I use zen to study mind and more.

  Liao-an.

 

" Just get to  the fundamental, don't worry about the outgrowths. What is the root, what are the outgrowths? Knowing the mind and seeing it's essence is the root; explaining Zen and expounding the path are the outgrowths. If you know the mind and see it's essence. You may speak at will and go where your feet take you- nothing is not the path."

    For me the study of zen is in the application to one's own perception.  For me it was a psychological science. Zen equipped me with a microscope, a flow chart, and a cheat sheet. But my study of zen did not start when I picked up a little zen book. If henceforth no thing is not the path,  then all the steps taken  hitherto where the path. So where do I find this "fundamental"?  

Should I leave that hanging,  all mysterious like?  Let's jump ahead a bit..because my life, my mind, all this has outgrowths that I am not supposed to worry about.  He says, knowing the mind......AND....Seeing it's essence....is the root. The root is this fundamental. 

He says, when I find it my outgrowths will be explaining zen and expounding the path.  Could I apply the same principle that I outlines before in this section? 

If I have outgrowths of any kind, previous, current, changing, different, then they are all the root of my mind. or...rooted in the mind.

  Hum, my outgrowth here is confused.  I really picked a big quote. I am going to graciously relieve myself of the responsibility of this quote because this is not coming out naturally at this time. I only tried to approach it again because I said that I would and it would only be a bad excuses not to try.

 

I did, how ever find a very nice teaching and made an observation. And maybe the buddha will let me talk about it a little bit, after I type it out for yous. ** crosses fingers**

 

 

The Business Of Zen-  

      One day the governor of the province asked Mu-Chou (780-877), " What is the Business of Zen?" Mu-Chou said, "Come here, Come here."

The governor approached; Mu-Chou said, "You sure can talk nonsense!"

The governor was speechless. Finally Mu-Chou asked."Whom have you seen?"

      The governor said that he had seen such and such an old adept. Mu-Chou asked, "What else?"The governor replied that he has read scriptures.  Mu-Chou suddenly hit his chair and said, "In the teachings, what is this called?"

The governor said,  " This is not spoken of in the teachings."

Mu-Chou said, "In the teachings it says, 'Productive labor as a means of livelihood is not contrary to the truth.'  What about that?"

The governor had no reply.

IZM-   SO mysterious. so baffling. What are you sitting there thinking of this? Where did you get hung up at?  I zeroed right in on the advice given to the governor.  I like to hang on to good government philosophy because you never know one of these lives ya might get to be  in charge for a damned change. Ya know, so always seeking correct methods and guiding principles life to life...is a really good habit to get into. And if you don't believe in reincarnation..... hustle hustle.

Anyway.  Do you see a lesson in the words of Mu-Chou?  

Governing is  a corrupt affair, even your best leaders are forced into tough compromises. Humans suck like that. Let us assume that Mu-Chou would only talk so much with someone if they had a good heart and mind. And remembering that this is potentially the most important conversation in this governor's life. What is best for all concerned and what shares in pointing to the way?

Not that Mu-Chou was ruminating those thoughts, we are...that guy just Miyagi chopped that thought out of the air like a fly. We and our Governor will have to go a longer way.

Sometimes I think we make the mistake of overly mystifying, or far away externalizing these teachings. 

I think this is for the governor to remember that people who are proud in their labor are happy people. Happy people can endure if they have something to be proud of. Something to produce and sustain.  In that they can live lives closer to truth.  When cutting corners, corruption, controls and making the people put out cheap labor...there is no accord in the people to find truth.

But that is my bent on the matter....((i lean a bit Confuciusonian))

 

I don't know how to study zen; A Rant.

 I don't know how to study zen; at least I can study that much while I am here.

I don't know how to study zen here; All I know is how to study my own mind in light of the way the zen master's pointed out.

It is one thing to come to a tacit understanding that the zen masters are only talking about mind...my own mind...yet applying this tacit understanding to all the zen teachings we talk about here, does not cause understanding of that mind, nor the ability to speak of that mind to expand.

That must mean that the different teachings have different tiers. Or It seems that way because I cannot find something like a unifying principle of discernment applicable in every moment;  therefore my understanding of the teaching is obscured.  Well...it has to be something right, because why can I only clearly understand when the Zen Master is pointing to awareness of the one mind, but I cannot understand a damn thing when Plenum and Elaborate are doing their banter?

Therefore I do not know how to learn better from the zen I am able to study.

Also, I do not know what studying zen publicly looks like. I mean there is to study what the Zm's said, when they said it, what the translators coulda tweaked, and even what it means to oneself. Or to express the great principle like you know it.

But I do not know it.  I thought to study mind was observing and refining a lot of mental messes. And I found this easier with the things the Zm's taught. Little things. I also think studying mind is to ask critical questions of one's understandings, to keep in light the Zm teachings of abandoning everything the mind clings to.

