Dear Brothers and Sisters,
That sentence from John the Bapstist intrigues me: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
Most people would think, when the kingdom of heaven comes, the righteous folks will be rewarded, and you bad boys will pay for your sinful attitude and evil behavior. Watch out.
But what and where is the kingdom of heaven?
“The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.” (Luke 17:20-21).
That makes a lot of sense, because we all have God’s Holy Spirit (Breath of Life) in us. And repentance is truly both the making and the coming of the kingdom of heaven in us.
Let’s use the first and most important Zen story in the series 101 Zen Stories: A cup of tea, with my annotation, as a path way to understand the Bible quote.
A Cup of Tea
Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era (1868-1912), received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen.
Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitor’s cup full, and then kept on pouring.
The professor watched the overflow until he no longer could restrain himself. “It is overfull. No more will go in!”
“Like this cup,” Nan-in said, “you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?”
Annotation:
* This story is true not only for Zen study but also for everything else.
To find understanding in anything – a religion, a person, a group of people, a culture, a people, a history, a court case, etc., we must empty the cup of prejudices, assumptions, speculations, and conclusions already existing in our mind/heart – an empty cup, a blank sheet of paper – then we may understand.
You are starting a journey through 101 Zen Stories to explore Zen. This is the first story.
You need to empty your cup, to enter and go through the journey.
What have you heard, read, known, and understood about Zen previously?
Please put them aside. Keep your mind and heart empty for the journey.
An empty mind/heart, remember!
* And here is the essence of the teaching: The empty mind/heart is the Zen heart.
When your mind/heart is totally empty, when your mind/heart has no prejudices, no assumptions, no speculations, and no conclusions, then that is Zen. You have achieved Zen.
The first lesson is also the last lesson. The means (keeping an empty mind/heart) is also the goal (achieving an empty mind/heart).
(TĐH annotated)
Same thing with repentance. You repent to wait for the kingdom of heaven to come, but your repentance – making your heart clean and pure – is actually both the making and the coming of the kingdom of of heaven in you, and in the world with many repenting people.
That is where the Bible and Zen meet.
With compassion,
Hoành
© copyright 2024
Trần Đình Hoành
Permitted for non-commercial use
www.dotchuoinon.com
Đọt Chuối Non 