Good morning!
We can see the full moon tonight. The full moon Dogen appreciated just before his passing away was the one in this month.
The great difference is expressed by “the moon and a small turtle (tsuki to suppon: 月とスッポン: far distant, bright and dark)” and “cloud and mud (un-dei no sa: 雲泥の差: far away, free and stuck).” If the turtle is blind or stuck in mud, it can’t see the full moon. The full moon is fully bright and illuminates the world only when it directly faces the sun of truth and the world of karma. Even while we are amidst the universal truth, we are muddied and blinded by the three poisons.
The New York Times this morning had an article that reported that the Japanese government, manufacturers, and electric companies want to sell nuclear reactors even though people are against them. We got the news of heavy rain in Thailand, which has inundated the Detroit of the Orient. When a few nations test nuclear bombs and industries, the whole world becomes contaminated. When we mass produce, consume and waste, we create global warming, mass extinction.
Our “power pyramid” system is built up with “small self” stones, especially at the top. It is causing serious problems and sufferings by delusion, desire, and division – discrimination, exploitation, and destruction. This is why the Buddha saw the destruction of the world by selfishness, and worked with the world to become awakened. This is why the Buddha illumined it with the stories of the blind turtle sticking its head into a floating log, and of the king Mirror revealing the way blind men fight for partial truth.
That’s why we must avoid the state of blindness and appreciate the true triple treasure – to be an awakened one like the full moon, the holy truth, and the wholly wholesome world.
10/11/11
