“I came to realize clearly that the mind is not other than mountains, rivers, the great wide earth, sun, moon, stars.”

This is a passage from thirteenth century Zen Master Dōgen that triggered the awakening experience of my teacher, Kōun Yamada. “I came to realize clearly that mind is no other than mountains, rivers, the great wide Earth and everything in it” “Mind” here refers to no other than the True Self, my true self, your true self.

One big question that launches us in our Zen practice is this: Who am I? This passage offers an immediate and simple answer. Seek no further, it tells us. “Your true self is no other than mountains, rivers, the great wide Earth, sun, moon, stars.” That’s it. That’s the answer.

But it is one thing to hear it, read it, or even understand it, nod in agreement, and yet quite another thing to truly realize it. It may look like a simple answer, but it is by no means an easy one. To truly realize that my true self is that, is what Zen practice is all about. Realize it, that is, to make it real in my life, this moment, every moment, as long as I live, with every breath, every thought, every word, every act, with every atom and molecule of my being.

In the last few weeks, a couple of things have brought home to me this saying from Dōgen in a most direct, intimate, and personal way. One was the privilege of having attended an international Dharma teachers conference at Omega Center in upstate New York. Two to three hundred dharma teachers from different lineages attended, including Vipassana, Zen, Tibetan teachers, and also Pure Land Buddhists, Lotus Buddhists, nondenominational Buddhists, from around the world. These were Buddhist practitioners in the role of guiding others live the path of awakening, received from Shakyamuni Buddha and handed down from generation to generation up to our times. There were monastics from different Asian traditions, as well as lay teachers from North and South America, Europe, and Australia.

So what did I learn from having attended this gathering? One important message that got conveyed to me comes from the underlying theme of the conference, which one may rephrase with the double-edged question: Where is the world hurting, and how does our Buddhist practice relate to this?

In the United States, the pernicious heritage of racism still lives on among us, in a very painful way. Just look at what happened in South Carolina the other day. It is an issue in other parts of the world as well, manifesting its ugly head in various forms. The dharma teachers gathered spent time considering this question together, sitting with this, learning more about its various angles, in plenaries as well as breakout groups, sharing ideas on how to continue addressing issues related to racism in our individual and our sangha practice.

Another major topic addressed was global climate change. We were presented with some eye-opening objective data based on collaborative research of scientists, from analyses by intellectual leaders, as well with perspectives by business leaders. In short, it came home to us in a very unequivocal way that our Earth community is on the brink of collapsing, and our way we live our individual and collective lives on this web of life that we call Earth has very much to do with having brought about, and aggravating this situation.

The fact that it is the multitudes of the world’s poor in different regions of the world who bear the brunt of all this much more intensely, many being forced to leave ancestral homes and seek refuge and a humane life elsewhere, makes this all the more poignant. The reality of the ongoing violence perpetrated by humans against the Earth, and against other humans on different levels, arising out of our individual and collective greed, ill-will, and ignorance, was truly brought home to us.

So then, what does our Zen, our insight meditation, visualization practice, our chanting, our observance of the precepts, all those things that pertain to us as a community of spiritual practitioners, have to do with these questions and these realities? That is what we addressed. If our practice is meant to help us uproot greed, ill-will, and ignorance in our lives, what does it have to do with all realities around us? So we collectively considered the issue as dharma teachers, and challenged one another in these matters. For me, and I think I can safely say, for most, if not all of the participants, indeed it was a very rich, insightful, inspiring gathering of people serious about their Dharma practice, intent on living the Dharma fully, giving their whole lives to it.

Briefly, I would like to share an important point that came home most prominently to me, mainly through the presentation of and exchanges with a good friend and dharma brother who was also one of the presenters at the conference, David Loy. His message in the talk he gave, which summarized the content of a new book of his that came our recently (A New Buddhist Path, Wisdom 2015), is this: Our practice can no longer remain just on the individual level, only focused on our individual lives, but it is now, more especially than ever, called to address the bigger Self that we are, that is, embracing the mountains, rivers and great wide earth, all sentient beings. If we have realized that true self, and take our cue from Dōgen’s words, then we can experience the fact that the mountains are being denuded, the rivers are heavily polluted, the great wide Earth is wracked with pain. If we don’t get stuck in worrying only about how we will adjust the furniture in the little house of our individual selves, remaining confined such a small world, and really open our eyes and ears, our hearts and our minds, sitting and listening to that, then we may be able to hear the voices coming from all directions, from the heart of our great wide earth. We hear the cries, and receive the challenge, from the voices of all sentient beings with whom we live and with whom we are intimately connected in this web of life. Sentient beings are crying out – “Listen. I am hurting.”

