The Realized Universe (Genjo kôan, Part 5)
Master Dôgen explains a analogy, that the things and phenomena in this
world “abide in the place” of the
dharma. So firewood becomes ash, if it’s burning, but that should not confuse
us. Firewood has its own position in the world, and ash as well. So everything is like it is and we should not mingle
the facts of the world with our thinking and ideas. Firewood and ash are
different situations and are independent of each other, here and now. We
combine them by our way of thinking, but this is not reality as it is. The ash
cannot become firewood again, both have their own place in the world and in the
dharma. And Master Dôgen says that this is true for our whole life.
Life cannot be changed into death and death cannot be changed into life.
Both situations are different and have their own reality. And if we concentrate
on the true moments of our lives, this message of Master Dôgen is very clear.
And this situation is only confusing, if we don’t live in the reality of our
lives and are afraid of death in the future:
“Live is an instantaneous situation and death is also
an instantaneous situation.”
Master Dôgen speaks about the supreme status of the truth and
enlightenment and uses the simile of the full round moon:
„A person getting realization is like the moon being
reflected in the water: the moon does not get wet and the water is not broken.
Though the light (of the moon) is wide and great, it is reflected in a foot or
an inch of water. The whole moon and the whole sky are reflected in a dew-drop
on a blade of grass in a single drop of water.”
This is the poetic picture of the moon which is reflected and abiding in
the water, and it shows that in reality there are no obstacles between the moon
and the water. There are no limitations and there is no stress. Nature is
always very calm and this can be experienced in every moment. But it is
important that we are not deluded by strange ideas and strange emotions. So we
should be very clear about the moment itself and its length or shortness should
be investigated.
“The longness and shortness of its moment
should be investigated in large
(bodies of) water and small (bodies of) water.”
Master Dôgen tells us about the reality and lives of birds. Fish swim in
the water and birds fly in the air and the sky. They are their places of
living/ the elements they inhabit. If they are in their natural element, there
is no end and there is no limitation. So they are free and living in good
conditions, where they can live and act. But if the fish leaves the water, he
must die. And if the bird falls from the sky to the earth, he will die as well:
“So we can understand that water is life and can
understand that sky is life. Birds are life and fish is life.” And further: "Simply,
when activity is great, usage is great and when necessity is small, usage is
small."
