Thread: Moon In Water
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Old 09-20-2010, 04:33 PM
starfox203
mouseman
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 100
Moon In Water
Reading through the boxed set, I was taken by the notes describing the inspiration for Moon In Water, which is from a Buddhist philosopher, Dogen Zenji, describing the moment of self-realization.

http://www.thezensite.com/ZenTeachin...an_Okumara.htm

"When a person attains realization, it is like the moon reflecting on the water. The moon never becomes wet; the water is never destroyed. Although it is a vast and great light, it reflects itself on a small amount of water. The whole moon and even the whole sky reflects on even a drop of dew on a blade of grass, or a single tiny drop of water. Realization does not destroy the person, as the moon does not make a hole in the water. The person does not obstruct realization, as a drop of dew does not obstruct the moon in the sky. The depth is the same as the height. [In order to investigate the significance of] the length and shortness of time, we should consider whether the water is great or small, and understand the size of the moon in the sky."

"Days and nights, in walking, standing still, sitting and laying down, if you always contemplate in this way, you will know that your own body is like the moon in water, the reflection in a mirror, the heat waves in a hot day, the echo in the empty valley. You cannot say it is a being (u) because even if you try to catch it you cannot see its substance. You cannot say it is non-being (mu) either because it is clearly in front of your eyes."

"Shakyamuni Buddha says,
The true dharma-body of the Buddha
Is like empty space.
Responding to things, it manifests its form.
It is like the moon in water."

Discuss.

Last edited by starfox203; 09-21-2010 at 09:56 AM.