Chiao Jan - To Be Shown to the Monks at a Certain Temple
Ivan M. Granger September 28th, 2009
To Be Shown to the Monks at a Certain Temple
by Chiao Jan
English version by J. P. Seaton
Not yet to the shore of nondoing,
it’s silly to be sad you’re not moored yet…
Eastmount’s white clouds say
to keep on moving, even
if it’s evening, even if it’s fall.
— from The Shambhala Anthology of Chinese Poetry, Edited by J. P. Seaton
/ Photo by bslmmrs /
On this Monday, when most people are starting their work week, focused on action and accomplishment, I thought Chiao Jan should remind us of the goal of “nondoing.”
Not yet to the shore of nondoing,
it’s silly to be sad you’re not moored yet…
To be “moored” implies the boat of the self has arrived at its destination — enlightenment. But what does that have to do with “nondoing”?
Nondoing isn’t so much inactivity; rather, in the midst of action, there is no personal sense of doership. Action takes place through you, but within you are quiet, at ease, a serene witness. Action no longer emerges from the impulses of the ego, and actions do not reinforce the ego. I know this sounds like a concept that only arcane philosophers would care about, but the actual experience is one of delightful, pure flow, as if a layer of grime has finally been washed from your hands. Movement just naturally occurs upon an open field of awareness. Some traditions describe this actionless action as writing on water, the movement occurs but no trace of ego is left behind.
So this is Chiao Jan’s nondoing.
But he is writing this from the perspective of an aging monk who hasn’t quite reached that shore yet. Even though it’s evening, even if it’s fall, even if if the years have gathered in our bones and hang upon our faces, the mountain of the east — the direction of sunrise and enlightenment — beckons us onward, and inward. We journey until we arrive.
And Chiao Jan is absolutely right: It is silly to be sad at not yet having arrived. There’s a secret key here, one that’s so easy to overlook in spiritual practice. It’s silly to be sad to be where one is. Think about that for a moment. To wish to be somewhere else, even if that somewhere is enlightenment, is to wish to be somewhere other than where you are. Whereas true enlightenment — and nondoing — are only possible when one is deeply present. It is only by fully being where we are that we then discover our boat has arrived at the shore.
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Chiao Jan
China (730 - 799) Timeline |
Chiao Jan was an aristocrat during the Golden Age of the T’ang era in China. He later became a Ch’an (Zen) Buddhist monk.
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a comforting poem!
Thanks for the post today, Ivan. Lovely poem and I appreciate your writing as well.
Thank you Ivan, and Chiao Jan.
I will, once again, reset course journeying for the shore.
This poem has touch and healed
the poem…………………Ivan,
the ultimate essence…………………wisdom profound
and Ivan’s comments …………?
……………………………the ultimate wisdom realised………..
ah, narinder , ah !
allow this moment become the song that silence sings ………..
pay heed, narinder, pay heed to the wisdom of the buddhas !!!
aum
~narinder bhandari
helpful!
Breathe in, knowing
we are made of all this . . .
Have you ever posted Joy Harjo’s “Eagle Poem,” from which those lines come?
Yes
Yes
Yes
Here Now is where we are, you are, I am. Enlightenment? Nothing to strive for. It is already done, wake up to what is…or at least be present now…and now…and now…and…Enlightenment is here right now.
I’ve often wondered both at those in traditional religions, non-traditional religions, whether seeking “enlightenment” or a place in “Heaven” … I wonder why they place the goal out there and not in the present. Why they feel life is a test, one they have to study to pass, to attain something, and why they feel it holds something of worthiness to attain it.
The moment is here now, salvation comes not in learning, but in forgetting, in letting the ego take a back seat rather than running the show. The moment is here now. “it’s silly to be sad you’re not moored yet…” Non-doing is to silence the ego and it’s goals. To realize the destination is where you are standing.
Thank you, Ivan, for your wonderful insights and wonderful poems.
Nanci
Wonderful to be reminded so eloquently concerning “action AND nondoing.”
thanks Ivan,
” not yet to the shore of nondoing,”
wish you a beautiful day too!
As always, Ivan, you seem to tap into the thoughts of which I am most in need. Thank you! So often I fret that I’ve not made more progress in the practice of “presence.”