Question
All these questions sound rhetorical, and I apologize if they are, but they are of course personal and intimate. In a society where everything is interdependent and so distorted that even the intention to do good can create karmic “poison,” how can we know what work belongs to the bodhisattva lineage? How do we choose? Likewise, how can we truly renounce profit? Are some professions more favorable? Should we be craftspeople, teachers, or work in social services when we are bodhisattvas or wish to commit more deeply? Favor simple professions? Must we renounce, and how far? And a question within the question: What becomes of mushotoku in work that is not mushotoku? Thank you in advance, and long live the fresh, living Zen of your sangha.
Anonymous
Answer from Master Kosen
My master’s answer was: Just continue zazen, continue zazen infinitely, and whatever you do will be positive. Nothing is fundamentally good or fundamentally bad. Look at the France-Spain soccer match, for example. Unfortunately, we concede a goal in the twenty-fifth minute. Fortunately, we manage to block an attack to avoid a second. Unfortunately, we commit a foul and there is a penalty. Fortunately, we save it. Unfortunately, there is a corner. Fortunately, we clear it and score the equalizer. Unfortunately, the goal is disallowed, although it was valid. Fortunately, we get pissed off and start playing like warriors; we are no longer afraid. Unfortunately, we have lots of chances but miss them because we’re a bunch of losers. Fortunately, we finally equalize at the last second. Unfortunately, we should have won, but only managed a 1–1 draw. Fortunately, it is precisely thanks to this sequence of good and bad that the French team has rediscovered something so precious: confidence despite adversity. Go Les Bleus, damn it!
Kosen