Unwashable Bowls
June 2009
Leonard Cohen and Zen
In the San Francisco Chronicle, an article about Leonard Cohen mentioned that he returned to the stage only because his ex-manager had stolen his life savings. Despite this misfortune, Cohen showed “humility, grace and dignity.” When asked what he had learned from Zen, he replied: “Zen has helped me to learn to stop whining.” Cohen studied with Joshu Sasaki-roshi and lived for five years in his monastery near Los Angeles.
The Human Tendency to Whine
We all whine, regardless of how good things may be. The Buddha’s first Noble Truth states that “suffering exists.” The term “dukkha” can also be translated as “discontent” or “unease.” We often experience a gap between what we have and what we want, or between who we are and who we wish to be. This gap is at the heart of suffering.
Desire and Discontent
The second Noble Truth is often mistranslated as “The cause of suffering is desire.” The Buddha did not teach that we must eliminate desire but that we must understand it through practice. Buddhism is not a path of renunciation but of investigation. Our discontent, our longing, is the very field of our practice.
Inadequacy as Noble Effort
Zen teacher Robert Aitken said: “Inadequacy is our field of noble effort. Without inadequacy, there is no Buddha way.” Similarly, Suzuki Roshi taught that life’s imbalance is what makes it beautiful, for everything exists against a background of perfect harmony. Through practice, we experience “Big Mind” – a mind of acceptance and equanimity.
Imperfection and the Buddha Way
There is no ultimate state free from suffering. The teachings say that Nirvana and Samsara are the same. Perfection is not separate from imperfection. Our very difficulties, our yearning, and our longing are also our teachers. As Suzuki Roshi said: “It is wisdom which is seeking for wisdom.”
The Virtue of Unwashable Bowls
Dogen Zenji spoke about “the virtue of unwashable bowls,” bowls that cannot be washed because they have no bottom. Likewise, our depth, complexity, and potential have no bottom. We cannot be washed free of who we are. As Leonard Cohen sang: “Everything is cracked; that’s how the light gets in.” Our cracks, our incompleteness, are the path itself.
Life as a Precious Gift
Buddhist teachings emphasize the preciousness of human life. Father Thomas Berry described the universe as “that ultimate mystery whence all things emerge into being.” In practice, we develop not only tolerance but appreciation – for ourselves, for others, and for life as it is.
Attention as Practice
Zen practice calls us to pay attention. A master once wrote the single word “Attention!” when asked to express the essence of teaching. Attention is the heart of practice: paying kind awareness to our life and difficulties, knowing that Buddha nature is present even in imbalance and suffering.
Problems as Teachers
Dogen said: “We fall down by the earth, and we get up by the earth.” Suzuki Roshi added that both falling and standing are gifts given to us by the earth. Problems themselves are our practice hall – our zendo.
Dogen’s Poem
All my life, lost between the true and the false.
Long days, the snow has covered the mountain.
This winter, I realize that the snow IS the mountain.
Our problems and difficulties are not obstacles to the truth; they are the truth itself. The snow and the mountain are one.
A Glimpse of the World as Gift
After his first sesshin, the author experienced the world in a new way. Even small souvenirs appeared as gifts – products of many people’s efforts, embodying interconnection and purpose. Such glimpses remind us that life itself is a gift and gradually transform our outlook.
Conclusion
The mind cannot remain in perfect appreciation all the time. But each glimpse of this deeper view changes us. We learn to see existence as a gift, to find perfection within imperfection, and to live with imperturbable composure. Everything is always losing its balance – and this is what makes it beautiful.
Layla Smith
Gyokujun Teishin
