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.. From: "Mu Sang Sunim" Date: Sun, 09 Sep 2001 11:54:35 -0000 Subject: "Zen Master Goes to Europe" Part 5
From "Zen Master Goes to Europe" (unpublished) by Zen Master Seung Sahn and Mu Sang Sunim copyright 1990 David B. Gerber
APRIL 17: ZURICH TO WARSAW
Bowing, 6:00, half hour sitting. Kong-an reading from Dropping Ashes on the Buddha.10 Dae Soen Sa Nim remarks, "Sometimes if I speak correctly, then this will cause someone a lot of suffering. So I must wait for the person to become strong, then no problem." Dae Soen Sa Nim gives the following talk:
THE MILLION DOLLAR WORD
"Once a scholar and his friend were talking about what was most valuable. The scholar said, 'I have one word which is extremely valuable. I will sell it to you for $1,000,000.'
"The friend was very excited. 'O.K., I will buy it.' He paid the $1,000,000, received an envelope with the word in it, and opened it up. Inside it only said, 'Pay attention!' The man was very disappointed and angry. 'This is not worth $1,000,000!' His wife, however, was happy, since she knew her husband often got very angry and forgot himself. The scholar told his friend that he must hang the word over his door, so he did so and thought no more about it.
"One day late at night the man came home from a business trip. He came home a day early and was not expected. When he arrived at the door, he saw a pair of man's shoes outside the door and immediately became furious. He ran to get a knife to kill his wife, but on the way to the kitchen he saw the sign, 'Pay attention!' and stopped. 'First I'll check.' Very angry, he went to the bedroom and found his wife sleeping in the same bed with--her sister! Her sister was a nun, and at that time nuns wore man-style clothes. So the man was very happy that he had checked first. 'Ah, that word was worth $1,000,000!'"
Breakfast in the hotel, Jill again joins us. We order eggs along with our continental breakfast. Dae Soen Sa Nim remarks about alcohol, "A little drinking is O.K., if you drink to improve your digestion or your body. It's not allowed for monks, though."
Dorothy says, "I like drinking because then I smile."
Dae Soen Sa Nim says, "This smile is not your smile, only alcohol smile."
We talk about Jill's brother who takes medication for mind sickness. Dae Soen Sa Nim says, "Medicine to make you only sleep is no good. We have Oriental medicine for mind sickness, it makes the mind clear--two kinds of medicine.
Afterwards, Dae Soen Sa Nim and Edward go looking for a watch. The rest of us pack, write cards and letters, or rest. We assemble at 11:00, walk to the railroad station, catch the airport bus. Our flight to Warsaw leaves at 12:45 p.m. (Swissair). We have a very nice vegetarian meal on board. The flight takes one hour and forty minutes.
We arrive in Poland about 4 p.m. local time and after an hour or so clear passport control and customs. We find Dae Soen Sa Nim's Polish- American student, Jacob, and a whole group of Zen students waiting for us. Very warm feeling. We sort ourselves out into taxis and drive to a large apartment.
A large room is converted into a zendo and a meal of bread, cheese, potatoes, plus cheesecake and other sweets is served. At 8:00 we have chanting: the Heart Sutra in English, then in Polish, then the Great Dharani and Kwanseum Bosal Chanting. Dae Soen Sa Nim talks about perceiving your sound. Here the students are Kapleau Roshi's students and have a strong practice. There's also a good together-action feeling. We sit ten minutes. Jacob gives a Dharma talk in Polish, Dae Soen Sa Nim answers questions. He remarks, "Before, we were in Switzerland, very high class. But your style is family style, so we like this, it's like our style."
There are no questions, so Dae Soen Sa Nim asks questions. Someone answers by pounding the floor and shouting. Dae Soen Sa Nim says, "You only understand one, you don't understand two." Dae Soen Sa Nim picks up a cup and says, "If you say this is a cup, you are attached to name and form. If you say it is not a cup, you are attached to emptiness. Is this a cup or not?" The student jumps across the room, dives for the cup, picks it up and smashes it in front of Dae Soen Sa Nim. Very strong! Dae Soen Sa Nim, unperturbed, talks about four kinds of answers: without like this (only silence); become-one like this (hitting the floor); only like this ("the sky is blue" or "the cup is white"); just like this (picking up the cup and drinking). He stresses cognition. "Your meditation is strong, but correct cognition is necessary."
