The Hilltop

A man is sitting on a hilltop. A gentle breeze is blowing and the temperature is warm. He is comfortable and his thoughts are pleasant. He has felt this way for some time. Sitting near him are two others. One is also at peace and is one he relates very well with. The other is becoming to be at peace. While he is at peace with the first one, this second individual is more mysterious and guarded. At first this person avoids contact and conversation. The man accepts this. He speaks to both and accepts the other's responses, but does not make any demands on the guarded one. There comes a day when both respond to the man. The hilltop enjoys more peace. The breeze blows more gently and the warm air soothes them all. Serenity sets in. Over time the guarded one's defenses come down. Slowly that one joins in conversations with the other two. There are even days when the man and the formerly guarded one can communicate by themselves. Time passes. One day the man looks around the hilltop. He sees, sitting near him, the one he relates to so well, who he is at peace with. Upon seeing him, a feeling of contentment comes over him. Still looking around, he seeks out the formerly guarded one, but that one is not to be found, for that individual is no longer on the hilltop. A gentle breeze blows over the hilltop. The temperature is warming. There are times when the man is comforted and when he feels pleasant. There are times when he is at peace. He relates well with his companion.

The Way

As we go through life, we come to believe that we make our own way. There is an ancient story of two masters. One is dying and is visited by another, his good friend. The friend, seeing his dying companion, says, "You are passing, shall I lead you on the way."

His comrade replied, "I came this far alone. What possible help could you be to me now?"

His friend calmly responded, "If that is all you think, that you simply come into this life, go through it, and then pass on, then keep with your misconception. However, if you will, let me show you the way where there is no more coming and going."

As he spoke his words, he revealed the path clearly to his friend, and the elderly one smiled and passed away.

Prosperity

There once was a very rich man. He considered himself prosperous because of his wealth. Anyone who was not as wealthy as he was could not possibly be happy or prosperous. Eventually he crossed paths with a man who happened to be both a zen master and a man of words. The master was known to be one to whom villagers turned to when they wanted something written for them or about them. His words and phrases were beautiful to behold.

The rich man decided he would ask the master to write something about his family and its prosperity; something that would bring happiness to their good fortune and could be passed down from father to son, from generation to generation. So he approached the master with his request.

The master considered the request for a moment and then looked around until he found some paper and a pen. Then he sat down and wrote: "First the father died, then the son died, and then the grandson died." When he finished, he handed it to the rich man.

Reading what was written, the rich man became extremely angry. "I asked you to write something I could give to my son and my son's son. I wanted something serious, something about our prosperity. Instead you turned it into a joke."

The master looked at the man for a brief moment and replied: "I did not mean to make any joke. If your son were to die before you, you would grieve greatly. If both your son and grandson were to pass away before you, the grief you would suffer would be beyond measure. However, if you pass first, and then your son lives his full life and passes before his son, it will be as nature intended. What more can be asked? That is true prosperity."

One Hand Clapping

The Sound of the One Hand has been and is the most famous and probably the most commonly used of all meditative stories there are. It is only through understanding and enlightenment that one frees himself and gains insight and moves forward. There are many variations of the story. Here is one.

A very young student watched his fellow students receive instruction day in and day out from the master. Yet when he went before the master, he was told only how to correct his posture and how to breathe better and which precepts he needed to pay more attention to. He was very envious of the older students and long to learn as they did. He knew they had all been given their ids and were working toward finding some greater understanding that was never going to be shown to him. Finally, one day, when he had his turn with the master, he asked why he was being held back. The master assured him this was not the case. He was learning and progressing much as others before him had. The young man was sure this was not so. Again he asked, only this time he plead with the master to give him a story to contemplate, to help him in his path.

The master questioned whether he was ready for the step. He pointed out that many meditated for years before their first problem was provided and the young man had only been with the master for a relatively short period of time. Still the youth insisted. He was sure of himself and he wanted to be like his older comrades. Finally the master relented.

This is what he said. "Everyone, yourself included, know what sound is made by two hands clapping. However, can you tell me what sound one hand clapping makes? Meditate upon that and when you can answer me, come to me and show me your answer."

