In the middle of the ocean of life and death there was a priest musician named David Byrne, who rising from his meditations saw before him an orchestra, a choir of gods, bodhisatvhas, buddhas and their accompanying beauties and perfumes. He was inspired to a realization of no self and he spoke a verse to Buddha.
""And you may find yourself living in a shotgun shack
And you may find yourself in another part of the world
And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile
And you may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful wife
And you may ask yourself, "Well, how did I get here?"""
And the Buddha replied " Excellent David Byrne. It is excellent, upon considering the true nature of the world and hoping to awaken beings of the past, present and the future from mistaken views,you have asked me about this. For a wise man should ask questions. Not only for his own benefit but also for that of others."
Zen Master Ku-shan, who is in the assembly spoke..."What is the basic operation of investigation?" and chuckling to himself, answered himself..."How one has gotten to such a state."
And the Buddha explained " You see how ignorant people distinguish things, things as fragile and impermanent as a clay pot, do you not? The distinctions among dharmas and non-dharmas are the projections of foolish people and not how things are viewed according to Buddha Knowledge, but in terms of characteristics."
The Stenographer, being confused by this statement asked her own question to the assembly saying..." Buddha, do you mean that the one who finds themself behind the wheel of a large automobile is projecting from his own mind what it means in terms of the characterization of the automobile. That is to say, this is a 18 wheeler therefore I am a truck driver and a assume the society of truck drivers? But the buddha knowledge is that truck and finding oneself in it are not because you are a truck driver but you are independent of where you find yourself?"
Buddha continued """Consider the continuity of a seed,as it gives rise to such varying forms as sprouts, stems, joints, branches, leaves, buds, flowers, and fruits.
And as with external objects, the same is true of internal objects, whereby ignorance gives rise to such dharmas as well as to the varieties of existence in the three realms and to differences in terms of suffering and joy, good and evil, speech and silence.
So, too, consciousness and its objects are the same but differ depending on distinctions as to which is superior, neutral or inferior, defiled or pure, good or bad.
How much more then are dharmas and non-dharmas marked by a multitude of
distinctions? Thus, David Byrne, the different characteristics of dharmas and non-dharmas are the result of projection. What then, is a dharma? A dharma is whatever ordinary people and followers of lesser and heterodox paths imagine."""
The Stenographer,"Oh ok, it is like the story about stepping on the eggplant thinking it was a frog. Because the monk held a dharma of precepts and imagined himself to have broken one, his mind played for him all the dealing and acceptance and experience of guilt and redemption. But there was no frog, he projected the experience. All the same if he really did kill a frog the imagination in his mind is still imagination.It would not be dharma till the next day when seeing the dead frog body that the act of the dharma could happen. And if one is not attaching even further it can be handled with a simple burial."
"""Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by, water flowing underground
Into the blue again, after the money's gone
Once in a lifetime, water flowing underground
And you may ask yourself, "How do I work this?"
And you may ask yourself, "Where is that large automobile?"
And you may tell yourself, "This is not my beautiful house"
And you may tell yourself, "This is not my beautiful wife""""
The Buddha Replied. "Basically, they think a dharma has existence and
substance and arises from causes. Such things must be
abandoned and avoided. Don’t engage in the projection of
appearances or become attached to what are perceptions of
your own mind. The things people grasp, such as clay pots, lack
any real substance. To view dharmas like this is to abandon
them.
And what,David Byrne, is a non-dharma? This refers to
what has no discernible body of its own, what has no
distinguishable characteristics, what is not subject to causation,
and what offers no basis for views of its existence or
nonexistence. Therefore, it is also to be abandoned. Non-
dharmas are things like horns on a rabbit."""
Zen Master Foyan, who was in the assembly said "The minute you fixate on the recognition that "This is 'it'" you are immediately bound hand and foot and cannot move around anymore. So as soon as it is given this recognition, nothing is right, whatever it may be. If you don't fixate on recognition, you can still be saved.
It is like making a boat and outfitting it for a thousand mile journey to treasure trove; if you drive a stake and tie the boat to it before you jump in and start rowing, you can row till kingdom come and still be on the beach.You see the boat waving this way and that, and you think you are on the move, but you've never gone a single step.
""Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by, water flowing underground
Into the blue again, after the money's gone
Once in a lifetime, water flowing underground
Same as it ever was, same as it ever was
Same as it ever was, same as it ever was
Same as it ever was, same as it ever was
Same as it ever was, same as it ever was
Water dissolving and water removing
There is water at the bottom of the ocean
Under the water, carry the water
Remove the water from the bottom of the ocean
Water dissolving and water removing
You may ask yourself, "What is that beautiful house?"
You may ask yourself, "Where does that highway go to?"
And you may ask yourself, "Am I right, am I wrong?"
And you may say to yourself, "My God, what have I done?"""
The buddha continued. """ David Byrne, you say you have asked the tathagatas, about this in the past, and they have also answered you. What you call the past
is a projection. And just as the past is a projection, so are the future and the present. David Byrne, the tathagatas do not project what amounts to reality.
They transcend projection and fabrication and do not go along with distinguishing forms, except to instruct or to pacify the ignorant. It is by means of such wisdom that tathagatas practice a formless practice. Thus, tathagatas consider knowledge as their
real body.
And because they consider knowledge as their real body, they are free from projection or anything that projects, such as a self, a life, or a person or any kind of consciousness that gives rise to forms dependent on an objective world. Thus,they are free from what projects and what is projected. David Byrne, everything in the world is like an illusion. This is beyond the understanding of ignorant beings and the followers of other paths. David Byrne, to see things like this is to see them as they really are. To see otherwise is to see them as they are not, to engage in projection, and to become attached to these two kinds of dharmas.
David Byrne, this is like seeing an image in a mirror or a reflection in
water or like seeing a figure in the moonlight or a shadow on a wall or like hearing an echo in a valley. People attached to the images of their own projections cling to dharmas and non-dharmas. Unable to abandon them, they continue to engage in projection and fail to attain tranquility.
Tranquility means oneness,and oneness means the tathagata-garbha, the realm
of self–realization of buddha knowledge"""
Zen Master Yangqi Added. "Mind is the faculty, phenomena are the data: both are like scratches on a mirror. When there are no scratches or dust the clarity of the mirror shows. When mind and phenomena are both forgotten, then your nature is real."
And as we all sat back to reflect, Master Joshu brought his best brew out, asking if we had our tea yet. And the choir reverberated and faded away.
"""Same as it ever was, same as it ever was
Same as it ever was, look where my hand was
Time isn't holding up, time isn't after us
Same as it ever was, same as it ever was (I couldn't get no rest)
Same as it ever was, hey let's all twist our thumbs
Here comes the twister...."""
.this post was for fun.
.not sure it makes sense.
Same as it ever was
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