Here they have already translated Three Pillars of Zen into Polish and other works as well. We sleep in sleeping bags on the floor, maybe 15 students are there besides our group.
APRIL 18: WARSAW TO KRAKOW
We practice together with the group of students, bowing at 6:00, half hour sitting, chanting as the night before, except no Kwanseum Bosal chanting. We read the story of Won Hyo again for the kong-an reading. Dae Soen Sa Nim says, "Sometimes it's necessary to do bad action together with others in order to save them. Don't hold your opinion." (Won Hyo was a Korean Zen Master in the Shilla Dynasty, famous for living together with robbers, sharing their lives, and gradually reforming them.) He explains more about how cognition is necessary, and remarks that students should feel free to go to different centers. "Here sometimes there is an attachment to emptiness, they do not separate like this and just like this. It would be good to meet all kinds of Zen Masters, take good things from each."
Dorothy says to Dae Soen Sa Nim after the talk, "But I want to understand your teaching."
Dae Soen Sa Nim replies, "I don't teach understanding, I always only teach don't-know."
Sitting in a square around the table, we have a beautiful breakfast. Then we clean up (it's wonderful to wash dishes again!). Then we sit and have tea and talk informally about many things. Later, lunch. At 1 p.m. we leave for the airport. At 2 p.m. we depart on Lot Airlines to Krakow. Two women from the Warsaw sangha, Krystyna and Hanya, go with us. We arrive in Krakow after a 35 minute flight on an Ilushin-18 prop jet. Anthony is there with a group of people.
We take taxis to a house a little ways out in the country. The first floor is occupied by a family of the sangha. J. is a sculptress, A. makes tiles. It's very beautiful. A Dharma room has been set up for us. We sit down, food is brought--bread, cheese, cucumbers, a dish made with grated carrots--and we eat. Dae Soen Sa Nim starts talking about our practice, people ask questions. Anthony, who studied with Dae Soen Sa Nim in New York and whose invitation led to our trip to Europe, asks what is the difference between Dharma Teachers and Master Dharma Teachers. Also, about 100-day retreats. Our Dharma room has a gold Buddha, a beautiful pearl grey hanging of a Bodhisattva riding a tiger, and a lamp shade with ox-herding pictures on it. Dae Soen Sa Nim tells the ox-herding story. There are pictures of Dae Soen Sa Nim on the wall. There's an alcove behind the room separated by a bamboo curtain where Dae Soen Sa Nim sleeps. We have a long, informal talk, partly about 10 kinds of like this. People are very friendly. Finally Dae Soen Sa Nim is persuaded to take a break. He's been looking very tired, and mentions at one point, "Together-action eating is difficult, maybe I will have to take insulin." We rest for a bit, while Jacob, Anthony, Linda and others discuss plans for the rest of the visit. Dae Soen Sa Nim has asked people what they want, and people want a Yong Maeng Jong Jin, so we will have one on Thursday. That evening, a Precepts Ceremony. So translations have to be made, there's a lot of work to be done.
At 6:30 we are driven (all except Edward, who stays to rest) to a home where there is a Vajrayana group. Small room. Friendly welcome. Many books. We chant our chants (Kwanseum Bosal and the Heart Sutra in Korea, only), sit five minutes, then Jacob gives a Dharma talk, Dae Soen Sa Nim answers questions. Basic-form teaching, very simple. Afterwards Dae Soen Sa Nim says, "Last night they were Zen students. Already high-class practicing, so high class teaching was necessary. Before in Switzerland, very intellectual, so a lot of thinking teaching was necessary (e.g., "Is zero a number?"). They have too much thinking, so give them more thinking, then all thinking stops. It's like in Chinese medicine--for a hot sickness, give hot medicine. Tonight they were not Zen students, so simpler. But if you attain Tibetan Buddhism, attain Zen, attain anything, it is the same."
