The Priceless Pearl

THE PRICELESS PEARL

Rev. Sunim Hyonjin

When we bow to a Buddha image, and we are not doing so to the image, nor the person of Shakyamuni, a man who lived 1,500 years ago. We are bowing to a universal power, the life force, which has no form or beginning or end, from which all forms are arising, at all times, manifesting as the entire universe and everything in it. We are this force, which Buddhists call the dharmakaya, emptiness, Cosmic Consciousness, or Buddha. In fact, we are all Buddha, we all have a living Buddha Nature within us. While not directly experiencing this Buddha Nature, we are as if asleep to our Truth. This Buddhahood reveals iteself in every moment, trying to teach us countless lessons. Since the Buddha is not limited to the form of Shakyamuni, it can continue to teach in all times, in every culture, every place. Thus, centuries after his paranirvana, or physical death, the Cosmic Buddha continues to teach us through scriptures and Dharma sutras.

          In the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha uses expedient means to teach us the truth of our being: we all have a priceless treasure within. It uses a parable to describe a poor ignorant man who possesses a great treasure. This poor man, drinking wine with a close friend, falls asleep.  However:... His friend who is about to leave on a business trip, wanting to give him a gift and seeing that he is asleep, sews a precious pearl inside his clothing, and then leaves. 
          The poor man, who is in a state of drunkenness, is not aware of anything. Upon awakening, he prepares to move on and then arrives at another country needing food and clothing. After a great deal of effort and work, he is happy with what little he can get. 
         Later he meets his close friend again, who says to him: "Hey friend! How come, for the sake of food and clothing, you have wasted so much time and energy?  A while ago, wishing you peace, happiness, and the enjoyment of the Five Desires, on such and such a day, month and year, I sewed into your clothes a pearl of priceless value. From then until now, it has been present, but you did not know. Therefore, you've worked so hard and suffered for a living.  Now you can take that gem and use it for what you need, and you will always have what you want, never lacking anything. "(Lotus, 8:8)

The point of the parable is that we are all this poor man, traveling around the world suffering, life after life, without understanding why. Your friend is the Buddha, the dharmakaya, or the Truth of the Universe, caring and revealing the truth.  Imagine the joy of this poor man upon discovering the treasure he possesses with this pearl, ending all his troubles. In the same way, we should be glad to find that we have a treasure forever within us, the treasure of our Buddhahood, hidden but always real, existing here and now, our Buddha Nature. When you wake up to this fact, accompanied with great joy, is what is called Enlightenment (Williams, 156).
         The Surangama Sutra also refers to this parable. It points out that people wanting material wealth, honor, entertainment and pleasure, do not realize that these worldly achievements are not real wealth or true honor.  The poorest people are those who do not recognize the truth and do not understand that their true nature is like a precious pearl, though disguised and hidden. They do not understand that their true nature is the Buddha, the same supreme, pure and bright mind. It has never been lost, but is inherently ours.  If we practice the teachings of the Buddha, his Dharma, entrusting them one hundred percent, we will realize that our true nature is inherently within us.  We discover our innate wealth, which is the most valuable of the Universe. Upon ending the confusions of the mind, the disordered thoughts, one obtains get wealth and supreme honor (Surangama, IV: 4:162).
          But how to do this?  It is done through practicing Zen meditation daily, sitting and watching thoughts form in the small mind. However, according Chinul, a Soen teacher (Korean Zen) of the12th century, Enlightenment is not something that takes years to accomplish.  It's just a matter of understanding that the normal mind is bright, lucid, and quiet. The mind attached to duality and discrimination is abnormal.  As soon as one sits and opens to the calm, lucid mind, then one directly experiences sudden Enlightenment.  The challenge is not our ability to experience enlightenment, but rather the gradual cultivation of this experience eliminating all our mental habits that hinder our full and free expression of Buddha Nature. Thoughts based on greed, anger and confusion are those belonging to the ego, a set of feelings, perceptions, and impulses experienced from birth, based on patterns inherited from past lives, i.e., our karma. These mental habits cause us suffering, discontent, and dissatisfaction in everyday life.  But the ego is not real, is not our true self.
         It’s as if we were a messenger from the royal court dreaming that we are in prison chained and padlocked forever, suffering great pain and anxiety. In our dream of prison, we plan a hundred forms of escape.  But suddenly, someone wakes us, letting us see that everything was just a dream.  We were always already free and at home, happy and content, with wealth and honor, equal to all of the royal court.
         In this metaphor, the royal messenger is our Buddha Nature. Prison is the prison of our ego trapping us in suffering. Padlocks and chains are our attachments to greed and desire.  Our anxiety and pain are consequences of our karma. The hundred ways of escape are our studies of Zen Dharma and our desire to cultivate our practice. Someone wakes us from sleep, which is a symbol of our friends helping us to awaken to reality, as our teachers and spiritual guides. The sudden awakening mind is opening to hear the Dharma. Seeing means you see your true self, your Buddha Nature. The fact that he realizes that he was always at home means that everything is always empty, quiet and calm of the Infinite. Being happy and content means the joy of Nirvana, the perfect essence of what we really are. Our wealth and honor means that we always had this essence of sublime qualities and meritorious functions. The fact that we are equal to all of the royal court means that we are equal to all Buddhas in all times with the same intrinsic and eternal Buddha Nature (Buswell, 1992). 