Like, how I was struggling the past few days to try to contribute a post, but I got all tripped up because, I really do not know what is expected of "to study zen" other than what I do when I am all by my onesy looking at something the dead zen guy said then, and how it points to that awareness which is alive now. I worried about how the post would look or measure up.

I desided the best post I could make would be an honest one, and in this case my thoughts are simply not polished. And that is the theme.

You can tell me how you study zen, how you use or do not use your mind. And you can tell me that zen is to shut it all up. I will not argue. It is that also, but we didn't gather here to demonstrate silence. (hum, or did we anyhoo)

I am going to "study" this zen saying from Liao-an.

 

" Just get to  the fundamental, don't worry about the outgrowths. What is the root, what are the outgrowths? Knowing the mind and seeing it's essence is the root; explaining Zen and expounding the path are the outgrowths. If you know the mind and see it's essence. You may speak at will and go where your feet take you- nothing is not the path."

oh....

I guess I did my study already.

Post Edit ( two days later);

        This was admittedly not well thought out, not truely ready. Think of this more as blowing air thru a dirty pipe so that water can get thru.  I will revisit this blog and verse at another time.  When i figure out a formula or method that works for me to try to discuss zen stuff.  To try better, and also keep my stream of conscious flow.

      It is like sometimes when you write poems, the first one is like the junk file then the prose comes out. I am not satisfied with this post, and that is ok. 

     The idea is to process live...I think that is how to study the zen while talking about the quotes.  That is how the fellows can help assist one another if their "logos" are not clear. I don't know yet.

     But I have learned that I really ought to read the common material at the site I am making these posts, rather than try to bring newness with quotes they haven't been thinking over for a long time.  I was not being considerate because I think zen words is zen words, right?  Same principle being expressed therefore conversation should just happen. 

But if I am using material they have not been, it is not as good as to tweak a veiw on something they already have been looking at.

And it is better for me too, because I can see somethign new and see it my way and they can say how they figured it when they thought the same or differently.  I had been hobbling myself because I was not expanding my source material.

I did not expand my source material because I was afraid of being confused with so many new ways to express or words or ironically concepts.  I hope these explanations help me overcome the issue I am having with taking that simple little fucking quote and figuring out what I want to do with it.

(or is this whole blog the act of doing it with it, till i get to the point of speaking about what I have been doing...hummm)

 

 

To Be Continued. Eventually.

A Breath of Zen Air

 

The old master was meditating by the riverbank when a young student interrupted him. “Master, I wish to become your student,” said the man.

“Why?” asked the master.

The student thought for a moment. “Because I desire enlightenment.”

The old master leapt to his feet and grabbed the student’s robe. In a flash, the master plunged the student’s head into the river, waiting a full minute before throwing him, kicking and gasping, onto the riverbank.

“Now, tell me, what did you desire most when you were underwater?” he asked.

“Air!” gasped the student.

“Very well.” said the master. “Come back and see me when you want enlightenment as bad as you wanted air.”

 

IZM- * that Victorian Lady in the fine hat who sets down her tea; once she decided to make something her business.* 

Buckle up kiddies, this might get long. We are going to take a few looks into this thing. We are going to challenge ourselves just a little bit.  We are going to listen and share a few stories. And if I am so inspired by the time it is warranted, maybe I will plug in some poignant Zen Master quotes. 

But mostly let us deal with; What is it to desire zen as we desire air in the moment of being under water?

That is really hefty. Not some hallmark card  you read to yourself on your bed as you stare listlessly out your window wondering what it might be like if you could want zen like you want air.

Nor is it some hope you might hold close;  that at least you have seen someone who wanted zen as much as they wanted air. Look how they swim, all you have to do is swim, using the stroke they are using.

Do you think they went into the water knowing those strokes? Do you think they came out of the water knowing those strokes?  

No.

What did they know?

AIR! NOW!

Did they say that they could not want air now because the boatman was holding them down? ( the version with the boat man in a boat instead of the master on the river bank works better for my analogy) And when they where let up, did they say that they could not want zen now because the boatman was an asshole?

Did the young man get angry at the boatman, and cast his gaze at the other fishermen in boats? Maybe he thought.... That guy sucks. What does he know? I know I want zen.  It isn't that serious dude. Be nice.

IS it really not that serious?  What would it be like if you could understand why that guy in a boat knew that the young man was not ready for zen study?

So maybe the young man went to another boatguy and told him the story of the asshole boatman. Boatguy asks for a demonstration of the event. Young man jumps in the water and the boatguy fake holds him down. When the young man comes up, gets in the boat, the boatguy proceeds to tell him how he was drowning incorrectly.  How the other boatman was holding him down incorrectly. And to explain what it means to want air as you want zen.

(did you see what i did there?)

Now this young man will learn what to say, but he will also stop wanting zen like he wanted air.

