THE TEN OXHERDING PAINTINGS Zen Talks by Thích Phước Tịnh Edited by Karen Hilsber Translated By Sister Ðẳng Nghiêm CHAPTER SIX (of six) The most beautiful bell I know is in a temple in Viet Nam. The architecture of the bell tower is also beautiful, and the sound of the bell can reverberate for miles. It is very powerful. Sometimes when our heart is full of sadness and worries, we only need to listen to one sound of the bell and we already feel much lighter. It soothes the restlessness and uneasiness in our hearts. Yet it is very difficult to be able to invite the bell in such a way that the sound can echo and penetrate each person’s consciousness who hears it. When the first civilizations of human beings discovered copper, the first thing they did was create a copper drum and copper instruments. But they used those instruments for inspiring war, and it was very violent. It took a long time for civilization to evolve to a point that people could create a bell with a sound that is very peaceful, calming, and profound, and that reflects the capacity for peace in the human consciousness. I would like to share a short story about how important it is to listen to the sound of the bell and how important it is to invite the bell well. One day a Zen master was drinking tea and he heard the sound of the bell being invited in the temple. He was listening to the bell while he was drinking tea. He said to his attendant, “Oh, that is great!” After the bell was invited, the Zen master sent for the novice monk who had invited the bell to come to see him. When the young monk arrived, the Zen master asked, “When you were inviting the bell, what were you thinking? What vow were you making? What were you praying for? What did you send out from your heart along with the sound of the bell?” The novice said, “I didn’t ask for anything. I did not make any vow. I only invited the bell.” The Zen master replied, “No, I listened to the sound of the bell that you invited, and I felt there was something very different about it. It’s unlike the sound of the same bell when it is invited by all of other monks here. Tell me. Tell me. Where did you learn to invite the bell like that?” This young monk replied, “Respected Most Venerable, I ordained in a very poor, small village. My teacher taught me, ‘Every time, before you invite the bell, prostrate. Touch the earth before the bell. See the bell as the Buddha.’ And that is all I do. I just do one thing. I focus all my heart with quietness, and then I invite the bell. I don’t send along any kind of wish, any kind of vow, or ask for anything.” The Most Venerable exclaimed, “Great! Great! Keep this up for your whole life. Do not ever forget this. Each time you invite the bell, keep your mind fresh just as it is today.” Later on when that young monk grew up he became a famous and great teacher in the Japanese Zen tradition. I share this with you to emphasize how important the sound of the bell is in our practice. My words for one or two hours do not equal the power of the clear sound of the bell. If you listen to the sound of the bell deeply it can penetrate your consciousness. It can elevate the quality of your life. It can purify your afflictions. Your sadness and your worries can evaporate in that moment. The people in old times understood this really well. They composed the following gatha, “Listening to the sound of the bell, all afflictions are washed away. I vow to become a Buddha to help other people.” These days, we translate it as, “I listen to the sound of the bell, and all my afflictions become light.” The sadness, anger, and restlessness of the mind evaporate. There is no trace of it left. Our wisdom increases with our capacity to listen to the sound of the bell, and our mind becomes strong. We do not need to do anything else, and we can exit the hot fire and the hell realms right away. We might think that only people in hell can be liberated, but that is not necessarily true. When your heart is imprisoned in your preconceived notions, in your judgments, in your hatred, and in your anger, you are in hell. We only need to listen to the sound of the bell and all these walls that imprison us can break apart. The different mindfulness practices we have here at Deer Park are different dharma doors that are available to us. There is one dharma door that teaches us to listen and to come back to our true nature. But before we can go into the depth of our true nature, we need to learn how to listen to the sound of the bell with a calm mind. Don’t listen with a disturbed, uneasy, afflicted mind. Don’t listen with a mind that is chattering. Listen with a quiet calm mind. Then the bell has the capacity to help to relieve us of our preconceptions, and the afflictions in our mind can break apart. When we can do this, we can help our consciousness to open, to be quiet and empty, and to be full of peace and spaciousness. Then we can have a deep love to share with others naturally. That is why the last line of the gatha for inviting the bell is, “I vow to become a Buddha in order to help other beings cross to the shore of liberation.” (To be continued) Posted by Giới Trẻ Mây Từ - Compassionate Clouds Association Tel: (714) 277-6417 Email: [email protected] Website: gioitremaytu.org Facebook: Giới Trẻ Mây Từ Mailing Address: 9353 Bolsa Ave. #I13, Westminster, CA 92683
Posted on: Sat, 05 Oct 2013 21:58:11 +0000