Cultivate Only Don’t Know

Here’s an old Taoist story. An old farmer had worked his crops for many years. One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbours came to visit. “Such bad luck,” they said sympathetically. “Maybe,” the farmer replied.

The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses. “How wonderful”, the neighbours exclaimed. “Maybe,” replied the old man.

The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown, and broke his leg. The neighbours again came to offer their sympathy for his misfortune. “Maybe,” answered the farmer.

The day after, military officers came to the village to draft young men into the army. Seeing that the son’s leg was broken, they passed him by. The neighbours congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out. “Maybe,” said the farmer.

One of the Temple Rules of the Kwan Um School of Zen - On Keeping the Bodhi (enlightened) Mind - instructs us thus: “Let go of your small self and become your true self. In original nature there is no this and that. The Great Round Mirror has no likes or dislikes.” In the story the farmer keeps just such a mirror-like mind. He reflects only the truth of each situation, whereas his neighbours hasten to make a story of good and bad from each incident.

It’s easier to see in this story that to keep chasing after what seem to be good outcomes is delusion, whereas to keep an unmoving mind and cultivate equanimity allows one to be with things as they actually are. We can manage this in our own life by developing a meditation practice. Cultivate Don’t Know, which means not having to reflexively condition our experiences by making them into stories, and see where it leads.

Photo by Lucia Macedo. Unsplash.

UPCOMING: "Illuminating the Heart: Art Can Show the Way" with Lizzie Coombs JDPSN

Join us live or via recording for "Illuminating the Heart: Art Can Show the Way" as Lizzie Coombs JDPSN guides us through two classes about how artistic works can speak to our own spiritual life. 

Session One / October 4 / 12 PM Eastern
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Hokusai: “My Master is Creation”
Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849), best known for his print ‘The Great Wave’, was a prolific and highly accomplished artist with a life-long devotion to spiritual practice. We will see how the two connect and how his work speaks to our own spiritual life. We will also look at the materials and techniques he used and how they inform his work.

Session Two / October 18 / 12 PM Eastern
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Mirror and Moon: Yoshitoshi, Hiroshige et al
A look at how other 19th century Japanese artists articulated their response to all aspects of human life and to the natural world. A selection of prints and drawings expressing humour, compassion, wonder and all the drama of the world.

About the teacher: After receiving a B.A. in art history, Lizzie Coombs JDPSN trained as an art conservator specializing in the preservation and restoration of Japanese woodblock prints and other works of art on paper. She worked in art museums and then in private practice for 28 years. She absorbed much of what she knows about Japanese prints and paintings from the connoisseurship of her late husband, the art historian and scholar of Japanese prints, Roger Keyes. Lizzie started practicing Zen in 1987 and received inka from Zen Master Soeng Hyang in 2018. She is Guiding Teacher of York Zen Group and The Peak Zen Group in the U.K.

All classes are recorded so you can choose to join live or watch the recordings later, at your convenience. Recordings of each live session will be available within 48-hours for those who can't attend in person. The cost of the two-class series is $30 USD. Find out more and sign up below.

[ATTENTION Members of the 360 Zen Study Series: There is no need to purchase this class as it is already included in your subscription.]