 

              Now let me tell you a story from my life.   My dear old best friend was named Larry.  Larry was really smart and had an appearance of self confidence.  He had a lot of friends, and people always went to him for advice. Larry always had sage advice.

            Heck. I even watched him convince a girl that he was a non smoker....while chain smoking.  What really impressed me though was how he could be in a room full of different conversations, and respond to each of them in time.

           Larry bragged that he was studying "perfection".  Hey, I was always into "new age" stuff, and he was really cool. I thought he had something.  I felt like he had something. I wanted it like I wanted air.

         I wanted to learn how to become perfect. To have mind discipline. To not make errors. To understand everything. To give sage advice. I wanted it bad.

       After a few days of admiring him and building fantasies in my mind of all the things to learn. Of how he was perfect and wise. I sucked up my ego, and decided to "impress" him.

     I pulled him aside, asked him not to laugh, this was serious. Gave him a preliminary spiel of my spiritual life and....

Asked him if I could be his disciple.

(waits with a red face till the audience stops laughing)

Yeah, that's what he said too......to everyone.

     But he loved me...and was my friend for many years. Did the karaoke DJ thing together. He came out of the closet to me first.  And I was able to help him by introducing him to two of my mother's best friends, who helped him in ways only they understand.

Now. What did I want so badly that I asked a stranger to teach me?

Do you want it that badly?   And was that thing ever within him?

No.

       And also let us look at this from an other angle. In fact make this the light of all koan study.  The people represented... the monks  who get to be the ones in the snapshot;  did not just step out of an Allen Watts Seminar.

       If the young man in our story had just come out of the seminar... do you think the zen master would have bothered dunking him?  By god, that would be child abuse!

       No. The monks in the story have already been studying zen.  They where not listening to zen being described. They where not judging whether or not the conduct of others was like zen. They where concerned with their own understanding of zen. Their own mind. It's illusions. It's motives. It's understanding. It's doubt. It's belief. It's very existence.

       The monks where already asking themselves how to end their wheel of suffering. And happen to meet up with someone who looked pretty cool. They want it from them. They want them to at least point.  And some of them complain when they don't really want to  breathe air.

 What can that person give to them?

Well, that depends on how drowned they are.

 

P.S.  Hey you! Quit whipping in on my favorite baby seal with that lead filled snow shoe! 

 

P.S.S.  Zen Mater Dahui  "Don't draw another's bow, don't ride another's horse, don't mind another's business. Although this is a common saying,  it can also help you practice Zen. Just examine yourself constantly  from morning to night.

What have you done that is beneficial to other's and to yourself? if you notice any partiality, you should altert yourself and not over look it.  When you have no mind, Zen is easy to find.  

In Zen terminology, "mindlessness" does not mean insensitivity or ignorance. It means that the mind is stable and does not get stirred up by the situations and circumstances one encounters; it means the mind does not grasp anything, it is clear in all situations, unimpeded and undefiled, not dwelling on anything, even non defilement." 

 

If you read this and applied it to someone other than yourself...then you become  the ewk you hate.

If as soon as you know something well enough to correct others.... then you become the ewk you hate.

If you have written someone off and beat them for being mistaken, or for trying to defend or promote their views..... then you become  the ewk you hate.

When you plead to not be hated because you like Dogen, and turn around and hate someone whom you deem associated with rasicm... then you become the ewk you hate.

 How guilty you should feel about this is self determined. But if you feel victorious because of your own behavior then you are wanting to breathe water instead of zen.

If you wanted Zen.... unblock all boatmen and fight for your air.

 

 

3 Zen Masters and a baby

 Master Chien-ju

        " Do you want to study Zen? You must let go. Let go of what? Let go of the four elements and five clusters, let go of consciousness conditioned over incalculable time.  Focus on right where you stand and try to figure out what the reason is. Keep on pondering, and suddenly the flower of mind will bloom with enlightenment, illuminating the whole universe.

        This can be called getting it in the mind, responding to it in action.  Thereupon you can turn the earth into gold and churn the rivers into cream. Wouldn't that just make life exhilarating?  

        Do not memorize sayings, recite words, and discuss Zen and the Way based on books. The Zen Way is not in books.  Even if you can recite the teachings of the whole canon and all the masters and philosophers, they are just useless words of no avail when you are facing death.

        The ancients sought illumined guides only after they themselves had awakened and understood, in order to pick out the rubble and completely purify their realization of truth.

        When they could measure pounds and ounces accurately, they where like people opening variety stores carrying all sorts of goods."

...   * *   ...   * *   ...   * *    ...

Master Pai Chang

        " IN reading scriptures and studying the doctrines, you should turn all words right around and apply them to yourself.  All the verbal teachings point to the inherent nature of the immediate mirroring awareness.  As long as this is not affected by anything, existent or otherwise, it is your guide.  It can shine through all realms whether they exist or not.

        This is adamantine wisdom, wherein you have your share of freedom and independence.  If you understand in this way, then even if you could recite the whole canon and all it's branches of knowledge, that would only make you conceited.

