Happiness Has No Opinion

How refreshing, the whinny of a packhorse unloaded of everything!

--Zen saying

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The sound of one dog barking

Human beings understand too much. But what they understand is just somebody's opinion. Like a dog barking. American dogs say, "Woof, woof." Korean dogs say, "Mung, mung." Polish dogs say, "How, how." So which dog barking is correct? This is human beings' barking, not dog barking. If dog and you become one hundred percent one, then you know sound of barking. This is Zen teaching. Boom! Become one.

-Seung Sahn, from "Boom! An Interview with Zen Master Seung Sahn,"

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'Love' is a big word, of course. It is enough, I feel (whatever mechanisms are at play) to enter the feeling of BEING in this body, fully and completely embodied. Then, there is a tactile understanding of what is felt in THAT body, and THAT body, when the BEING in that BODY is also embodied/awakened. It also felt when THAT body is somehow blocked/restricted in its natural flow.

Some non-dual teachers make a lot out of the concept "there is nobody here" or "there is no-one here" - but if it is just an idea, just a concept, and not fully realised in the body, in the feeling, in the breathing out, then it is just playing with words.

The difficulties arise with language. I have one language, you have another, Rupert has another, and everyone else has their own vocabulary in all this. I feel this is perhaps the final frontier in non-dual meanderings ... opening up the language, and the sense of mutual trust, such that language is no longer a barrier. Instead, we look for bridges that cross the language barrier, we become less rigid in our thinking through what has been embodied, so that it is clearly and openly offered and received. In a way, the mind is not subtle enough to articulate completely in words what is felt deep down. Whatever language arises within 'you' or 'I' is bound to not totally resonate with the 'other' ... because of the way that language evolves within each of us in such a personal way.

When speaking about and refering to a traditional viewpoint/ philosophical stance, how do we bring that alive in the listener in such a way that fully conveys what we have realised through it as a vehicle of embodiment ... so that it is not just seen as a 'philosophical viewpoint'? And how can we be receptive enough to that traditional vehicle of embodiment, such that we overcome our resistance to it, and its terminology and methodology?

with warm regards
Roy

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Everything is new now for me.
My mind is new, the moon, the sun.
The whole world looks rinsed with water,
washed in the rain of I am That.

Lalla leaps and dances inside the energy
that creates and sustains the universe.

- Lalla
14th Century North Indian mystic

From "Naked Song", Versions by Coleman Barks
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Separateness

Where on earth would we find a boundary between us?
Would it be the air between us that we both breathe?
Would it be the skin on my body that is participating
in the exact same atmosphere as the skin on your body?

The idea of separateness is something we have to make
up, so we say everything that connects us doesn't count
because we can't see it. Of course, if the air weren't
there all of a sudden, it would become important in a
hurry. But for right now, we choose not to pay attention
to it.

Look and see how you make up separateness within yourself.
Look for your sense of "self' and "other." Notice how within
yourself, there arc many selves. Inside or outside yourself,
see if you can find a boundary.

From: 'Trying to be Human: Zen Talks from Cheri Huber'