Monk #2:"Wind flapping."
Old gardener:"Mouths flapping."

"There is no odor so bad as that which arises from goodness tainted. It is human, it is divine, carrion. If I knew for a certainty that a man was coming to my house with the conscious design of doing me good, I should run for my life, as from that dry and parching wind of the African deserts called the simoom, which fills the nose and mouth with dust till you are suffocated, for fear that I should get some of his good done to me, -some of its virus mingled with my blood. No,- in this case I would rather suffer evil the natural way. A man is not a good man to me because he will feed me if I should be starving, or warm me if I should be freezing, or pull me out of a ditch if I should ever fall into one. I can find a Newfoundland dog that will do as much. Philanthropy is not love for one's fellow man in the broadest sense. Howard was no doubt an exceedingly kind and worthy man in his way, and has his reward; but, comparatively speaking, what are a hundred Howards to us, if their philanthropy do not help us in our best estate, when we are most worthy to be helped? I never heard of a philanthropic meeting in which it was sincerely proposed to do any good to me, or the like of me."

Henry David Thoreau

Hey MrMark

I was just joking around, but now I'm feeling all dumb and guilty. Looking around, it seems a common practice to translate the chinese word "chan" as "zen," which makes sense, since "zen" is now an english language word.

I knew a guy years ago who was constantly getting in car wrecks, and he insisted in giving everybody else advice about how to drive. There's not much value in anything I've learned. It's been fun, but the results are pretty obvious and unimpressive.

Anyway, I hope you're not offended, because you sure as hell don't deserve it.

Not at all.

Western Zen: Transition and Turmoil
A series of essays discussing some of the challenges faced by Western Zen Practitioners

Part II - The Zen Master
By Chuan Zhi Shakya, November 2006
www.hsuyun.org

Click here to read the Forword and Introduction

"Trees that, like the poplar, lift upward all their boughs, give no shade and no shelter whatever their height. Trees the most lovingly shelter and shade us when, like the willow, the higher soar their summits, the lowlier droop their boughs."

- Edward George Bulwer-Lytton (1803 - 1873)

All groups need a hierarchy in order to function and Buddhist sanghas are no exception. Accountability creates a healthy organization, be it in a company, a country, a ship's crew, or in a Zen sangha. While Japanese Zen and Chinese Chan hierarchical structures differ, they both include the office of Zen Master.

Western Zen: Transition and Turmoil Part II - The Zen Master

There is no spoon

Only chopsticks