        Paradoxically it shows contempt for Buddha; it is not true practice."

...  * *  ...  * *  ...  * *  ... 

Master Ying-an 

        " The verbal teachings of Buddhas and Zen masters that have come down from the past are like bits of tile used to knock on a door;  it is a matter of expediency that we use them as entrances into truth.

        For some years now, students have not been getting to the root and aim of Zen, instead taking the verbal teachings of Buddhas and Zen masters to be the ultimate rule.

        That is like ignoring a hundred thousand pure clear oceans and only focusing on a single bubble."

...* *...* *...* *...* *...* *...* *...* *...* *...* *...* *...* *...* *...* *...* *...* *

Isn't that the most annoying sound ever made?....No wonder it make the observer go searching for the source; to shut that thing up....never to Save Our Ship.

Saving lives was only a side quest.

 

** Picture this; A medium sized bald  little monk kid skimpering down  some long brightly sunlit arched corridor that they build into temple/monastery places for the express purpose of this imagery before you. She has cradled under her arm a medium sized lightweight box, she is trying to keep it covered with the sash of her orange robe. Sneaking into a room whose ornate sign in calligraphy denotes as " The Zafu Room"  and stuck upon that placard some unknown monk posted " Please wipe the seat after use."

        The brothers are all in the "arguing room" the young monk calls it. Brother Ewk wants to burn the room down, and maybe he should no one ever comes in here anymore.  She arranges the pillows into a  little private zafu fort. She pretends is it vulture peak. And she dumps her box a the foot of zafu mountain.A box of zen master barbie dolls tumble and she chooses Chien, Pa-chang, and Ying.

Wondering absently weather some brothers would not approve, noticing someone without a face has been thru her toys and changed her Bodhidharma's robe into a Hawaiian shirt, ripped off khakis and flip flops. And someone put the Buddha princess crown on Huang-Po. She settles to play.

 "What is consciousness conditioned over incalculable time? "

        Just a Buddhist thing....not important....well....what do you think it is?

Well, a quick google lends this.. "

What is the Buddhist view of consciousness?

“Buddhists argue that nothing is constant, everything changes through time, you have a constantly changing stream of consciousness,” Evan Thompson, a philosophy of mind professor at the University of British Columbia, tells Quartz. “And from a neuroscience perspective, the brain and body is constantly in flux"

How long have i been conscious?  My whole life. Has my mind been conditioned during my known existence? Yeah.  (just turn every teaching to yourself)

What is a sangha for?  To discuss  the study of the mind/consciousness. To compare notes, apply zen master support, help each other discover going beyond.

 What is adamantine wisdom?

Well quick google offers...(and it is pretty darn long if you crave more description) 

Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra

        " It is one ultimately pure. It does not shake. It does not receive, nor does it do [act]. It does not abide, does not make. It is tasteless and unmixed. It is an “is” and yet is not something created. It is neither action nor fruition [i.e. it is beyond Karma]. It is not one made, not one that dies. It is no mind; it is one not countable [whose dimensions can be reckoned];

         It is the All-Wonderful, the one Eternal, and the one not presumable. It is not consciousness and is apart from mind. And yet it does not depart from mind. It is a mind that is all-equal. It is not an “is”; yet it is what is “is”. There is no going and no coming [with it]; and yet it goes and comes. It does not break up. It is one indestructible. It does not snap and does not cease. It does not come out, nor does it die out. It is no master and yet a master. 

        It is not one that exists; nor does it not exist. It awakes not, nor does it see. It is no letter, and is not no letter. It is no dhyana [meditation] and is not no dhyana. It cannot be seen and can be well seen. It is no place and yet is a place. It is no abode and yet is an abode. It is not dark and not bright. There is no quietness and yet there is quietness [in it]. It is non-possession, non-receiving, and non-giving. It is pure and untainted.  

       It is no quarreling and is never fighting. It is what is living and is not what is living. It is no taking and no falling. It is no thing and is not no thing."

    The sutra was the Buddha talking about the Tathagata's body. Perhaps it is not too much error to infer that that body of the tathagata is made of dharma. Therefore the adamantine wisdom embodied. Yet this is also just a way to say it...you still have to go on to apply it to your own self.

Which is apparently easy peazy for some brothers who just notice that they already are adamantine just by memorizing HuangPo and farting.

Well I am out of thoughts. I didn't have anything add or expand really. There are terms i am not sure about, and would just be tickled to death if the comment section had opinions or self informed ideas about what it means to them and how it may apply. Or even better...supporting quotes.

Does anyone want to tackle...What is Mirroring Awareness?

I think it has something to do with a clear awareness not in rumination, or mind games, simply in the here, is responsive and receptive to information. Synchronicity perhaps, or events of being in the right place with the right response at the right time just because you have no-thing going on but going on.

