This is a kind of text/ transcript of a a program heard on KPFK Nov 4, 2016, 3 am:
[some words are misspelled or edited, but below is sort of written as heard ].
A Lecture by Alan Watts of long ago days when he lived, spoke, taught and shared with us, replayed now.
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[google images are wonderful]
re: Zen Buddhism, part 2
The Dialogue between master & student in
relation to far eastern cultures, how to gain liberation from the culture –as we all need
to be liberated from our culture partly....
Because education contains acculturation
from which we need a cure…like salting meat to preserve it but when cooking
need to take salt out – so parents & teachers spoil you to make you able to
get along with others.
But in sophisticated circles it is beneficial to good mental
health to find a cure for our own culture [cultural biases] because what we do
when we are brought up as a child, we learn only 1 thing
And when child has spontaneity killed off to be nice vs.
horrid. they are nice but in a phony way vs. being spontaneous and for example.
dancing for fun, vs going to dancing school and it becomes stiff, stilted and
horrid dancing.
Same with attitude to life – person is forced to believe
& follow the rules. but self consciousness means we may question what we
have learned & forced to do. we can think about thinking ! – the
possibility of reason, to be aware of what one does, vs. having just control of
behavior which is considered the glory of being human.
But how do you know WHEN
to stop thinking ? how much evidence to collect before taking a step ? how long
to think about it ? when do we act and do something before planning, thinking,
working out business contract…but when do you slip on something that was
unpredictable ?
The more we try to develop fool proof methods we are
encumbered by impossible details – the fallacy of too much law/ rules///we cant
do anything w/o filling out 300 forms, not make the ‘wrong’ move so then game
is not worth playing, it is not living at all, but all being Too Self
Conscious. We learn in education, we
learn WORDS _ SYMBOLS about reality to go about living as learned – to have
‘knowledge’ ..must be in terms of words or numbers – all symbolic about life.
But once you know that you know, that you are live and going
to die, then you have lost control…as if…something has gone wrong. in Hebrew it is not moral good & evil but
stated as ‘advantageous and disadvantageous’ -= being able to control the
course of events [partly any how ]= try to be god… like sorcerer’s apprentice
got fooled.
Whole problem of self-consciousness is that you are always
in doubt and anxiety…and nostalgia develops – nice to not have to make any
decisions but act only on whim …and if you get into trouble,OK, because you
didn’t have to ‘worry’ about it…. as if not making any mistakes were
preferable.
Like a moth, who moves into candle, burns…humans can get
killed off just as easily.
but we cant give up thinking about ourselves, because we are
terrified.
But zen is practice to live SPONTANEOUSLY. Western
intellectuals overburdened by thoughts. So they like zen and zen stories. Someone
said, “I didn’t understand a word of it but it cheered me up enormously !” From 700 AD to 1000 AD were Golden Age of
Zen. All literature is anecdotal of zen masters encountering difficulties.
That was how zen was studied, thru stories told. Now it
is studied in closed communities, but in those days it was monk wandering and wandering far away, and just not
sitting on their fannies, but walking thru rugged country - visiting many masters
to find one - who could / would answer the question- student would be a seeker with a
burning desire to find out What it is all about," what reality is", vs. being still a
mixed up human being, instead of being simple, genuine, like tiger, cat, or a
Buddha.
So monks wandered in search to find a master who could answer Q
w/ koan. Masters used to be a man dressed a certain way and with a beard and student would say “ master,
please pacify my mind”.... tho Boddhidharma had spent many yrs at monastery before even getting to
ask the master any Q –he said: “I have no peace of mind, master, help me “ and master
pointed to his heart –and said : " you may have heart mind problem" [the heart is
where feelings, and emotions are.]
‘When I look for my mind I can’t find it’ so Boddhidharma
said ‘then you have it ‘.
quoan are like jokes, to make you laugh. laughter is not
intellectual but emotional reaction. if a joke is explained you are not
laughing spontaneously.
Satori happens suddenly, not slowly nor gradual. laughter is
fast, spontaneous, an immediate reaction that does Not contain any information,
not to tell you something, or impart info or knowledge but to get Rid of
something – that you are special – so you can understand the story – the
disappearance of the problem. ...student was "Looking for his mind", but he could not find it !
Story: master walking in forest, picked up a tree branch, and asked
monk ‘what is it ?” and when he couldn’t
answer, master hit him with branch.
