Journal 11 to 13

Journal 11
An action in Tao Te Ching can be gained or lost. The goal is to empty the mind and work with one’s spirit. The one who must do this has to align their nature. This is called Ziran. Ziran means self way.
In the book of Tao Te Ching, people have to find the “wei”. The “wei” is the doing. The “Wei wu Wei” is the doing the not doing. Tao Te Ching consists of different passages that some people can see them as Chinese proverbs. In Chuang Tzu, there is a mediocre cook and there is Cook Ting. The mediocre cook uses his skills to cook and he chops meat swiftly and in beauty. (Ming à Shih) Cook Ting slashes and hacks the meat. Cook Ting uses his spirit to cook. He is doing the not doing. One example is on how a typical college student studies for a midterm. How does he/she do it? Do they hang out with friends at a library or bubble tea shop to study together? Do they go to a quiet place to study? Do they ask for guidance from their teacher? A student who is effortless knows how to study.

Martial Arts Example
To find wei, a child comes into a martial arts temple. He asks the sensei about how he should train. It would take 15 years to train, 20 years to do double the training and 30 years if the child trained both day and night. His training methods just increased his years of training. He understands that he must find his own wei. He has to empty his self and inhibit his master.

From notes:
Energy à Quality Action Has à Performance of Action
Tao Te Ching Chapters 1-3

Ming Chia known as the Names School maintains language and knowledge. Ming Chia determines ibject and what their names apply to. For example take a normal ordinary chair. It can be called a metal chair, a seat or a piece of furniture.

The two primary figures of Ming Chia are Hui Shih and Kung Sun Lung. Hui Shih was Chaung Tzu’s teacher. In Chuang Tzu, a passage said: I go to Yueh today and I arrive there yesterday. So in English terms we can take the date today which is November 6th and say that we go to Yueh. We can say on November 7th that we arrived there yesterday. Another passage says “The heavens are as low as the earth and the mountains are as low as the marshes”. The advantage point at looking at things is special and earthly properties have a similar relation. Another passage said: that which has no thickness cannot be increased in thickness and yet it is so great as to cover a thousand miles. The universe covers a thousand miles but it changes. It is hard to describe this passage.

Hui Shih rode on a horse one day and wanted to get past a gate that said no horses allowed. Hui Shih claimed his horse was not a horse because it was white and these are some of his arguments:
1) The word “horse” denotes a shape. The word “white” denotes a color. Therefore a white horse is not a horse.
2) When a horse is required a yellow or black horse is included. A white horse is excluded so the white horse is not a horse.
The language fixes, reality (Tao) is not fixing.

Great similarity differs from little similarity. This is called little similarity indifference. All things are similar and individually all things are different; this is called great similarity difference.
Page 3 Chapter 1 verse 3 --- Give up trying to use it
“The nameless is the beginning of heaven and the earth.” – Tao Te Ching Chapter 1 v. 3

Journal 12
A Taoist point of mind believes that they must acquire stillness. Their mind has to come to a rest through meditation. Building spiritual temples doesn’t give any merit and copying scriptures is a total waste of time due to the story of Bodhidharma. The things we see are they real or are they a dream? The Taoist view shows that each thing has its own inner nature. According to Te there is power and virtue.

Here is a poem about the true and false mind from The Book of Five Rings
It is the mind
That is the mind
Confusing the mind.
Do not leave the mind
O mind, to the mind.

The Taoist stages are over-developed. There is the contemplative which is reclusive. There is the purposive which is possible to walk two roads. There is the religious which contains Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism. It is all included in the central doctrine of Wu Wei. (Chaung Tzu pg. 40 and pg. 126)

Now we begin studying Zen. The basic principles of Zen are:
1) No dependence on words
2) Seeing clearly into one’s own Buddha nature
3) Direct pointing at reality
4) Direct transmission from mind to mind

Zen masters teach monks about Zen. They teach them that they must empty their mind first before obtaining Zen. They must accept disgrace willingly and also accept reality. To understand Zen masters, you have to go beyond the teachings and symbols. General Mahayana scriptures have a lot of symbols. They do not need the monastery for enlightenment. Zen says scriptures have no meanings. They must recognize their own Buddha nature. Normal activity such as jogging can be an enlightenment of Buddha or not. It doesn’t matter if they are a cook or a wood carpenter to obtain Satori. They will have to obtain prajna which is the wisdom to know the truth and not knowing. Theravada extinguishes desires by excavation. Mahayana extinguishes desire by assisting. One way of holding back senses is to do yoga. Zen uses tathagata which is also known as p’u. One good book to read based off of Tao Te Ching is the Tao of Pooh. Buddha means awareness. They use language to find meaning.

Journal 13
This week we watched a video based on Zen practices throughout China and Japan. Zen masters do hard training on martial arts such as kendo, aikido and jujitsu. Different Zen monks do different practices. Such as Japanese Zen monks do practices for the tea ceremony. Chinese Zen monks do practices such as plays or dance ceremonies. They meditate during the day by walking and sitting in one position. Their main goal is attain satori. Zen monks use writing to express their thoughts and their mind. They go through non-attachment which is to be open minded and attached. Some of them become naturalists, who make nature for a test. They live in a temple with three halls of silence. These three halls are the meditation, dining and bathe halls. Most of the time they meditate day and night in the meditation hall. In the dining hall they eat limited amounts of food and tea. Sometimes they are able to drink sweet sake on an occasion. At the end of every month they take a test by their master or they go out to practice begging.

At the end of the Lunar Calendar, each monk goes through Satori which is also known as enlightenment. This is the final part. They roshi which is to control their mind and body. In their test by Zen masters, they are asked a question. They may not use real life logic. They must find themselves in their mind. The first step is Za’Zen. The next is Za’Sui. Za’Sui is the period of time where they meditate for 7 days without laying down. They do takkuhatsu which is training to become beggars.

Iku created the tea ceremony. Through serving tea, a monk can discover the awakening principles of Zen. Mostly everything is done in silence especially eating a meal. In Zen training, you need posture.

From past experience, I’ve gone near a temple in China. I saw monks walking around the temple. Most of them did things in motion. They each followed each other like their minds were empty.