Yet also I would think that grasping and chasing and depending on such to support or comfort your mind ( ie a nest) would be wrong. But also incorrect is to toss out every mind-symbol you work with.

** little bald kid-monk packs up her zen master barbie dolls as the sun dips into a more comfortable hue and she restores the zafu room to it's ignored state and prepares for the evening meal. 

she expects crickets, no one ever comes in here anymore.**

 

 

Praise, Blame, and Explain.

 (excerpt from Red Pine translation of the Zen Teachings of Bodhidharma.  From the breakthrough sermon, pages 90-91)

    "You should realize that the practice you cultivate doesn't exist apart from your mind. If your mind is pure, all buddha-lands are pure. The sutras say 'If their minds are impure, beings are impure. If their minds are pure, beings are pure.' And '  To reach a buddha-land purify your mind. As your mind becomes pure, buddha-lands become pure.'  Thus by overcoming the three poisoned states of mind the three sets of precepts are automatically fulfilled."

Questioner asked..." But the sutras say the six paramitas are charity,morality, patience, devotion, meditation, and wisdom. Now you say the paramitas refer to the purification of the senses. What do you mean by this? And why are they called ferries?"

 

   "Cultivating the paramitas means purifying the six senses by overcoming the six thieves.

 Casting out the thief of the eye by abandoning the visual world, is charity.

Keeping out the thief of the ear by not listening to sounds, is morality.

Humbling the thief of the nose by equating all smells as neutral, is patience.

Controlling the thief of the mouth by conquering desires to taste, praise, and explain, is devotion.

Quelling the thief of the body by remaining unmoved by sensations of touch, is meditation.

And Taming the thief of the mind by not yielding to delusions but practicing wakefulness, is wisdom.

These six paramitas are transports. Like boats or rafts, they transport beings to the other shore. Hence they are called ferries. "

IZM Comments....

  As I typed this out two things stood out to me, All buddha-lands are pure if the mind is pure.

And also how Bodhidharma does not seem to mention the thieves ever disappearing. We are to practice taming, quelling, controlling, humbling, keeping out and casting out thieves. But we do not exist without them.

So what is liberation?  It seems to be the fluid ability to be in the company of thieves, without making the thief, king of your buddha-land.

What is Buddha-land?  It is the place where you find your practice, and where you become free. Your mind scape. Made-up of karma, thought, faith, obligations, ego-self, and thieves.

But I really came here to talk about Taste, Praise, and Explain. Thieves of the mouth (or fingers such is our case) 

What is the desire to taste? To know ourselves as Buddha perhaps? Or to know if the teacher we admire is really awakened? Or to have someone approve of us?  Those things don't mean anything if your mind if pure. 

You could think your mind is pure but maybe it isn't.  IF your asking if maybe it isn't i think you are practicing. If you insist, then maybe you want to taste. And if you are not asking or insisting it is just conversation, maybe your buddha land is pure.

What is the thief of praise? We make objects out of the things that we admire. If Foyan said it better, we neglect saying it in our understanding. Because we both want and fear the giving and receiving of praise. It can unsettle the ego. The Dali Lama once said that teachers have to be careful, they can be spoiled by the followers.

What is the thief of Explain?  I have been pondering this one for years. Only i used to think that Bodhidharma said "praise, blame, and explain." But I guess that is because the thief of taste was on my tongue. But anyway,  When we have felt that we purified our minds to any degree we wish to define, or when we want to ask out about minds in the sangha; I think this is where the thief of explain lives.

Some who explain to correct or inform. Some who explain to express their clarity yet get hopelessly boggled down. Some who explain their questions so much they miss the answer.

 

And a thought on what builds or informs a buddha-land. A Christian with a pure mind has a christian themed Buddha-land. A Taoist likewise. A pure mind is without specific mythological framework. All mythologies or lack thereof are pure to a pure mind.

 

Well there's my first batch of sour doughnuts.

What you all think?

 What can you explain about the other thieves and how you recognize and purify them?

 

Tale of How young Queen Susan got her Crown.

   Once upon a time there was a Magical Kingdom filled with Kings and Queens, and each King and Queen had their own Kingdom filled with magic, and faeries, and wisdom, and friends.

 

   However, not every king or queen wore crowns.

 

   This is the story of how one young queen named Susan truly became Queen of her kingdom, and got her crown.

 

 Susan was an orphan, her parents left their faeries to look after her and teach her to manage her kingdom. But they are unruly faeries. Mean to their lady. They where always hiding things from her. They where always sending wrong messages to others when she was trying to socialize and meet other kings and queens in the land.   

 

Over time the people did not want to hear about the affairs of her kingdom, and kept lecturing her about how she was being a foolish queen that will never get a crown.

But Susan knew deep down that her kingdom was good.  She knew she was going to be a fine Lady of the land.  Her closest Faerie, her still quiet friend from her childhood, sometimes showed her what her kingdom could become. And played stories with her about how she was going to be a wise Queen giving wisdom, discernment, and grace to all in her land.