Having attended the dharma teachers’ conference brought that home to me in such a very very intimate, and so powerful way that I can no longer just set aside and continue to ignore or side-step.

Another event that brought home Dōgen’s saying cited above to me comes from having read the new encyclical letter by Pope Francis. It begins with a prayer inspired by Saint Francis, his namesake, and titled ‘Laudato Si’ – a Latin phrase that means “praise be to you.” He begins by beholding at the beauty of the earth and the beauty of creation that we are given as a give from Divine Love, and then points by point he describes how and where the Earth is hurting. I encourage you to read it for yourself. It’s easily available online, and you will find many commentaries about it also. There are some who are criticizing it, saying a religious leader should not meddle in politics, and stick to spiritual stuff, and so on. But such sideswipes are missing the point. This encyclical is a wakeup call, not just for the Catholics among us, but for all of us living on this Earth together at this important point of our collective history. What is this wakeup call about? That is what I am continuing to listen to in my practice.

Let me share some thoughts based on a posting I read, which summarizes the recommendations for a change of lifestyle following Pope Francis’ encyclical. The article offers five points laying out a concrete way we can so we may be part of the movement toward healing the wounds of our Earth. Here is a link to the article for those who wish to read it.
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/blog/top-5-eco-lifestyle-changes-pope-franciswants-you-to-make/

To the five points I would like to add two more, to make a “Sevenfold path toward healing ourselves, healing our Earth.” The Buddha offered us an Eightfold path, and this is only seven, so it’s a bargain. Let’s take it while it’s available! 🙂 Let me go down the list one by one.

The first point invites us to pray for a conversion of heart. In terms of our Zen practice, it is about giving ourselves wholeheartedly to our practice, even more than ever, for this is precisely what our sitting, our mindfulness, our chanting, our observances, are all about: effecting in us a total conversion of our way of seeing and our way of being. We are motivated to launch our practice with those fundamental questions that nag us – who really am I? How can I live a meaningful life for the happiness of all who are around me? The key is precisely in that question, who am I? We just heard the hint from Dōgen, and from my teacher Yamada Koun Roshi. The mountains, the rivers, the great wide earth, and all sentient beings. That, my dear friends, is us! You, me, Lois, Patty, Ramtin, Ben, Leslie, tell me your name, and I can only tell you in response, that’s you! Have we experienced this, and have we really begun to embody that in our lives?

Some of you may have arrived at a glimpse of something or other, and yes, you may be able to say ‘I am mountain, I am the river,’ and so on. But it is another thing to have this question of “who am I?” be answered in a way that totally changes our outlook, our attitude, our entire way of seeing ourselves, our way of seeing and be-ing in the world. Our practice is what opens us to an experience of a total transformation in the way we see the world and ourselves, and truly, truly, undergo that conversion of heart that Pope Francis is talking about. It is no longer to be stuck in the narrow perspective of the small “I, me, mine,” but to see from the perspective of the Big Self (someone else referred to Big Mind). How may I live my life realizing that the wounded world is my own true self, I am that, crying out in pain? The pain of the families in Charleston, the victims of earthquakes in Nepal, the children victimized by trafficking, the voices of the many species disappearing from the face of the Earth, I could go on and on to add to a long long list, and not exhaust it. All of us are part of this pain. So who am I and how can I live? Let us listen to our True Self and let that guide us in all our thinking, speaking, acting, our way of living, day-to-day, moment to moment. Following Pope Francis, we “pray for a conversion of heart.”

The second point, in summarizing the Pope’s message, goes like this: “learn to appreciate beauty.” This is the nature, the beauty all around us. Each tree, each pebble, each flower or blade of grass, and also, each person around us, is that. The whole universe opens up to us baring its pristine beauty each moment. Don’t miss that. So, taking a cue from our practice – slow down, take a breath and realize the infinite the gift of each moment, in each breath, and take time to let that sink in. The world is in pain and it calls us to respond, yes, but in all of that let us not miss the beauty of each moment. As we pause for one moment and breathe, we may breathe out the debris piled up in our hearts, and this will give us the inner space to see the beauty in each moment, even in the midst of the muck and the mud around us. The Lotus, the symbol of enlightenment in Buddhism, blossoms precisely in the midst of the muck and the muddy waters.

