Exercise Thirteen

April 13th, 2006

Refer to Dr. Hawkins, Sedona Series, Integration of Spirituality and Personal Life, CD 2, first 5 minutes.

CONTEMPLATION

Contemplation, what does it mean? According to the dictionary it means consideration - reflection - deliberation - study.

Contemplation is taking a thought such as "There is nothing to fear" and holding that thought in mind without trying to come to a conclusion or attempting to answer it. Instead, we pose the statement or the question and then let thoughts and understandings rise up within us.

Contemplation is the opposite of deciding we know, or can even know ,the answer. It is listening to what rises up in our mind when we pose a question. Contemplation allows us to be in a state of 'I-do-not-know', which is a state that is open and willing to listen. As Dr. Hawkins says, we become responsible for the effort and not the results.

NAN-IN AND THE CUP OF TEA

Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era (1868-1912), received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen.

Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitor's cup full, and then kept on pouring.

The professor watched the overflow until he no longer could restrain himself. "It is overfull. No more will go in!"

"Like this cup," Nan-in said, "you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?"

Contemplation assists us in stretching beyond the comfort zone of
"I know", and into the areas of consciousness where deep understanding resides. When our personality is confronted with the Truth our mind is silenced.

We have practiced watching the thoughts, watching the emotions, releasing emotions. Contemplation brings all these skills together to move us towards abiding in the Silence.

Contemplation aids in opening to larger and larger concepts. When contemplating, we hold the same attitude as when reading a poem. We stretch and reach for understanding but do not hold any answer as the absolute. Zen is a Japanese sect of Mahayana Buddhism that aims at enlightenment by direct intuition through meditation. It is very Zen to contemplate.

EXERCISE

Below are a number of famous koans - questions or stories or statements that confound logic - for your use in contemplation. Zen teachers use koans to assist the student in awakening from the dream.

ONE HAND "Two hands clap and there is a sound; what is the sound of one hand?" (oral tradition, attributed to Hakuin Ekaku, 1686-1769, considered a reviver of the koan tradition in Japan).

NO COLD NO HEAT A monk asks "How can we escape the cold and heat?" Tozan replied, "Why not go where there is no cold and heat?" "Is there such a place?" the monk asked. Tozan commented, "When cold, be thoroughly cold; when hot, be hot through and through".

WHO IS HE? There is the one when he comes the whole world cannot stop him, and when he goes the whole world cannot hold him back. Who is that one? Chon Tri

LIFE AND DEATH When one says that life and death do exist, he immediately gets two horns grow on his head.
When one says that life and death do not exist, he immediately gets two horns grow on his head, too.
When one says that life and death neither exist nor do not exist, he also gets two horns grow on his head.
When one says that neither life nor death does exist or does not exist, he gets two horns grown on his head, too.
So, what would you say about life and death in order to not getting any horn growing on your head? Chon Tri

JOSHU's MU A monk asked Joshu: "Does a dog have Buddha Nature?" Joshu barked back: "Mu!"

A PHILOSOPHER ASKS BUDDHA "Without words, without silence, will you tell me the truth?" The Buddha sat quietly. The philosopher then bowed and thanked the Buddha, saying, "With your loving kindness I have cleared away my delusions and entered the true path." After the philosopher had gone, Ananda asked Buddha what the philosopher had attained. The Buddha commented, "A good horse runs even at the shadow of the whip."

Koan Links:
http://www.chinapage.com/zen/koan1.html
http://www.ibiblio.org/zen/cgi-bin/koan-index.pl
http://www.nozen.com/koans.htm
http://www.zenguide.com/zenmedia/index.cfm?id=48