 

When Sue would tell the other faerie attendants about it, they would laugh at her.  They would present her all kinds of problems to solve.  They brought her all the different kings asking her for advice and testing her.  Telling her that this is what it means to be queen in the land.

 

They never gave her a moment of peace and quiet. And she was a tired over run young lady. Yet everyday she had grace, she held her heart proud, she always looked toward wearing the crown.

 

Then one day a new Queen moved into the neighborhood.  A crowned Queen named Carol. There weren't any crowned kings or queens for many many leagues, so everyone was talking about her moving in, but nobody had seen her around town.

Sue hoped one day she would meet with Queen Carol, maybe she could advise about her and the faeries work  in her kingdom.  

 

Then one day while at market, Carol smiled at Sue and Sue said "oh, your a friend."  And they started chatting about enchanted kingdoms and what not while walking back toward Sue's castle.

It turns out that Carol's Castle was not very far away, in fact it was just on the same path as the way to Susan's castle. And it became apparent that they would be passing each other on the road often. And every time, they would chit chat about enchanted kingdoms and what not.

 

Carol was impressed with the heart of the young queen, but could tell there was something not going right  in Sue's kingdom. Sue seemed overrun, and always had a ritual to preform or a ceremony to officiate,  or a conference to attend. Carol mused "Awfully busy kingdom, I wonder who runs it" 

 

 One day Sue invited Carol to tour her castle. Just a customary  introduction before giving a formal tea invite. They walked around looking at tapestries, and admiring the candle sticks.  The place was once been very beautiful, in the days of Sue's parents but had fallen into disrepair. Carol wondered why Sue's attendant Faeries where so neglectful. But Carol was polite, and enjoyed the beauty of the meaningful heart within Susan.

 

Then they entered the throne room and Sue took her seat and Carol stood before her and curtsied elegantly. No sooner than when Sue was about to speak greetings did one of the faeries rush in, bumping Carol, and right up to Susan's ear to speak of the state of the growth of the rice in the field  where she will be buying rice next harvest.

 

And he rushed out. And two more came in  one to remind Sue about her appointment with the King of Unatria, he is concerned about his peasants being able to pay their taxes.  And the other came to suspiciously inform Sue that Carol might want to harm her, that Carol does not believe that Sue is a good queen. 

 

And Sue grew nervous and  said " Never mind my faeries, I really am a good queen, and I believe that you are a wonderful queen, to have a crown and all. You must be a fine lady. Tell me how you got your crown."

Carol smiled softly, and blushed." Well before I had a crown, I had a royal robe. And when I would sit in my throne room, I would put on my robe and not see my faeries unless I had the robe on. And they had to ask...and I would say....' permission granted' or 'permission denied' 

A queen needs to be queen in their court, and wear a robe of discernment, or mischievous faeries will bother them with silly details."

 

 "But, " protested the young queen." I have so many responsibilities to attend. My kingdom is in disrepair. How can you tell me these things are silly details?"

" There is a kitchen faerie that takes care of rice, you build the kitchen, not monitor the rice. And if you train your faeries, you will not have to monitor their work."

" Lady Carol, you can train your faeries? They are always training me and teaching me....now you say...."

Carol  interrupted her...."I say, aren't you the queen?"

 

And there ended the first visit.

 

 Susan spent the next few months trying to work out how to control her faeries. She even kicked a few of them out. But faeries are very troublesome. Some of them have great powers to overcome Sue's mind and drown out even her own thoughts.  Some of the faeries are very angry at her, and tell her terrible stories. Tell her she is an evil queen who only wants to keep her kingdom for herself. They tell her she will never  be able to weave a robe of discernment.

And Sue holds her self very still upon her throne. She keeps one thing in mind. And slowly she can begin to find her still small friend....she sat repeating...permission denied.  And her friend faerie hugs her and breaths with her, and dark clouds begin to clear from her kingdom.

 

 On one day Susan is feeling very good, and very generous and she invited Carol to have tea. The attendants brought out a serving platter with the best kind of tea in the best glass, but they served their queen bitter cloudy water and weak chocolate sauce in two different very humble gobbets.

Carol was polite, but chose to make it her business to ask about it. Sue explained that " The faeries take the combination from my stomach, and it becomes their elixir so they can do the work of my kingdom."

" Is it always the same potion?" Carol asked.

"Yes, it is a secret recipe from their country and they say, my parents loved it. But I have to admit I do get tired of it. They tell me, this is how to make power."

"  I would never drink that. Does it always taste the same?"

"Well sometimes it is alright ....when I sneak in something else or when I measure it in a different combination."

" So it becomes elixir after you drink it?"

" They make it, I do not know how it is done."