Master said: he kept a …[thing]. in a bottle, and asked how to get it out w/o breaking the bottle
to get it out ? the monk couldn’t answer. As he got out to leave, the master said
“there it is out” [monk was out vs. what was in bottle ].
Master: said "wait till there is no one around and I will
tell you” so student asked, "what is secret of Buddhism ?" -- The master went to the garden
and pointed to bamboo… and said “what a short one grows here…”
Master: .... would hold up finger to answer ‘what is
Buddhism?” – the attendant at temple replied when visitor came, and asked "what is your
teaching here ?” ....so he too held up a finger. When Master saw that, he came later and
asked "what is fundamental principle of Buddhism?” and in response to no good answer, he cut off attendant’s
finger !!! = [that was the answer - spontaneous action, direct knowledge of the world, a lesson used at monastery]
Chinese god Lin Chin [?] who was god of fire – a monk traveling had
been w/ another master, and was asked ":who did you study w/ before coming to me
?” and monk answered him -- and master said “good answer, but bet you didn’t understand
what that meant” …so monk asked "what is fundamental principle of Buddhism?” and
his master said “ who is god of fire?” [it was him] but student did not know....yet ....
These dynamics offer solution to dilemma. or creates a state
of blockage to break up.
when you don’t know how to react in a spontaneous way – Then when
you say “good morning” in reply to one said to you, that is being Automatic. Just as when asked “do you accept J C as your
savior?” -- you don’t know what they mean or how to answer … or “why do you have
long toenails?” when toes are inside shoes -- to have no good answer is being nonplussed.
Object of Zen is to never be nonplussed…but to have a spontaneous
free answer.
w/o personal attachments or worldly attachments - to be Natural. To be
sticky is a worldly attachment, like a squeak on a wheel =it is because we are self-conscious
and have lost our original spontaneity.
Then we are NOT FLOWING with the nature of the Tao. Can you get out of dilemma w/o any hesitation ? Not just quickly
because that might be a plotting or automatic reply, so that way doesn't work.
Zen & Japanese culture –a master who invented pickled radishes,
yellow Daikons [named after him] …explains necessity of spontaneity – because when you
have to stop to think how to act, you will be dead. So be like clapping hands w/o hesitation.. but just
trying to 'be quick' about it is a block in itself.
When trained in use of sword, bamboo sword was first used to not kill
in training, teacher has you work at various janitorial chores and will
surprise student by hitting him with bamboo sword === while he tried to defend himself with whatever was
available immediately, but not able to do so spontaneously. Tho this is nerve-wracking = worrying about
being hit again, or trying to calculate where it coming from next, he would be
hit again…
Only when you STOP PLANNING and just do it, w/o being self conscious
worry / fear of being hit, then you are doing a ‘real defense’
You can’t defend yourself in 1 pt at a time when your enemy has
infinite points of attack.
Woodcutter in forest saw strange animal. For his dinner, he wanted
to kill animal for dinner with his axe, but the animal could read thoughts... so man could not kill
him – animal kept going to other spots than where man was pre-planning to kill him – and the animal laughed at him – for trying to pre-plan where the animal would be –
A child cannot do anything right, everything he does is
wrong, and nothing will do, so he GIVES UP, and only then can he be
SPONTANEOUS
But we don’t trust ourselves or others to be saying what
they FEEL or be true.
the Soto training school says to GIVE UP, = to be spontaneous in
crucial moments
[not alllll the time ] – to have an interchange where fundamental
honesty emerges.
A very buggy situation because the more you wonder [if you
will be hurt, killed, die, and also the LESS you trust your own life ]
What is the 1 thing you most want to know – to ask god –
but then you wonder and think and don’t know what to ask ? Then you ask 1 thing, but then
it is not worth wasting Q on that. [And when you find that Q was irrelevant or you already
have an answer anyhow. ] so then... 'what is the ONE
thing you want to know?'
Ramasaki Roshi was asked for 1 Q and he said he had none,
he just wanted to laugh with monk, and that was good, they laughed together.
Emphasize the SPONTANEITY of what ever you don’t know –
Great zen masters have said, Sensai said there is no place
for discipline in zen, just eat when hungry, sleep when tired, release your
bowels…and then someone comes to study zen and spend hours sitting in
meditation, doing difficult chores and spare diet and follow all the petty
rules … is it this or is it that ? zen does have discipline, and also emphasize
spontaneity == it is both ! not one or
other.
i.e. if you have a son, as most cultures expect sons to follow
father’s life/work: so sons became monks too… so, many went to theological
schools, and have to be ‘taught to think’ like the various methods of meditation…all designed to
teach people 'how-to think ' - but then we lose
the innate spontaneity of having ‘no real motivation’ to do other
disciple/work.
