Monkey!

With palms together,


Good Morning Everyone,



Disciple Dai Shugyo and I were talking yesterday morning. He is my Ino (the Zendo Disciplinarian) and, like my Teacher, a former Marine. We were talking about the phenomenon some Buddhists refer to as “”Monkey Mind.” He indicated that we needed to train the monkey. Although a commonly held and natural suggestion, I disagree.



There was a Teacher, I think it was Shunryu Suzuki, who had the right idea. He said if you want to get in control of something, give that something space. What he meant was, we cannot control anything. Therefore, the Way is through what therapists call “paradoxical intention.” Control through release, in this case. You want the monkey to settle down? Let him run amok. Tell him, “Go ahead, you can’t settle down, impossible for you to settle down, so go! Be wild and crazy!” In this way we open the mind’s field and let the monkey run free. Monkey begins to wonder, “What’s so special about running amok?”



Zazen, in spite of common wisdom, is not about quieting the mind, but instead, it is about releasing oneself from the mind’s grip. Paradoxically, the mind settles of its own accord.



Be well.