If your teacher asks
you to bring him all
of the Dharma you have learned
what will you bring him?
If you begin to recite
what you know
of the sutras
he will turn away
and cover his ears.
If you sit
next to him in silence
he will smile.
A reflection on Case 25 of the Book of Equanimity, 従容錄, Shōyōroku
Of course we did not heed
the warnings, what did they know,
and anyway we were sure we had won.
History is a poor teacher, that
much we have demonstrated again
and yet again, lessons never learned.
It is how we got here, how we
have no clear path to leave here,
things assumed lying in ruin around us.
We are tired now, old and no longer
able to fight as we once did, so we
must become the teachers, sharing
what we know, what battle plans
we used, reaching for those who
assumed it would all be provided,
that they needed to do nothing,
to sit by, to not participate, and now
to complain about the disaster.
We did not want this for them,
they, although we didn’t know it then,
were the reason we fought, and now
they must carry the battle or lose the war.
When you approach
the teacher what is it
that you expect from her?
If you ask her
to show you the way
she will sit
and face the wall
in silence.
What will you learn
from this?
If you are
facing the wall
in silence
you shout
your answer.
A reflection on Case 23 of the Book of Equanimity ( 従容錄, Shōyōroku)
With knowledge comes something
but I cannot remember what
my mother told me it was, or
perhaps it was a teacher
who said it, but I can’t hope
to tell which one it was, I
cannot remember some
of their names or in what grade
it might have been said.
I don’t think it was in college
or graduate school since by then
it was assumed we knew
what came with knowledge.
So I am left to look around me,
and see what the knowledgeable
have wrought and consider that
perhaps with knowledge comes
chaos for we have quite enough
of that, or a lack of compassion,
we’re big on that one, so maybe
with knowledge come a hidden
key to making this all right, but
I cannot for the life of me find it.
When you are cleaning,
what becomes of the dirt?
When you are bathing,
what becomes of the water?
When you exhale,
what becomes of the breath?
When the moon disappears
is the moon truly gone?
When you ask your teacher,
what becomes of the question?
If you sit quietly on the mat
and do not think of this,
what becomes of you?
A reflection on Case 21 of the Book of Equanimity ( 従容錄, Shōyōroku)
When you come
before your teacher
and he asks you
what is it exactly
that you are looking for,
what is it that you
expect finally to attain,
how will you answer him?
If you say you are seeking
enlightenment, he will laugh
and send you away,
but if you answer
that you do not know,
he will hand you
an empty bowl
and tell you to go fill it.
A reflection on Case 20 of the Book of Equanimity ( 従容錄, Shōyōroku)
If you must
follow the Way, you
may read the Dharma
for hours on end
or you may brew
a pot of tea
for your teacher, or
bring your student
a towel and basin.
Which two steps
along the way
will you take?
A reflection on Case 61 of Dogen’s Shobogenzo Koans (True Dharma Eye)
You may ask many things
of any teacher you meet
but the wisest of them
will only offer you
unending questions.
When you look to them
to point you to the Way
they are doomed to failure
for your feet obscure
the Way, and it is only
by looking within
and down through your legs
and feet and toes
that you can see the way
A reflection on Case 63 of Dogen’s Shobogenzo Koans (True Dharma Eye)
When you ask your teacher
what happens when you
stop thinking, allow
no new thoughts
what you expect him
to tell you?
The dead have no thoughts
but that is not the door
to Nirvana.
But if thoughts abandon you
without your effort, without
being asked to do so,
then the door you seek
will open before you.
A reflection on case 19 of the Book of Equanimity 従容錄, Shōyōroku
My teacher once asked me
“what do you have
to say for yourself,” and I
answered “absolutely nothing,”
or did I smile and remain silent?
You assume the teacher would
be upset with the silent student
and in most cases you would
be perfectly correct.
But if this occurred
in a zendo, having nothing
to say is a step toward no-self
and you can be
in that moment,
Joshu’s dog.
A reflection on Case 18 of the Book of Equanimity (従容錄, Shōyōroku)
an old writer and his words 