Koan system is to develop a great dharma ? American goes to Japan
w/motivation ..you cant get answer to ‘1 hand’ thing, so you have an urgent
spirit of inquiry and can’t get it tho master insists you continue… but if go
into zen monastery but don’t have that urgent question needing any answer, then
you just learn to ‘cultivate a great DOUBT” …
which [means trusting life and your self ]
Christians say’ you have to love god !” and you say “dear god, I love you” repeatedly
or be punished and fear of hell if you don’t love god….like demand that "YOU must ‘love your mother’ "
on pain of death… instead best to WORK ON THAT "GREAT DOUBT." about which
you can't tell anybody ….
I. e. in music school they try to find methods to teach
Creative Musicianship…how to make students love music – it is a job – keep them out of
other labor markets, = but how to teach that creative ability and make it alive
! how to make genius, artistic works. but
if it worked there would be geniuses that we don’t have – because it cant be
done.
in Western terms, if god could explain how he created
universe he wouldn’t be god.
in genesis, god creates and then looks to see if they are ‘good’ ? looks at great whales and see if he should
create more ? ask where the flowers come from but even the god of spring
doesn’t know. Bodhidharma says I DON’T KNOW ….
All cycle knowledge, sitting knowledge – life is a MYSTERY
unto itself.
it is like s a sword that cuts but not itself, eye that sees
but doesn’t see it self.
basic reality know and doesn’t know itself…if it did know
itself thoroughly, it would stop.
if you know the outcome of game it is no fun to play. even
master chess players, stop playing when know outcome ! if you knew future perfectly, there would be
no fun to continue living, knowing what is going to happen ! know some and not-knowing some.
[or be too vulnerable if not knowing any thing ]
Music cannot be taught, it is learned thru osmosis, tho technique
can be taught and practiced, but not the Music or Art itself. What one can learn technique if they love the art/ music, then if
interested in self-knowledge and love the results, it is not the technique, tho
that is all that can be taught !
We get scared when we think we cant learn the art, only the
technique !?
guilt in from childhood toilet training – we have
constipation phobia because we are taught we will be sick from retaining feces
so have terror that ‘you might not be able to produce’ so we build up tensions
that increase constipation – so given caster oil, etc. to avoid that
‘problem’
Same with Zen - "I will
study zen but will I get the point ?"
Or " am I good-enough or Christian-enough to be ‘saved’ " ? or "can I get to satori and be
good enough" – while teachers say "YOU not getting it is getting it !!!"- " so accept that you don’t have it and can’t ‘get
it’ "… and when you try to outsmart them by
saying "I will not try to get it" and then"I ‘get it’" but that doesn’t work
either ! it is that subtle wanting to ‘get it ‘ still.
A positive or negative method – but what can you do ? you
cant ‘get-it’. so what to do ?
like having ‘faith’ …[you can’t force yourself to have it or
let it go.] that is the quandary- so
many opposite things are said about zen – a strong discipline and also not a
discipline at all … both …. all contains
paradox !!! [having and ‘letting go’
simultaneously and genuinely ] saying
‘it doesn’t matter’ is not always true or best.
Fundamentally zen makes you do consistently what you do
naturally all the time !!! trying to get your thumb when it is always yours
anyhow. here is “me” and here is “knowing about me” AS IF they were separate
and different, but are all one. we do that and result in confusion and
astounding illusions – illusion of separateness !!!
The thumb is not separate of the hand, the illusion by words
claims ‘difference’ and separate. so you are not in same world as me and it scary
when we are Separated.
as if we are dis-connected… out there vs. both/all here…
when it is obvious that it is not separate – tho other people may also
think-so.
You are this reality. here. and you are in a very
interesting game pretending you are ‘not’….so... go thru all sorts of mazes and
games playing this game… mostly running in terror form your own shadow, jumping
at your own heart beat and running form the sound of your inner
workings/voices.
So you look ‘outside’ into space, externals…for answers. …
trying to ‘figure out’ what is us and what is there …. like taking off your skin
to see what is inside !!! but what you
find is yourself in an unfamiliar aspect or environment - and it is the recognition that you are
connected and part of this whole
And then begin all over again, a new surprise of something
perhaps ‘different’
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transcribed by mj for sharing words available on the radio
on "somethings happening' pgrm