But it is not enough to discover and be aware of this priceless essence within us. We must also apply this knowledge to everyday life, using our energy and commitment to discipline ourselves in daily practice. The Roshi Meiten McGuire refers to the daily discipline when she wrote, "My first spiritual teacher used to say, 'The pearl of great price has a price.' The pearl of great price brings 'the peace that surpasseth understanding,' the quiet or exuberant joy that comes when we touch the place of spiritual truth - the reality that is the very source of our being.  It is indescribable, ineffable.  As one of my teachers said, 'It can't be taught, but it can be caught.' The great spiritual teachers can only point the way because it is right within our body-mind that the confusion and the solution lie. This is the second discipline, maintaining or sustaining our spiritual practice no matter how daunting it can seem." (McGuire, 16-17)

          This is really the heart of the parable, that not only do we have this priceless essence of Buddha Mind, but we must also apply it to our daily life through our continual practice as we confront the kleshas, or mental habits, that obscure its full realization.  After the initial discover of our true Self, the daily work sets in using mindfulness, awareness, and our capacity to let go of our old conditioning, that conditioning that we believed was true, and which we took to mean that we are flawed, poor, paupers in the world that must suffer to merely exist. But we continually rediscover this treasure daily as we sit and open ourselves to the real Truth of who we are, One with the Infinite, at peace in our hearts, and active in the world helping others to realize true joy. 
          Cultivating this realization, little by little, by our effort, courage, and gradual practice, we become Bodhisattvas, beings on the road to becoming the perfect expression of Buddhahood, while helping everyone to achieve their own perfection. It is the gift of the Universe to Itself, The Priceless Pearl.

Bibliography

Buswell, Robert E.Buswell, Robert E. (1992). Tracing Back the Radiance: Chinul´s Korean Way of Zen. (1992). “Excerpts from the Dharma Collection and Special Practice Record.”  University of Hawaii Press: Honolulu.

Lotus Sutra.  "Five hundred disciples receive Predictions."
http://www.acharia.org/downloads/sutra_loto_capitulo_ocho_espanol.pdf         

McGuire, Rev. Meiten. (2008). Reflections on the Path: Zen Training in Everyday Life. Vancouver Island Zen Sangha Publishing: Canada

McGuire, Rev. Meiten. (2008). Reflections on the Path: ZenTraining in Everyday Life. Vancouver Island Zen Sangha Publishing:
Canada.  

The Surangama Sutra: A New Translation. (2009). Buddhist Text Translation Society: Buddhist Text Translation Society:Ukiah, California.Ukiah, California.  

              
Williams, Paul.Williams, Paul. (2009) Mahayana Buddhism: The doctrinal foundations . (2009) Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations. Second Edition. Routledge Publishers: New York.

