{"id":782,"date":"2009-11-03T07:53:31","date_gmt":"2009-11-03T07:53:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/treeleafzen\/2009\/11\/personal-responsibility.html"},"modified":"2009-11-03T07:53:31","modified_gmt":"2009-11-03T07:53:31","slug":"personal-responsibility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/treeleafzen\/2009\/11\/personal-responsibility.html","title":{"rendered":"Self Responsibility"},"content":{"rendered":"

( Dogen’s Instructions for the Cook – XX)<\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

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This is a chance to talk about Buddhist practice and personal (or “self”) responsibility. The world and our self are not two, meaning that we can do a lot to repair this world starting by looking and changing within our self. <\/p>\n

Also, it is important to realize this life & world as perfectly “just what is<\/i>” … and we accept it all, are at one with it all, reject none of it … <\/p>\n

However, we must simultaneously seek to free our “self” of greed, anger and ignorance<\/span>, freeing our “self<\/i>” of its “self<\/i>“, dropping all that away. <\/div>\n

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All at once. If one merely says “all is perfect” and, thus, there is no need to practice … one is foolish.<\/div>\n

Dirty teeth<\/span>, clean teeth<\/span> … each perfectly what they are, as they are, dirty teeth<\/span> precisely dirty<\/span>, each a jewel in its own way. ………………… Yet, brush brush brush each day! <\/p>\n

Thisis true for our little life, and for this whole world … all the weeds<\/i>and flowers<\/i>, each natural in its way … yet constantly pull those weeds, nurturethe flowers<\/i> as one can. <\/div>\n

You may recall the famous poetry slamin the “Platform Sutra of the 6th Patriarch”. It is said that Shenxiulost the contest with these lines …<\/p>\n

The body is a Bodhi [Perfect Wisdom] tree,<\/span>
the mind a standing mirror bright.<\/span>
At all times polish it diligently,<\/span>
and let no dust alight. <\/span><\/div>\n

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and that Huineng won the day with this little diddy …<\/div>\n

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Bodhi is no tree,<\/span>
nor is the mind a standing mirror bright.<\/span>
Since all is originally empty,<\/span>
where does the dust alight?<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

But,really, it is not that Shenxiu was wrong (in fact, their Master,Hongren, praised each in its way) and both are truly right at once …both two sides of a complete view. <\/div>\n

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