{"id":11781,"date":"2023-03-30T08:18:24","date_gmt":"2023-03-30T14:18:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/?p=11781"},"modified":"2023-03-30T08:18:35","modified_gmt":"2023-03-30T14:18:35","slug":"not-looking-to-toward-the-peace-of-the-innermost-mind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/wildfoxzen\/2023\/03\/not-looking-to-toward-the-peace-of-the-innermost-mind.html","title":{"rendered":"Not Looking Toward The Peace Of The Innermost Mind"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
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\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n
As I mentioned in my last post, in our ongoing <\/span>Vine of Obstacles Zen<\/span><\/a> practice period focussing on the teaching of Keizan Jokin Zenji (1261-1325), a fourth generation master in Japan, we see that a great deal of his teaching simply points to how to do <\/span>it<\/span> \u2013 Zen practice-awakening.<\/span><\/div>\n
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And (as I also mentioned) Keizan exudes a particular tone, like a radio frequency, that we are also steeping ourselves in \u2013 provisionally, I\u2019d describe it as \u201cfriendly luminosity.\u201d And that fits nicely with the title of the text that we\u2019re working with, <\/span>The Record of the Transmission of Illumination<\/span><\/a> (J. <\/span>Denk\u014droku<\/span>).<\/span><\/div>\n
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And speaking of friendly luminosity, in the forty-seventh generation, Q\u012bngli\u01ceo comes to the old master D\u0101nxi\u00e1 who right away asks, \u201cWhat about \u2018your own self prior to the kalpa of emptiness\u2019?\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
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That is to say, even before there\u2019s nothing, who the hell are you?<\/span><\/div>\n
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Click here<\/a> to support my Zen teaching practice at Patreon of which translations and writings like this are one facet. You will also find an advertisement free version of this post there.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Q\u012bngli\u01ceo is understandably agitated by the question, so D\u0101nxi\u00e1 tells him to get outta there for a while. Q\u012bngli\u01ceo takes his advice and his k\u014dan for a walk on Alms Bowl Peak and there breaks open. He returns to D\u0101nxi\u00e1 with the good news, but before he can say \u201cwho?\u201d D\u0101nxi\u00e1 slaps him \u2013 and Q\u012bngli\u01ceo breaks open breaking open.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Later, in the main hall, D\u0101nxi\u00e1 confirms Q\u012bngli\u01ceo by giving away the Zen store, saying, \u201cThe subtle, secret method of the ancestral teachers is not to look toward the peace of the innermost mind.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
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Pay attention to that little tidbit! Almost everywhere you go in the world of religion, including most Zen places, you\u2019ll hear that spirituality is all about turning toward the peace of the innermost mind.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Fortunately, the subtle, secret method of all the ancestral teachers is not that. What is it?<\/span><\/div>\n
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D\u0101nxi\u00e1 said, \u201cIn sunshine, the solitary peak is green; under the gaze of the moon, the valley stream is cold.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n
D\u014dsh\u014d Port began practicing Zen in 1977 and now co-teaches with his wife, Tetsugan Zummach Sensei, with Vine of Obstacles Zen<\/a>, an online training group. D\u014dsh\u014d received dharma<\/a> transmission from Dainin Katagiri R\u014dshi and inka sh\u014dmei from James My\u014dun Ford R\u014dshi in the Harada-Yasutani lineage. He is also the author of Keep Me In Your Heart a While: The Haunting Zen of Dainin Katagiri<\/a><\/i>. D\u014dsh\u014d\u2019s translation and commentary on The Record of Empty Hall: One Hundred Classic Koans,<\/em><\/a> was published in 2021 (Shambhala). His\u00a0third book, Going Through the Mystery\u2019s One Hundred Questions<\/em><\/a>, is now available. Click here<\/a> to support the teaching practice of D\u014dsh\u014d R\u014dshi.<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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