It
is so easy to get stuck on words, unaware that
they are not the things they refer to. All words,
no matter whether we call them ‘nouns’,
‘verbs’, or whatever, are adjectives—that
is, they describe things, or attempt to. Grammatically,
though the word ‘book’ is a noun,
it is not the object made of paper and ink.
If we understand this, we might see beyond words.
There
are many religions—many ‘isms’—in
the world, but the most they can do is to help
us understand something of life; they cannot
make us understand. There is, however, only
one Life, one Reality, one Truth, though it
cannot really be spoken of. Immediately we open
our mouth to speak of Truth, it becomes untruth.
We cannot catch it with words; it must be experienced
and lived, not spoken of.
It
is amusing how some people latch-onto Zen, which
they consider a branch or aspect of Buddhism;
they don’t follow ordinary Buddhism, we
hear them say; they are exclusive, and follow
Zen. They trot out well-known Zen anecdotes
to impress others, as if they are from their
own experience, instead of recognizing the Zen
of the present—the living Zen—in
the life all around and within themselves. They
want something special, to distinguish themselves
from others, not knowing that the special can
only be found in the things we consider ordinary
and common. We live only on the surface, knowing
nothing of what is within. In reality, there
is nothing ordinary; everything is special,
though at that point, there is nothing special,
either!
|
