Mumonkan, Koan 24: Fuketsu's Speech and Silence

A monk asked Fuketsu, "Both speech and silence are faulty in being ri or bi. How can we escape these faults?" Fuketsu said,"I always remember the spring in Konan, where the partridges sing; how fragrant the countless flowers!"

Ri and bi are the inward and outward actions of the mind. We do not need to 'escape' these faults; we simply should not accept that they exist. There is no inward or outward action of the mind. There is only the mind.

I understood this while sitting in zazen during my first experiences with a meditation group I joined a little over two weeks ago. In joining, I was concerned I would not be able to attain samadhi as effectively (i.e., it would be 'bad'). To a certain extent, it is harder for me to attain samadhi in these sessions because I find myself being self-conscious or paying attention to the presence of the others. While this is 'bad' it is also 'good', because it demands from me a greater discipline of mind. So it is helpful to meditate in a group precisely for the reasons that it is unhelpful. I realized that allowing the concepts of good/bad, helpful/unhelpful into my thinking was the problem, not group meditation.

This was the key for me in solving this koan. Speech and silence are not different. Inward and outward actions of the mind are not different. Each is not good or bad. They are both...and neither. We do not admit them, nor try to escape from them. All that matters is the mind, being present in the moment. This is where there are no faults. So we do not escape these faults so much as we should refuse to shackle ourselves with them.

The significance of Fuketsu's response is that he is recalling an experience he had, namely the spring in Konan. This could be related to an experience of kensho he had or perhaps it simply evokes the idea of samadhi for him. Whatever the case, maintaining the right mindset is the path away from the monk's question.

Jaime Manrique - "Cervantes Street"

I learned about Jaime Manrique through an interview in BOMB magazine, and it was a great lead. He's a wonderful writer. Manrique's latest work is Cervantes Street, a historical novel built around the life of Miguel de Cervantes who authored Don Quixote. My recollections of Don Quixote are fuzzy, so it's not necessary to know the novel to understand Manrique's piece. That said, it sounds as if Manrique interpolated structure and/or actual content from Don Quixote into his novel.

While the book barely breaks 300 pages, it evokes its world nearly as well as (usually) long works of historical fiction. Like most historical fiction, the facts are merely a skeleton upon which the author invents a good yarn with imagined (though perhaps researched) detail, dialogue, and characterization. As such, I wish Manrique had done more to describe details of setting: what were people wearing, what was the ambiance of a room, what was the character of a town. Sometimes I felt myself wanting to visualize things more, but there were insufficient details in the narrative for me to do so. I almost wish Manrique had expanded the length of his work to provide more 'canvas' with which to further develop his story, setting, and characters.

The rivalry between the two men at the heart of the book never heats up in any overtly dramatic sense, and there is little actual contact between them. While this side-stepped some potential sparks, I think the point of the novel is less about the rivalry than to contrast the life of the luckless Cervantes with the privileged life of Luis, with the final fortunes of Sancho and what we know about Cervantes place in history providing the insight into what pays off in life. What was most enjoyable about Manrique's work is that the story, the rivalry of the two characters, and even the flow of the text matches what you might read by Dumas or Sienkiewicz or other masters of the form.  Manrique can't touch them for scope or depth of characterization, but he's got the goods and if he attempted something more ambitious in scope I have the feeling he might be able to pull it off.

Overall, the strength of the plot, the energy of the language, and the overall vibe of Cervantes Street ring very true and are fantastic to immerse oneself in. I'll likely pick up other works by Manrique.

Bodhidharma Day - Zen is inside us; stop running from it

Bodhidharma figurine
Hong Kong Museum of Art

I'm not sure when Bodhidharma Day is each year, but I thought it was October 5th in a previous year so...Happy Bodhidharma Day!

What better way to celebrate a day dedicated to the founder of Zen, than to commemorate some of his insights? The translations I'm using come from Red Pine's wonderful book The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma. This short book (125 pages, including notes) contains translations of the four sermons of Bodhidharma which have come down to us. All the excerpts below come from the Bloodstream Sermon.

