Shundo David Haye – Zen Priest

‘If you understand something about Buddhist philosophy or the deep teaching of Buddhism, you may be very proud to have some profound unusual understanding of life or view of life, while others foolishly study something which is not so deep or profound. You may say: “You are wrong. My understanding is right. Look here, Buddha says so-and-so. This is the true understanding of life.” But, reflect on your mind when you say so. In your mind there is just pride, and no mercy, or no kindness in your mind. You are just proud of something, that’s all. Whatever you say, that is out of the question. You should reflect on your mind. So, in this case you are mixing up the study of Buddhism and worldly attainment.

If you study Buddhism people naturally respect you. And, if you say something unusual, people may say, “He is very great.” And, if you practice Zen quite well, people will respect you. But, in this case, in this situation, what kind of feeling you have is the point. If you are very proud of yourself, that is wrong. You are not studying Buddhism. And, if you are too proud of your understanding or your practice, eventually people will get tired of seeing you [laughs, laughter]. Then you will be very much discouraged. “But I am studying [laughs] Zen [laughs].” That’s very foolish.’ (from the Suzuki Roshi Archive)

This talk brought up a number of interesting reflections. The above passage feels all the more relevant in these days of online “zen” commentators…