Entering Zen

The ego asks how to make a situation fulfill its needs. The sorcerer asks how to respond to the needs of the moment.

Instead of reacting against a situation, merge with it. A solution will arise out of the situation itself. Not out of your mind; out of your alert stillness.

Of course, if along your journey you hear the snorting of a grizzly, become one with the tree! Quickly!!

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A Zen Master was walking along in silence with one of his disciples. When they came to a gnarled tree, they sat down for a simple meal and a rest. After eating their rice and vegetables, the young disciple broke the silence by asking, “Master, how do I enter Zen?”

The Master remained silent. Minutes passed. The disciple was so anxious he was just about to ask another question when the Master suddenly spoke. “Do you hear the mountain stream?”

The disciple had not been aware of any mountain stream. He had been too occupied thinking about the meaning of Zen. Now, as he concentrated, the disciple began to listen, and thus hear that which was around him. His noisy mind subsided. His alertness heightened. Suddenly he did hear the just perceptible murmur of a small stream running off of the side of the mountain.

“Yes, I can hear it now,” he said.

The Master raised his eyes, pointed his finger, and said, “Enter Zen from there.”

The disciple was taken aback. It was his first satori. A flash of enlightenment. He knew what Zen was without knowing what it was that he knew.

The pair continued on their journey. Nothing was spoken. The disciple was amazed at the sounds he was now hearing. The humming aliveness he now felt. He experienced everything as if for the first time. He started thinking again. His alertness became covered up by mental noise. “Master, I have been thinking. What would you have said if I hadn’t been able to hear that mountain stream?”

The Master stopped, looked up and pointed his finger. “Enter Zen from there.”

* * * * *

“Nature is an infinite sphere whose center is everywhere and whose circumference is nowhere.” (Pascal)