Bodhidharma believed we are all buddhas and, further, everything that we need to achieve enlightenment is already inside us. At any time, we only need to stop, look, and see. We don't find enlightenment; we stop running away from it. I've found this to be very true in my own experience with Zen, so much so that I believe reading books about Zen or listening to lectures about Zen is inherently wrong minded. Zen is inside us, ready to be experienced by a disciplined mindset (usually achieved through sitting in zazen). So there's no need for books or lectures, rules or how-tos. In fact, such outside influences are most likely to confuse us and keep us trapped in delusion. That said, the words of a master can point us toward right mindedness and be a helpful guide.

Here are some great nuggets from Bodhidharma relating to the idea that we have everything we need already inside us:

"Awareness isn't hidden. But you can only find it right now. It's only now. If you really want to find the Way, don't hold onto anything...Understanding comes naturally. You don't have to make any effort. But fanatics don't understand what the Buddha meant. And the harder they try, the further they get from the Sage's meaning. All day long they invoke buddhas and read sutras. But they remain blind to their own divine nature."

"Once you see your mind, why pay attention to doctrines?"

"Buddhas don't recite sutras. Buddhas don't keep percepts. And buddhas don't break percepts. Buddhas don't keep or break anything. Buddhas don't do good or evil." 

"Once you stop clinging and let things be, you'll be free, even of birth and death. You'll transform everything. You'll possess spiritual powers that can't be obstructed. And you'll be at peace wherever you are."

All quotes are from Bloodstream Sermon (translation: Red Pine), The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma

Paris (Day 4) - The Loire Valley

Jim and I at Chambord

The weather in Paris was not optimal during our trip, but it wasn't bad. Just cloudy, with a tendency to be cool. However, we got one absolutely sunny day and it was fortunately the day we took a day trip to the Loire Valley. The cloudless sky and plentiful sun were an asset to seeing the sights here. Plus we had a great tour guide named David who was able to give us a primer/refresher of the history and key characters: da Vinci, Francis I, Henry II, Catherine de Medici, and Diane de Poitiers. We stopped at three of the Loire chateaux: Chambord, Amboise, and Chenonceau.

While the drive to and through the Loire Valley is easy, I'm glad we did a tour. After walking all day, I was quite happy not have to deal with the crazy Paris traffic when we returned. Better to doze off and let someone else manage it!

We started with Chambord, which was less a chateau and more what I imagine a castle to be like: courtyards, huge stone staircases, and towers slicing like needles into the air. While much of Chambord is not decorated, I could feel what it must have been like when it was occupied by Francis I in the 1500s. I loved the hunting-lodge-on-steroids vibe: thick wood doors, imposing stonework, and the impressive scale. The best part was the terraces. They run all along the top perimeter of the castle, and we walked among the spires to enjoy the fantastic views.

The Loire and town of Amboise from the terrace

Next was Amboise. While Chambord was set in a forest (and apparently is home to a considerable population of wildlife), Amboise was located within a town that brings the word "quaint" to mind. While Amboise is an impressive building also offering fantastic views of the valley from its terrace, it is much closer to a home than Chambord. My favorite room was Henri II's bedchamber, which had a very masculine feeling for a room steeped in such ornate decor. Lots of wood and rich but uncluttered furnishings. The chateau is also the burial place of Leonardo da Vinci.

Finally, we stopped at Chenonceau, which is the most palatial of the three chateaux. It was here that the most detail seems to have survived (or at least has been restored/added). Beyond the chambers the royals used, there were many rooms - such as a kitchen - where servants would have worked. Catherine de Medici's bedroom was evocative for me, especially having read Alexandre Dumas' Queen Margot. In fact, dozens of famous royals lived here at one time or another, and the related stories are fun to know before going in (another reason I'm glad we had a guide). 

Chenonceau

For example, the competition between Catherine de Medici and her husband's mistress, Diane de Poitiers, permeates the place. Mary Queen of Scots lived here. Henri III's queen retired to a room here after he was assassinated, and which she apparently set up as an over the top 'shrine' to her late husband (perhaps putting her in the running to be the first fag hag). There were huge bouquets of lilies in this room, which gave off an intoxicating, sweet fragrance. On top of the fantastic interiors, the grounds were also like something out of a fairytale. 

I'm sure there are plenty of other castles and places to visit in the Loire Valley, and I feel like we got a good sampling of a variety of buildings given that we only had the one day in the Valley. It was good to get out of Paris for a day, and this was a trip highlight for sure!