The whole earth is medicine; what is your self?
Sometimes it feels to me like the whole world is disease. In the Blue Cliff Record, case 87, we hear, "Yun Men, teaching his community, said, “Medicine and disease subdue each other: the whole earth is medicine; what is your self?” To me, this is a helpful teaching when people are wondering how to practice in the midst of all of the difficulties. As we wonder how we can have compassion for ourselves and others, the teaching that "the whole world is medicine" is helpful, even if unbelievable at first blush. I am especially interested in how we can practice resistance to harm without harboring hatred in our hearts. I'm interested in how we can stand up to injustice, racism, and the stripping away of the social safety nets without fueling the flames of anger until it's out of control. I would like us to explore how to receive our anger, and allow its spark to nudge us to action, while at the same time not burning out.
In the preamble, or "pointer" to this koan, we find the phrase "Suddenly [Buddha] appears as an angry titan with three heads and six arms…" Katagiri Roshi, the honorary founder of our temple, says, "That means that compassion is not always gentle, considerate and charitable. Sometimes [it is] angry – angry face, angry feeling, angry titan. But this angry is not the usual angry, this is wisdom, the functioning of wisdom." The Buddha that arises here is not separate from you. And this teaching sounds to me like allowing anger to arise, but not cultivating more anger than is necessary. We start by accepting our life, accepting human problems, softly, gently, compassionately. And then, from that softness and acceptance, an angry titan can arise, and might say, for example, to an ICE agent, "Get out of my neighborhood!" Or, to a police officer, "Get your knee off his neck!"
"The whole earth is medicine" is an expression of the ultimate dimension, and reminds us that everything is a teaching. Everything is helping us to wake up, even things we find appalling, difficult, disgusting, unethical, unjust, or inhumane. But, how do we really practice "the whole earth is medicine” with all the horrific things that are going on?
There is a verse from Zen Sand: the book of capping phrases for koan practice that I think goes with the notion of “the whole earth is medicine" and answers the questions of "How do we practice with this?”
If you do not throw yourself into the breakers
How will you ever meet the one who frolics in the waves?
The one who frolics in the waves is not some other person. It’s yourself - liberated from suffering and all that hinders you. It is yourself as Buddha.
Throwing yourself into the breakers is practicing moment by moment. It means practicing with all the ingredients of your life and all the messiness of the world. It means allowing whatever you are feeling to arise, even anger, horror, or disgust. We might think that this would make us more miserable. But we can remember that these breakers, these violent waves, are part of the whole ocean. When we throw ourselves into the breakers, we are also being supported by something much larger than ourselves. We are throwing ourselves into the ultimate dimension.
In order to throw ourselves into the breakers, most of us need some help. Here is where our Zen practice can help us, with elements such as: connecting with others in sangha, doing zazen, the forms of seated and walking meditation, Zen liturgy, mindfulness practice in daily life, and practicing receiving each moment just as it is, without opposing it
We need to do this practice right now - there is no time to waste. In particular, our country needs our practice. Through practice, we can find a way to respond to islamophobia, racism, police violence, overall violence, the dismantling of social safety nets, and so much more.
About 10 years ago, I started asking myself: "When does the time come when I need to put my life on the line?" I believe that time is now, so my next question is, "What does that look like, to put my life on the line?" I want to be sure I'm ready to do it, when the opportunity arises. But, I don't want to just die for no reason. If I take a risk, I want it to be strategic and come from a place of deep wisdom.
What is my action? I ask this every day. What is your action? I invite you to look around and then look within. The looking within is opening to the ultimate perspective, the whole ocean. Once you have received this equanimity and deep wisdom, then look around again. This is the practice of seeing the whole world as medicine, and then asking, "What can I do?"
Sometimes our actions may seem mundane, like our community food and clothing drives. Yet this is important work. Our response can't be only protests and yelling. It also needs to be work that supports and cares for the needs of our community. Offering positive visions for the hurtful policies is itself a form of strong action and resistance. Another strong action can be attending our precinct caucuses on February 3, and promoting the People's Agenda on Affordability, Dignity and Community (recently ratified by over 6,000 people at the Light in the Storm ISAIAH convention on December 13. You can learn more about the Peoples Agenda and how you can support it by contacting anita@cloudsinwater.org.
Zen training gives us the tools we need to do this work with joy, with frolicking in the waves. By sitting quietly, and being with our discomfort, we learn and practice how to be in the world in an open, helpful, and joyful way. As we act from this base, we can also remember to take care of ourselves, ask others for help, and take breaks, so that we can be present with compassion for the long run.
I look forward to continuing to practice with all of you, for the long run.
By Guiding Teacher Rev. Sosan Theresa Flynn