The Four Forms of Anger

THE FOUR FORMS OF ANGER

Rev. Hyonjin Sunim 

What is anger and how does it cause us to suffer? More importantly, how can we free ourselves from anger, transforming love and compassion? Anger is one of the three poisons, along with greed and delusion that causes us great suffering, or dissatisfaction in our lives. In the teachings of Zen, there are six kingdoms that appear as projections of our mind, one specifically made for our anger, resulting in the experience of life as a living hell. Not a punishment for evil deeds, but a mental filter that projects to the outside world, based on selfishness, aggression and frustration. It is the time when we are lost in a paranoia discriminating between a non-existent self and others as our enemies. We perceive the world as separate from us, creating prejudice against people as bad, ugly, or inferior. For this mental discrimination, we begin to think in a negative way, resulting in aggressive words or actions. It is the law of karma: what we think is what we create in the world, returning back to us the experiences we have created with our intentions manifesting as our thoughts, speech and actions. Although the world is neither good nor bad, perfect as it is, the way we experience it is our own projection, an aspect of our mental habits, that is, the ego. However, the ego is not real, in the sense of a permanent thing, isolated, or unchanging. It's just a set of ideas forming habits of thinking. You can change these habits to experience life directly, without filters of discontent or dissatisfaction. 
          What we do is what we get, the law of karma. When we are attached to thoughts of aggression, we project this aggression to the outside world. What we perceive is a hostile, aggressive, and threatening world. This perception is like a hell. We suffered physically and emotionally because of this mental tendency. The more you experience the world like this, then the more our thoughts become negative, while in turn contributing to a world of negativity. There is no end to this inner circle of aggression manifesting in external aggression. Whatever it is, you can not remove the external threat through internal aggression. It only creates more aggression in general. Anger causes more anger everywhere. The more we try to kill the imaginary enemy, the more it grows. Thus, we create our own hell. 
          We all experience difficult situations in our lives. The fact that a negative event comes out of nowhere, say an abusive childhood, is the result of negative intentions in another previous life, forming mental habits that carry from one life to another. When we are born, we have the opportunity to rectify the negative karma based on our thinking, giving us the opportunity to rectify the karma we created earlier by our aggressive intentions. If someone was abusive in a past life life, we are born receiving the same treatment in this life, enabling us to purify our karma and live in peace.  However, out of ignorance, we tend to perpetuate negative thoughts and ideas, creating new negative karma, creating a rebirth in a new life all over again, in order to face our mental habits, which continue to cause suffering to ourselves and others. When we react with anger, greed, or confusion, the karmic cycle begins again and again, making a new life, a new body and a new personality. We are not bad for creating this chain of suffering. It is only because of ignorance. We feel insecure, thinking that we need more protection, forcing us to continuously strive to survive. What is needed to overcome this paranoia and selfishness is a radical intervention in our minds, which is located in Zen. 
          There are four types of anger:  instinctive anger, reflexive anger, perceived anger, and compassionate anger.  Instinctive anger is a reaction attached to our habitual and automatic emotions, based on past karma, with karmic consequences in the present or the future. This form of anger is the most difficult, causing us much pain and suffering, and can take hours or days before we return to a calm mental balance. The reflexive anger arises when we are aware of our instinctive anger, which happens when we practice mindfulness. When we are aware and reflective about our anger, it doesn’t last as long, and one can return to a calm and peaceful mind that can now help others. It is when we believe in ourselves one hundred percent, "Yes, I am willing!” trying to follow our Zen practice, letting go of anger, and returning to our inner peace. The third type of anger is perceived anger. Although we perceive our anger inside, we do not show it externally, choosing instead to abstain from expressing it until calm returns to our inner mind. Finally, there is compassionate anger, anger that is expressed to help others, but we don’t feel angry inside, only love and compassion. It is the anger a mother expresses to her son, who is about to run into a street full of traffic, yelling "STOP!" This anger manifests as the most appropriate response in order to support, teach, or save others from suffering, the ideal of the bodhisattva, who promises to save all sentient beings in the universe until all reach enlightenment. 