This is the third night in a row we've had Dharma talks. Very interesting to watch people open up to Dae Soen Sa Nim. He is able to make people laugh, smile and relax. Afterwards there is food, including white rice with blueberry yogurt on top. Very interesting! We leave later than we had planned, and go to bed, using sleeping bags we borrowed in Warsaw.
APRIL 19: KRAKOW
Bowing, 6:00, half hour sitting, reading of "Buddha is Grass Shoes" from Dropping Ashes on the Buddha. Dae Soen Sa Nim says, "Don't made good, don't make bad. All religions say do good, don't do bad. This teaching is a little different. Very good taste."
Large breakfast, including a crock full of oats, also cucumbers, radishes, cheese, milk, bread, honey and jam. Then we have a couple of hours to rest and relax. Jacob still makes arrangements (we now have a typewritten program for the rest of our visit to Poland) and is translating the Precepts Ceremony.
At 11:00 there's scheduled a visit to the Monastery of the Camaldolenses Fathers (Catholic). Before, Linda and Dorothy walk there through the woods, others go by car. Women cannot enter the monastery. Edward stays home with a bad knee. So Dae Soen Sa Nim, Jacob and David go in on the visit with many of the Polish sangha. We are escorted by two old, bearded, white-robed monks. They explain that the monastery is now very poor, because in 1950 all church land was taken away by the government. We visit the church itself, which is in the Mannerist style, the public rooms, and the grounds of the monastery. Dae Soen Sa Nim displays a lively interest in the life of the monks. We learn that they meet five times a day for prayer together. They do Christian meditation, "meditation in the presence of God." They confess outside sins, but not inside ones. They eat separately after food is prepared, except for a few scheduled meals together.
The order was originally Italian. There are other monasteries in Warsaw and in Hungary. The first monastery in Poland was built in 1003. The order is a branch of the Benedictines. We stay about an hour. It is heavily overcast and while we're outside, it rains. One of the monks asks David if he speaks Italian or German and David says, "Only a little German."
The monk replies, "You Americans and Englishmen are all alike, you don't like to learn foreign languages, you require everyone to learn English!" Dae Soen Sa Nim gives the monks a donation.
At 1:00 we have lunch back at the house of A. Then David and Dorothy go out with Christina, Hanya and Boris to Krakow, and see the fortress of Wawel. We learn a little about Christina's situation. We see the Cathedral and the outside of the fortress, very interesting. From there we join Dae Soen Sa Nim and the rest of the group (after a harrowing rush-hour bus ride) at the house of Jacek, where we eat and chant Kwanseum Bosal kido style (they have a large drum). Jacek is a musician. He and his wife and four children live in an apartment with two rooms and a kitchen. They have their own altar. They give us a large picture of a hand holding up a flower which they made themselves. Linda remarks, "The people here have their lives a lot more together than us Americans.
At 5:30 we leave for the public meeting planned for a small church room downtown. There are about 70 people at the meeting hall, it's packed. We begin at 6 p.m. with a Dharma talk by Jacob. Very strong energy. Then Dae Soen Sa Nim asks for questions. Many thinking questions, e..g., "Why practice 'nothing' instead of practicing life?"
Dae Soen Sa Nim replies, "You only say 'nothing', you don't understand 'nothing'. In true emptiness there is no speech , no word." Dae Soen Sa Nim asks whether zero is a number and gives simple, basic-form teaching.
Someone asks if religion is necessary. Dae Soen Sa Nim replies, "If you have mind, religion is necessary. If you have no mind, religion is not necessary. Nothing is necessary."
Someone else asks which is the best religion. Dae Soen Sa Nim says, "If you like Christianity, Christianity is best. If you like Zen, Zen is best. Which do you like?" At the end of the meeting it is announced that anyone interested in practicing can talk to Anthony. There is a lively discussion afterwards. We leave at 8 p.m., come home, have some soup, which Edward spent the day making, and try to get our organization together for the next day's Yong Maeng Jong Jin. We prepare meals for tomorrow.
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