" A Queen should my dear. Queens mix their own potions to enjoy any of their power when ever they choose.  One day it is  chocolate the other it may be just milk. But you will grow wise in all different ways, not only in the elixir of faeries.  And if you don't mind my saying so, your faeries are very rotten servants.

They need to learn to wait, they need to learn to obey their queen's choice to drink or not to drink. They also need a lesson in gratitude. If not for your house, they have no kingdom to attend.

How fortunate that your faeries do not belong to me, they would all have sore backsides."

 

There ended the second visit.

 

Over the next few months Young queen Susan and her faeries started to organize her castle. They remembered good times, they talked about bad times. They laughed and played together.  They started to  understand their places in her home.

 

 And  when they noticed their queen feeling relaxed, they began to admire her. But there where always a few naughty faeries to drag the queen off into a ceremony, more and more of her faeries where changing their mind and making friends with Sue and her still small friend.

 

And they started to teach queen Sue about her real powers.  Her power of wisdom and grace. They showed her how to observe the work of the faeries without having to touch the work of the faeries. How now she can trust that  the faeries who changed their minds will oversee and correct the bad faeries quietly while she learns to become a crowned queen.

 

 One day there came an invitation from Queen Carol for Queen Sue to have a visit in her own Castle.

They walked the grand halls, and talked of the history and compared family lore.  There was a weapons room, and a games room, and a great library where Carol made her potions, which she shamefacedly admitted she had not yet mastered them all. And a fine dinning  gallery with fey standing attendance, and bustling about.  One tall faerie named Regis stepped up to Queen Carol announcing that the rehearsal is going well for the up coming event.

"oh.." Said Sue " So you do , do ceremonies, and conferences and rituals also?"

"Naturally. But they do not do me. I am not those things, those things don't need me. I am simply queen, I attend when it is mine to attend. And conference where it is my room to conference. And I ritual within my private place where my best love lives. Not even faeries will dare enter there."

 

The tour continued,  but they didn't go into the throne room, Carol just splayed an open palm in the general direction saying " That is the throne room, let us continue." as they passed the doors.

 

They went out to the back garden, a fine display of fruit trees and herb bushes, tea flowers, smelling flowers, a fine rock decorated path outlined the way to a central sitting place. They sat, and soon faerie  attendants brought a snack platter and  light wine, Rigis appeared, asking of there should be a minstrel for the visit....Carol waved her hand and said "Privacy"

 

And all the noise of fey stopped.  No more bustling of rehearsal in the dinning gallery, no Regis, no minstrels  tuning up.  Just the garden and the birds and Sue with a relieved look. As if she had never heard the silence of birds before.

 "It sure is quiet here. My castle is always busy. Other kings are always asking me for advice. They take up so much of my time.  Even now, my Faerie  is telling me the King of Unatria wants to visit, it is an emergency. "  Sue is trying to be polite but she feels torn.

 

"Are you close friends with this king?" Asked Carol.

" Not really, I have never had him for tea. But he calls me on the phone."

" He isn't even your guest, and he imposes himself. What a rude character."

 

" He tells me he needs my advice, and my potions to do his work..." Sue hushes when she saw Carol's eyes harden against her.

"I visit guests in my garden, only in the garden. Friends come sit in my living room, and my Love sits with me in my throne room.  If I have important visitors we meet there.  But a king that needs the constant advice of a crown-less queen must have already worn out his welcome with the crown. A king like that should only be entertained in the garden. Because he is weak and can't do his own work.  And a queen can watch over  him from the garden while the faeries attend him."   

 "But, " Protested Susan " He is part of my great kingdom, if I fail him even my own kingdom will fall apart."

 

"It is impossible to fail him because your kingdom is great. Therefore a queen can sit still and trust herself, and witnesses the smooth run of her kingdom. And enjoy her everyday affairs without worry or much concern about the nagging faeries.  She  observes, learns, grows, plays, prays, and she works also."

 

There ended the third visit.

 

 Over the next few months Susan was a diligent student. Her still close friend encouraged her saying...remember you ARE the queen. No one else. You operate the kingdom. You are your kingdom. 

And this caused her some alarm, because all manor of fey jumped in saying this is the kingdom too; attend to this. That is you too;  make it understand.   And another telling her mysteries and how to use powers to create her own queenly will over all things.

Sue was frightened for it was all too much responsibility for a young queen to deal with. She went to her throne room with her still small friend and they discussed things.

The true queen's mind  is still and calm... and  her wisdom comes up because the kingdom is made of her wisdom.  Was one conclusion they came to.

Another was that The still small friend pointed this out, saying "The flurry of ideas and thoughts arising and passing away without constancy  is not the true mind of a queen. Things that shift and change, sometimes good, sometimes bad, this is not the true mind of a queen."

" How do I know my true queen mind?" Sue began to inquire.  And she and her friend sat back to slowly study these things.

Over the course of time necessary for queens to earn their crowns Susan had many lessons from her still friend.  And soon Susan began to even not take the still friend's word for things. And Susan investigated her kingdom for herself.

