from Mushin
The Zen teaching on the impermanence and interbeing nature of all compounded things points to how they function continually in our lives. All things work together. No matter what. Zen Ancestor Baizhang is known for saying,”a day without work, is a day without eating.” This is self-evident when we consider the effects of losing a job. If we don’t work, we don’t eat. In the 8th century when Baizhang lived, food was available only through direct efforts – farming, bartering, etc. This is still true, even though there are usually many, many more degrees of remove between our work efforts and having food to eat. In times of plenty “a day without work is a day without eating” is less on our minds. But once we are laid off from a job, we remember and experience this truth viscerally. In Dogen Zenji’s Genjo Koan are the remarkable lines,
When the need is great the function is great.
When the need is small the function is small.
I often contemplate and clarify whether my own efforts match the need as I attune to the actual conditions of the moment. When things are going along swimmingly, we get swept up in the cacophony and may feel less of a need to practice, for instance. But then, when things fall apart, we rush back to practice and remember that interbeing and impermanence continue to function, even when we are not thinking about it. This can be a turning point in our orientation to practice, taking us from a casual, occasional enjoyment of this refuge, to a mindful, steady, deeper commitment to awakening through it.
When the need is great the function is great.
When the need is small the function is small.
I often contemplate and clarify whether my own efforts match the need as I attune to the actual conditions of the moment. When things are going along swimmingly, we get swept up in the cacophony and may feel less of a need to practice, for instance. But then, when things fall apart, we rush back to practice and remember that interbeing and impermanence continue to function, even when we are not thinking about it. This can be a turning point in our orientation to practice, taking us from a casual, occasional enjoyment of this refuge, to a mindful, steady, deeper commitment to awakening through it.