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. Shoshanna_06_055-074 01/07/02 12:11 Page 59QUIETING THE MONKEY MIND 59The Three PoisonsWhere does the Monkey Mind come from? According to Zen,the Monkey Mind is driven and fueled by three poisons greed,anger, and folly.Unbeknownst to us, most of our lives are drivenby these poisons, which we think of as useful qualities.We viewgreed as strong motivation, and welcome it readily; anger isoften seen as self-assertion, a signal of strength.Folly, or igno-rance, are the endless delusions that besiege us daily, which areusually taken for truth, and so are acted upon readily.Like a spi-der, these poisons weave a web that ultimately strangles ourlives.GreedWhen in the grip of greed, we search for more and more to sat-isfy us the more the better, is our mantra.Somehow, what we haveis never enough.We live our lives in order to accumulate, storeup treasures, hoard them.In this frame of mind, whatever wereceive only satisfies momentarily, before we move on to the next.We are like guests at a banquet who eat and eat, but can neithertaste the food, nor ever feel full inside.We are like a man who, in the midst of water, cries in thirst soimploringly; we are like the son of a rich man who wanders awayamong the poor. Hakuin ZenjiAs we practice zazen we become able to taste, absorb, anddigest both our food and our lives.As we taste and enjoy each bitefully, we need less and less.One bite becomes delicious.Itbecomes more than enough.It was the second morning of week end sesshin (retreat).All daythe first day I sat through restlessness, pain, and boredom andwondered what I was doing here.What kept me sitting through Shoshanna_06_055-074 01/07/02 12:11 Page 6060 ZEN MIRACLESthis? When the second morning arrived, I couldn t imagine howI could go on.We received breakfast seated on our cushions.When themeal server came, I held out my bowl.He placed some oatmealin it.After everyone was served, we all ate together.I put a lit-tle oatmeal in my mouth and shivered.I was stunned, it was socompletely delicious.I started to cry.In that moment I realizedthat no matter how many bowls I had eaten, I had never tastedoatmeal before. Zen studentRather than savor each taste of our lives, we are taught to gulp,to accumulate as much as we can, no matter what the cost, or atwhose expense, to cling to our possessions and ultimately feel theyare who we are.As we do this, we lose touch with our true needsand basic nature.The further out of touch, the hungrier and moredesperate we become, continually seeking more.This is calledbeing a hungry ghost.Hungry ghosts feel that in order to maketheir homes or lives worthwhile and beautiful, they must fill themup, until there is not an empty spot left.Give Things AwayIn Zen practice, we do the opposite.We deeply value empty space.When we want to discover the beauty of our home, we start emp-tying it out.We take things out and give them away.We clean thehouse thoroughly.Whatever is inessential is removed.Finally, wehave a great deal of empty space.Now we can easily see thehome s original beauty.There is nothing extra we need.From thevery beginning its value was present.We now also have room tomove and breathe.By taking out all unnecessary stuff, we simplyuncover our home s original nature.This beauty is intrinsic andcannot be taken away.We can apply this same process to our hearts and minds.Wemust clean out, on an ongoing basis, all that which is inessential Shoshanna_06_055-074 01/07/02 12:11 Page 61QUIETING THE MONKEY MIND 61the clutter and accumulations that block our natural beauty andspaciousness.Through zazen this can be accomplished.When we do not do this, however, when we simply live a lifeof craving and accumulation, there are many consequences.Afterthe initial happiness of getting what we want, fear arises of losingwhat we have.We worry that others may become jealous and hateus, or perhaps even steal our treasures away.As we do not knowwhere our real treasure lies, our happiness becomes tinged withanxiety.If our possessions are taken or stolen, if we lose ourmoney, our spouses, our jobs, we feel as though we have lost ourvalue.Many people then live in shame and despair, perhaps evenbecoming suicidal, feeling they have ultimately failed, and thatthey are worth nothing.Others, like Lou, who do not yet know their true nature andvalue, reject certain people they meet, because these people pre-sent aspects of themselves they are terrified of facing.When theyare confronted with those in the grip of poverty, illness, or fail-ure, they turn aside.Acts of true kindness become impossible.Isit any wonder that, despite his wealth and investments, Lou can-not sleep at night and is besieged with fear?The Zen Master and the RobberAn elderly Zen Master was living in a small hut on a mountain,simple and bare except for the few possessions he needed.Onenight a robber broke into his hut and took everything in it, includ-ing the clothes the Zen Master wore on his back.After the thief left, the Zen Master looked out the window.The moon was shining in.The Zen Master looked at the moon,and sighed. Too bad I can t give him this moon too, he said to himself [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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. Shoshanna_06_055-074 01/07/02 12:11 Page 59QUIETING THE MONKEY MIND 59The Three PoisonsWhere does the Monkey Mind come from? According to Zen,the Monkey Mind is driven and fueled by three poisons greed,anger, and folly.Unbeknownst to us, most of our lives are drivenby these poisons, which we think of as useful qualities.We viewgreed as strong motivation, and welcome it readily; anger isoften seen as self-assertion, a signal of strength.Folly, or igno-rance, are the endless delusions that besiege us daily, which areusually taken for truth, and so are acted upon readily.Like a spi-der, these poisons weave a web that ultimately strangles ourlives.GreedWhen in the grip of greed, we search for more and more to sat-isfy us the more the better, is our mantra.Somehow, what we haveis never enough.We live our lives in order to accumulate, storeup treasures, hoard them.In this frame of mind, whatever wereceive only satisfies momentarily, before we move on to the next.We are like guests at a banquet who eat and eat, but can neithertaste the food, nor ever feel full inside.We are like a man who, in the midst of water, cries in thirst soimploringly; we are like the son of a rich man who wanders awayamong the poor. Hakuin ZenjiAs we practice zazen we become able to taste, absorb, anddigest both our food and our lives.As we taste and enjoy each bitefully, we need less and less.One bite becomes delicious.Itbecomes more than enough.It was the second morning of week end sesshin (retreat).All daythe first day I sat through restlessness, pain, and boredom andwondered what I was doing here.What kept me sitting through Shoshanna_06_055-074 01/07/02 12:11 Page 6060 ZEN MIRACLESthis? When the second morning arrived, I couldn t imagine howI could go on.We received breakfast seated on our cushions.When themeal server came, I held out my bowl.He placed some oatmealin it.After everyone was served, we all ate together.I put a lit-tle oatmeal in my mouth and shivered.I was stunned, it was socompletely delicious.I started to cry.In that moment I realizedthat no matter how many bowls I had eaten, I had never tastedoatmeal before. Zen studentRather than savor each taste of our lives, we are taught to gulp,to accumulate as much as we can, no matter what the cost, or atwhose expense, to cling to our possessions and ultimately feel theyare who we are.As we do this, we lose touch with our true needsand basic nature.The further out of touch, the hungrier and moredesperate we become, continually seeking more.This is calledbeing a hungry ghost.Hungry ghosts feel that in order to maketheir homes or lives worthwhile and beautiful, they must fill themup, until there is not an empty spot left.Give Things AwayIn Zen practice, we do the opposite.We deeply value empty space.When we want to discover the beauty of our home, we start emp-tying it out.We take things out and give them away.We clean thehouse thoroughly.Whatever is inessential is removed.Finally, wehave a great deal of empty space.Now we can easily see thehome s original beauty.There is nothing extra we need.From thevery beginning its value was present.We now also have room tomove and breathe.By taking out all unnecessary stuff, we simplyuncover our home s original nature.This beauty is intrinsic andcannot be taken away.We can apply this same process to our hearts and minds.Wemust clean out, on an ongoing basis, all that which is inessential Shoshanna_06_055-074 01/07/02 12:11 Page 61QUIETING THE MONKEY MIND 61the clutter and accumulations that block our natural beauty andspaciousness.Through zazen this can be accomplished.When we do not do this, however, when we simply live a lifeof craving and accumulation, there are many consequences.Afterthe initial happiness of getting what we want, fear arises of losingwhat we have.We worry that others may become jealous and hateus, or perhaps even steal our treasures away.As we do not knowwhere our real treasure lies, our happiness becomes tinged withanxiety.If our possessions are taken or stolen, if we lose ourmoney, our spouses, our jobs, we feel as though we have lost ourvalue.Many people then live in shame and despair, perhaps evenbecoming suicidal, feeling they have ultimately failed, and thatthey are worth nothing.Others, like Lou, who do not yet know their true nature andvalue, reject certain people they meet, because these people pre-sent aspects of themselves they are terrified of facing.When theyare confronted with those in the grip of poverty, illness, or fail-ure, they turn aside.Acts of true kindness become impossible.Isit any wonder that, despite his wealth and investments, Lou can-not sleep at night and is besieged with fear?The Zen Master and the RobberAn elderly Zen Master was living in a small hut on a mountain,simple and bare except for the few possessions he needed.Onenight a robber broke into his hut and took everything in it, includ-ing the clothes the Zen Master wore on his back.After the thief left, the Zen Master looked out the window.The moon was shining in.The Zen Master looked at the moon,and sighed. Too bad I can t give him this moon too, he said to himself [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]