[52] From my youth I piled studies upon studies (from The Shodoka)
by Hsuan Chueh of Yung Chia / Yoka GenkakuEnglish version by Robert Aitken
Original Language Chinese
From my youth I piled studies upon studies,
In sutras and sastras I searched and researched,
Classifying terms and forms, oblivious to fatigue.
I entered the sea to count the sands in vain
And then the Tathagata scolded me kindly
As I read "What profit in counting your neighbor's treasure?"
My work had been scattered and entirely useless,
For years I was dust blown by the wind.
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This verse is a powerful and devastating reminder for the seeker:
In sutras and sastras I searched and researched,
Classifying terms and forms, oblivious to fatigue.
I entered the sea to count the sands in vain...
Study of sacred scriptures ("sutras and sastras"), sacred traditions -- even sacred poetry -- can too often become a "vain" and "useless" act when we are merely "classifying terms and forms." When devotion is absent, when we ourselves in our essential presence are absent, the study of even sacred things devolves into a sort of spiritual materialism. Our study becomes a mere accumulation of data that allows us to proclaim, 'I have read this, I have memorized that. Look how hard I have worked to understand... I have acquired it; it is MINE. Surely I am now more spiritual and closer to God, closer to truth.' But what do we really have?
We are challenged by the question: "What profit in counting your neighbor's treasure?"
In studying sacred teachings and traditions, we are essentially studying spiritual truth as perceived and taught by others. That spiritual truth is "your neighbor's treasure." The goal is not to endlessly classify and categorize what others have found out for themselves. The goal is to receive the treasure yourself!
Now please don't think I am suggesting there is no value in reading sacred scriptures or in following sacred tradition. But we must understand their true purpose: They are maps pointing the direction. If we endlessly study a map without actually making the journey, then what is the purpose of the map? What does it matter if we can name every landmark but have never set a foot upon the road?
In other words, we must realize and not merely intellectualize. This is the only way to honor the sacred scriptures, traditions, teachings, poems we study. We honor the sacred not by acquiring but by becoming.
Recommended Books: Hsuan Chueh of Yung Chia / Yoka Genkaku
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