And with that comes the third point – “Practice gratitude and selflessness,” beginning with the family, and extending to the wider circle of all sentient beings. Our hearts are naturally moved to simple gratitude when we realize the beauty in things, when we realize the many blessings we continue to receive, and we are moved to give back in gratitude. No longer just looking out for myself, and what’s in it for me, but realizing that I am given so much, out of gratitude I am moved to give more of myself. There was a Jesuit priest who was a big influence on me as a university student in the Philippines – he was a chaplain in campus ministry, and had already been dead some years when I came to university. I recall his picture hanging on our student lounge, with his smile, with his motto inscribed on the bottom – ‘give until it hurts’. He keeps challenging me. So am I really giving enough? Well, okay, I wrote a check for this or that cause, I gave this or that donation. But maybe we can consider the possibility that there may be more we each can give. How can I give more, beginning with my own family circle, and going wider and wider and expanding to the world of sentient beings? To live in a way that no longer just asks, “What can I get out of it?” but rather seeks how and what to give, and give some more, in a spirit of gratitude and selflessness.

The fourth point is important: “Change the way you consume”. Look at our lives from day to day. What are we eating, drinking? Where does that come from and how does that affect the circle of life? What are we buying, how are we spending our time, how are we using our resources? Just one example – look at the water situation – there is drought in certain areas, like California these days. Not only there, but the levels of drinkable water in the world are decreasing. You might ask here, what are you saying? How about this all this flooding here in Texas lately? Let’s not get confused by immediate happenings and miss the big picture. Based on certain trends that scientists have mapped out, Texas, too, will be have its share of drought, and will be facing a water crisis in the coming years. That is precisely part of the global climate change that is affecting us. Keep looking at the big picture to see what we are consuming, and change our ways, so we may be on side of alleviating instead of part of the problem. Take the consumption of meat for example. Meat products make up big part of the consumption habits of people especially in industrialized countries, and this is a major factor in the depletion of our resources. I will not go into any further detail here, and can refer you to some readings if you wish. Here is one link you may check out.
http://science.time.com/2013/12/16/the-triple-whopper-environmental-impact-ofglobal-meat-production/

I am not telling you to be a strict vegetarian from here on. You may of course consider that, but maybe, just maybe, you could cut down on eating meat, from four or five times a week, to a little less. And so on. It is not just about eating, but pertains to our whole consumeristic lifestyle. Okay, I will not continue moralizing here and offer an invitation, for us to incorporate this as an important aspect of our Zen practice: let us watch what we consume, and seek how we may do less harm in our habits.

The fifth point is related to the fourth, involving concrete choices in our way of life. This is something I also need to keep reminding myself: simplify your life”. I will not go into further detail, and keep this as an ongoing challenge, for myself, for each one of us.

The sixth point I would like to add to the five above is this: let us keep our eye on the big picture, the global scenario, while we stay connected to the immediate scene before us. This includes learning more about how our individual lives are intimately connected with a huge systemic framework that involves economic, political, social, and so many other dimensions. My day-to-day life is the immediate picture, but the big picture is the whole wide Earth, crying out in pain. What is this puny little thing seen in the light of the big picture? How can having this big picture on my horizon shed light on the way I live my own individual life, to help me see more clearly the directions I need to take? The first five points above can serve as initial steps in this regard.

Finally the seventh point – without saying we should all be proselytizers or missionaries, somehow it seems to me, more and more strongly, that we are called to spread the word. If we feel something deeply enough we are moved to let others know. Without being too preachy there are ways to spread the word so others may see the point, or get a new angle of seeing the world. For example, if you see a link on the internet that calls your attention to something, or inspires you, or challenges you, send that link to others. Send or speak of things that may help others awaken. Discern for yourself how you can spread the word in a way that comes out of the way you live your life. This also involves joining our efforts with others who are already walking toward the same directions. Seek allies, and join groups and movements that are already out there seeking global change through local action. One group I can suggest would be the Network of Spiritual Progressives, an interfaith alliance of those seeking to “repair the world” (tikkun olam in the Jewish tradition). But there are so many others, local, regional, national, and global, and these you will easily find if you look around you. See which of these you may link with, and multiply the power of the change happening in your own life.

But what is this “word” about, really, that we are called to spread? This question brings us back to number one. It is about undergoing a total conversion of heart, so our whole life is seen from the perspective of the mountains, rivers, and the great wide earth, that is, our very own true self. It is in this conversion of heart that can happens in each of us, wherein lies the key to transforming the way we live together on this global family. No global transformation without inner transformation. Conversely, inner transformation naturally leads to global transformation. The intimate connection between these two is what we are now called to activate more than ever. For this, David Loy’s recently published book, A New Buddhist Path (Wisdom, 2015), and his earlier one, The Great Transformation: A Buddhist Social Theory (Wisdom 2003), may offer us some helpful insights and guidelines.

Let us continue our practice of sitting in silence so the cries of the Earth can be heard, and inspire us to live with an awakened heart, and then empower us to move from our cushions, into the arena of the world, so we may offer ourselves wholeheartedly, toward healing its wounds.

(Zen talk delivered at Maria Kannon Zen Center, Dallas, Texas, June 20, 2015)