A drop of water has the tastes of the water of the seven seas: there is no need to experience all the ways of worldly life. The reflections of the moon on one thousand rivers are from the same moon: the mind must be full of light.
Hung Tzu-ch'eng (1593-1665)
How do you get a mind full of light? That is an intriguing question.
Like a dipper of cold water, a mind full of light would be soothing to
the parched soul. Enlightenment must equal that.
But wait a minute--hang on a sec; there is no mind. It has been said,
however; that when the mind is still it can reflect the Self. That is
why we sit in meditation, pray, do zazen, whirl, and so forth. We want
what we haven’t got--a mind full of light.
I am not such a good student of Zen koans. To me the sound of one hand
clapping is pretty clear. A dog has Buddha nature and you can’t put a
head on top of a head, but I am getting off-topic. I see that someone
has put up a sign saying, “Mind has just been mopped. Stay off of it.”
Okay, okay.
Right now I am in the school cafeteria of life and as usual I have put
more on my tray than I can eat. First I grabbed dessert....lemon icebox
pie. Then I saw clear red cubes of jello and grabbed that too. Next
came fried chicken and mashed potatoes and green beans...gotta have a
yeast roll and a cup of coffee. That’ll be....how much?!
I sat down with some other students and saw that they had done the same
thing. Bitten off more than they could chew. Karma, predestination,
free will, nonduality--all look pretty tasty until you start to consume
your attachments. Belly ache, get the Pepto. Call the witch
doctor....where’s a good shaman when you need her?
I had completely forgotten that I wanted a mind full of light....an
empty tray sitting serenely, reflecting light from the overhead
fluorescent bulb. I come to myself....hear dishes banging, silverware
clanking and water running. I just sit and take it all in. So that’s
how I get a mind full of light. Neat.
www.bobwoodyard.com
Vicki Woodyard's website is Nurturing the Now. There she is continually
posting new material, both written and verbal. She uses her life's
material as a springboard into nonduality. A frequent contributor to The
Nondual Highlights run by Jerry Katz, her work also appears in the
occasional ezine.