          The following story of Diana shows these different forms of anger. She attended a meditation retreat for several days. However, although she returned home very calm, she got into an argument with her son, screaming at him with such fury that she was about to slap him in the face. She went to her bedroom and began crying and embarrassed by her violent reaction to something so insignificant. But now something profound changed in her and she stopped crying. She realized that something very important had just happened, and instead of crying, feeling guilty and worried, she realized that she should do something drastic to change the environment and the karma of his son.  She saw clearly that her child's school was not good for him. This school did not challenge him; his friends there were a bad influence, being very naughty and apathetic.  Although her son had never wanted to change schools, she knew for sure he needed this change. Regardless, she had to change his school, even though her son might hate her for it. She rose from his bed, went into the kitchen where he was, and told him he had to change schools, and that he could not speak to her again in such a disrespectful manner, causing her so much anger. At first, he said no. But for the first time, the mother did not hesitate and was very firm and resolute, telling her son that if he couldn’t try something more challenging and new, then he would never amount to anything. He surprised her that night when he informed her that he had changed his mind, and he was willing to change schools at least for a couple of days, if only to try it out. The mother was very happy to have made this decision for his son, who was not mature enough to decide for himself. Her determination for the sake of her son had changed everything, and the child understood that she was right, accepting her decision and changing his attitude in how he treated his mother. 
          Diana's story reflects the different forms of anger. Before practicing Zen, the mom got mad as a habitual reaction, without reflection or consciousness, this being instinctive anger. After practicing Zen in the retreat, her mind was calm and lucid, like a mirror reflecting everything. She was totally angry with her son, completely honest and direct.  She was one hundred percent clear in her anger, like a mirror reflecting exactly what appears in it. However, she was now aware of her anger, causing her great pain and sorrow, that of reflective anger.  If the Mom continues practicing Zen, her anger could become perceived anger, perceiving it, but choosing to abstain from externalizing it.  After further practice, this anger could disappear completely, resulting in compassionate anger, without attachment to the inner emotion, with the capacity to express an external display of anger for the good of her son.
          Zen gives us the tools to calm the mind and transform anger into compassion. This compassionate isn’t found in the ego, thought, reason, or mental intelligence. It is found before the duality of thought, before discriminating thoughts divide the world into good and evil, likes and dislikes. Before this division, our nature has neither beginning nor end, is neither born nor dies, is unchanging while it continually manifests itself in an infinity of changing forms and phenomena. This essence is the life force of all, what makes plants grow, the planets rotate, and our hearts continually beating. It is our both our divine nature and our everyday experience.  It is the Buddha Mind.  Zen practice is based on letting go of our attachments to dualistic thoughts. Ironically, we don’t practice Zen to achieve something, like happiness, peace or a vacation from anger. Instead, we practice Zen for the practice itself, a sense of non-duality. 
          At first, we imagine that we are practicing; creating duality between our self doing something and the goal we seek to achieve. But eventually the mind begins to see its own mental states, its habits and hidden aspects of the personality. We can see the thoughts as they flow, without identifying with them. Without attempting to remove anything, we just observe our thoughts with calm awareness, seeing them arising from emptiness and then returning to emptiness.  In fact, everything is empty. This emptiness is our Buddha Mind, an unlimited potential in everything, while all forms emerge from within this emptiness.  As it says in The Scripture of Great Wisdom: "Form is only emptiness, emptiness is all forms, there is, then, nothing more than this, for what is form is emptiness, and what is emptiness is form, the same is also true for all sensation, thought, activity, and consciousness.” These feelings, perceptions, mental impulses and consciousness make up what is known as ego, a set of mental habits connected to the form of this body. But in themselves, they are all empty. When we directly discover for ourselves the truth through Zen, then enlightenment reveals itself, with unlimited consequences, because enlightenment awakens our inner bodhisattva.  As we purify our own mind, we purify all minds. Practicing Zen, compassion arises naturally. Now practice is not just for ourselves, it is for everyone.  Thus, freeing ourselves from the anger, greed, and delusion, we free the whole universe from suffering.

Bibliography 
Trungpa, Chogyam. (2002) The Myth of Freedom. Shambhala Publications: Boston, USA. 
Sahn, Seung. (1999) Only Do not Know. Shambhala Publications: Boston, USA.