Wisdom for the Day

The student Doken was told to go on a long journey to another monastery. He was much upset, because he felt that this trip would interrupt his studies for many months. So he said to his friend, the advanced student Sogen:

"Please ask permission to come with me on the trip. There are so many things I do not know; but if you come along we can discuss them - in this way I can learn as we travel."

"All right," said Sogen. "But let me ask you a question: If you are hungry, what satisfaction to you if I eat rice? If your feet are lame, what comfort to you if I go on merrily? If your bladder is full, what relief to you if I piss?"

Wisdom for the Day

If I am holding a cup of water and I ask you, "is the cup empty?" you will say "No, it is full of water."

But if I pour out the water and I ask you again, you may say, "yes, it is empty." But, empty of what?

My cup is empty of water, but it is not empty of air. To be empty is to be empty of something. When Avalokita says that the five skandas are equally empty, to help him be precise we must ask, "Mr. Avalokita, empty of what?"

The five Skandas, which may be translated into English as the five heaps, or five aggregates, are the five elements that comprise the human being. In fact, these are really five rivers flowing together in us: the river of form, which means our body, the river of mental formations, the river of feelings, the river of perceptions, and the river of consciousness. They are always flowing within us. Avalokita looked deeply into the five skandas and discovered none of them can be by itself alone. Form is empty of a separate self, but it is full of everything else in the cosmos. The same is true with feelings, perceptions, mental formations, and consciousness.

Thich Nat Hanh

The Heart of Understanding

Wisdom for the Day

A samurai asked Zen Master Hakuin where he would go after he died.

Hakuin answered 'How am I supposed to know?'

'How do you not know? You're a Zen master!' exclaimed the samurai.

'Yes, but not a dead one,' Hakuin answered.