Snow, Moon, Flower “雪月花” (Setsugekka)

As we had almost one foot snowfall, I got up early and shoveled the snow from the driveway. I noticed my shovel slanting, moving toward the side already cleared. “Ah, this is it!” So I experimented, first pushing my shovel harder, without slanting, and then pushing in the opposite direction, changing the slant of the shovel.

On one of the Internet e-lists I belong to, a discussion had been going on about a passage from a popular song: “Even though knowing, I can’t stop.” Someone argued that this was like fatalism, others were not sure, and I posted that it was karma. Shoveling snow, I realized it was just avoiding “resistance,” and I was able to elaborate further.

This morning we woke up, shoveled snow, and came to practice zazen, despite the difficulties of driving, due to our cultivation. Tsuki (one of Dogen’s Shobogenzo volumes) stands for “the moon” (in Japanese pronunciation) and means “full function” (in Chinese characters). The moon represents the mind showing different phases: dark or bright.

The full moon expresses the Buddha mind, brilliant and round (perfect), illuminating and embracing all. A passage in Tsuki says, “The true Buddha body is like space.” When we sit completely, our minds become like space, penetrating purity without clouds either obstructing or disturbing. This space is beyond suffering and sorrow, even birth and death.

“The entire world in ten directions is a ball of clear crystal.” The big, bright full moon was shining in the sky, cloudless, clear and cool, above the snow world. “When flowers bloom, butterflies come.” Thanks to cultivation, we can verify here and now unconditioned peace (nirvana) and unsurpassed awakening (bodhi), and we can taste amrita (ambrosia, immortality).

This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply