Question
Before asking my question, I came across some very interesting YouTube videos of Master Deshimaru
and you.
Here is my question: since I began practicing zazen regularly at home,
half an hour a day (there is no Zen dojo near me, so I made
a mini dojo in a corner of my dining room, with a Buddha
statue, incense, zafu, mat, Tibetan painting, etc.), everything
seems clearer. Naturally, I will probably never attain
the level of wisdom of a Dalai Lama, a Deshimaru, or
a Kosen, but I pragmatically apply myself to bringing “Zen”
into daily life. The notions of void, emptiness, and interdependence
are no longer “intellectualized” by my mind but felt
directly. Sometimes I realize this while walking in the woods. I observe the
woods, walking with an overall vision of them. Sometimes I no longer see
woods but clusters of trees; sometimes the leaves
attract my attention most. Sometimes I stop at the foot of a tree and
observe very closely. I see the cracks in the bark, the tiny
insects, etc. And I realize the woods exist first
because I gave them that name, “the woods,” and because they consist of
thousands of interdependent phenomena brought together; they do not exist
on their own. If I remove the leaves, the branches no longer have
a reason to exist; indeed, they will die without leaves. If I remove
the branches, there are no trees, so no woods. If I remove the insects,
flowers no longer reproduce, etc., so no woods. If I remove
air from the atmosphere, the trees die (and so do I), and I realize
the interdependence of things and their emptiness of existence as “objects.”
That describes my experience.
But my question: in human relations, I am rather
uncompromising. I am fairly “Confucian”: I like things to be
upright—hierarchy, politeness, respect, etc. If the speed limit in town is
50 km/h, I will drive at 50, not 52. If I have right-of-way from
the right, I will take it, even if the other driver must slam on the brakes. If
someone younger who owes me respect does not greet me, I will not
greet them either. I respect this hierarchy in the other direction too,
with my superiors at work. If given work, I will see it
through, starting with work assigned by my highest-ranking
superior. In my family I am equally uncompromising, which led me
to argue with a younger cousin. But this inflexibility
makes me feel I lack the compassion taught by the Buddha,
while on the other hand I feel I am respecting the “social order”
on Earth, just as the tree respects its place in the woods. This is
ambiguous for me. Can you help?
Thank you very much for your mondo.
Anonymous
Answer from Master Kosen
No.
Kosen