Susan learned what things she had business to attend. And what things where not the best use of her growing skills. She grew more peaceful and learned to play rituals when she needed entertainment or comfort.  And she held ceremonies  to give honer and gratitude when her kingdom did well. And she went to committees only when invited, and then only when she could be useful. And she discovered that many committees where filled by low born kings and queens, and nobody really wanted to improve their kingdoms, no matter how they argued about defining the meaning of them.

She only had one kingdom to tend. And one set of faeries to command. And she vowed whether low born herself or destined for a crown, she would work to rule her own kingdom.

She would set the places where her fey live, and they would serve her with grace, discernment and wisdom.  And she made a decree that no faerie has the right to punish her when she cannot understand  or when she questions  or when she reforms the lessons. She alone was Queen in her Kingdom.

 Any Fey that steals her power to use it against her  by visions and fantasy or by lies and cunning persuasion or by prophecy or by any manor of infliction of  mind-control and unreasonable dominance and insubordination will be executed.

 

By and by Queen Susan grew and soon it was effortless for her to join conversations with the other kings and queens in the market place. And she was enjoyed by the people. Who looked to the greater lord of all enchanted kingdoms and gave thanks....  because they knew...

 

It was upside down for royalty to  think they commanded  the domain of all the enchanted kingdoms; but that all the kingdoms commanded by them  are within the domain of the greater lord....who IS the kingdom itself. 

And one fine day Queen Susan  put on her fine robe, and had her tea in a special glass, and was attended by her faerie, friends, guests, and visitors in her garden.

There was to be a ceremony in Susan's throne room, today was her coronation. Her own Faerie presented the crown to Susan and bowed in prostration making aspirations to her benefit and the benefit of all in her kingdom, and when she wore it, it was pure light to her soul. 

 

No lies could deceive her for very long anymore. And it was much harder for her bad fearie to overwhelm her. She even grew to enjoy testing them,when she realised that they have no power anyway. Only the power she gave them.

 

She had power to  question and understand that all appearances where false. Even her still small friend was an appearance. Lowborn royalty chase after  appearances. 

 

The Lowborn look to the fey for the meaning of false things. The meaning is found in the queen. And the queen is the viewer of appearances. The queen chooses or not chooses the meaning to follow.

 All things  became clear and still , and she went on to grow and work and learn as true royalty ever after.

The End.

Update Xmas 2021;

        15 Short Zen master quotes. (Bodhidharma and Huiang Po mostly so check out their teachings)

 

1)   If you want to know the realm of Enlightenment, you should make your mind as clear as space; detach from subjective imaginings and from all grasping.  Making your mind unimpeded wherever it turns. (BoDhr)

 

2)  How Miserable! If you do not know how to do the inner work, how can you expect to understand by sitting rigidly?  This is not the way it is. How can you see? (Foyan)

3)   Above, below and around you, all is spontaneously existing for there is no where which is outside of the Buddha mind. (i can't remember who)

 

4)   When we are deluded, there is a world to escape. When we are awake, there is nothing to escape. (BoDhr)

 

5)   When nothing is sought this imply mind unborn. Where no attachments exist, this implies mind not destroyed. That which is not born or destroyed is Buddha. (HuiPo)

6)   Set aside views, set aside formations. Don't let anything outside in, don't let anything inside out. Cut off both and you will spontaneously be illuminated, not being a partner to anything at all.  This is absorption in non-contention. (Yantou)

7)  Do not permit the events of your daily life to bind you, but never withdraw yourself from them.  Only by acting thus can you earn the title of "A Liberated One". (HuiPo)

 

8)  Not till your thoughts cease all their branching here and there, not till your mind is motionless as wood or stone, not till you abandon all thoughts of seeking something, will you by on the right road to the gate of liberation. (HuiPo)

9)   Just let your minds become void and environmental phenomena will void themselves; Let principles cease to stir and events will cease stirring of themselves. (HuiPo)

10)  So you students of the way should immediately refrain from conceptual thought.(HuiPo)

11)   People are scared to empty their minds, fearing that they will be engulfed by the void. What they don't realize is that their own mind is the void. (HuiPo)

 

12)  The foolish reject what they see, not what they think;  The wise reject what they think, not what they see. (HuiPo)

 

13)  Here it is!  Right now! Start thinking about it and you miss it. (HuiPo)

14)  Nothing is born, nothing is destroyed. Away with your dualism, your likes and dislikes.  Every single thing is just One Mind.  When you have perceived this, you will have mounted the Chariot of the Buddhas. (HuiPo)

15)  As soon as the mouth opens, evils spring forth. People either neglect the root and speak of the branches, or neglect the reality of the "illusory" world and speak only of Enlightenment.  Or else they chatter of cosmic activities leading to transformations, while neglecting the substance from which they spring--- Indeed there is never any profit in discussion. (HuiPo)