So the youth went off to meditate and consider this problem. He thought and thought about it. One day he was listening to an artist he knew play a composition that was very moving and he thought he had the answer. He thought about this some more and eventually he came back to his master. His master asked him if he was ready to show him what sound came from one hand clapping. The youth immediately picked up a guitar and began to play a beautiful melody, sweeter than many have ever heard. When he finished, he looked at his master for a response. The master simply said that is not the answer.

Not discouraged, the young man returned to his meditations to reconsider the problem. What could be the sound of one hand clapping. Perhaps he had been going down the wrong path. It was likely that music and the city and noise were a distraction to him and he needed to get immersed in nature and find solitude to find his answer. So he began to seek quieter places to meditate and moved away from the city. He found himself settling in more rural locations to meditate. One day, while sitting alongside a steam, near a waterfall, meditating, he heard water dripping into the stream. The sound of that water amazed him and seemed so electrifying and focusing to him. He thought, "At last, I have my answer."

He rushed back to his master. Again the master asked him what was the sound of one hand clapping? This time, the young student showed him water dripping from a leaf into a pool. Fascinated, the master watched for several minutes. Eventually he looked and shook his head and said, "No, yes is not the answer."

Over many months, stretching into years, the young man continued to meditate and continued to return to his master. Each time he came before the master he offered another sound, another response to that same question, "What is the sound of the one hand clapping?" He offered the howl of the wolf, the chirp of the cricket, the crick of the floorboards, and various sounds. All were interesting, but all were wrong.

One day, the student returned. He sat before his master as before. The master again said, "What is the sound of the one hand clapping?" The student stood before the master. "I have exhausted all resources. There are no more sounds. All that is left is the soundless."

Now he understood.

Reality

When Bodhidharma first came to China, over a thousand years ago, it was during the reign of the emperor Wu. Bodhidharma was dressed and appeared to be a street bum, in those days considered a thief. Yet he was brought before the court and the emperor anyway. At the time of his appearance he wore one shoe upon his head. The emperor, on seeing Bodhidharma, wished only to be rid of him as quickly as possible. This he tried to do by friendly conversation with the monk. However, Bodhidharma interrupted him and said, "Ask the question?"

Wu could not help but inquire about the shoe on his head.

Bodhidharma replied: "The shoe serves a purpose. Either you must be straightforward right from the beginning with your questions or it is the last time you will see me."

Wu began by saying: " I have always built great temples, created schools, funded monks and their works, and aided the poor and needy. What is my reward?"

Bodhidharma replied: "Nothing. You have been exploited. Your motives are like your shadows which your follow aimlessly."

Wu switched tacks then and said: "What is the essence of your teachings?"

Bodhidharma replied: "There is nothing holy. There is only emptiness."

Bodhidharma's answer was simple and direct, but Wu was not capable of understanding it. The reality we seek is completely independent of words, religion and dogma. Our attachment to right and wrong, religion and philosophies hinder our ability to grasp the true essence of reality and create the problems we encounter in life. Sight comes only when we look into our own reality.

Possession

On a warm summer day, some children gather on the sandy beach to play together. They decided to each build a sand fortress. When they had completed their fortresses, they began to play, defending their creations. Each declared his or her fort as "mine" and would not allow any other child near that fortress. Shuffles broke out as each boy or girl fought off the "invaders." At some point one boy knocked over another boy's fortress of sand. In anger that boy attacked him with a stick he found on the beach, striking him repeatedly until he fell to the sand. Then he and the others beat him for destroying the fortress. Soon they returned to their play and defense of their sand fortresses.

Eventually the day drew to an end and the sun started to set and the tide began to come in and the children knew it was time to give up their play and go home for the evening. As the sun began to sink,the boys and girls left the beach, no longer caring about their creations or what would become of them.

Motivation

There is an old story in the zen tradition of the student who is given a problem to contemplate, "the sound of the one Hand." He meditates on this for months but cannot resolve this problem. When he returns to his teacher, he tells him he must give up and return to his home. His teacher urges him to continue to mediate, so he does. Many more months pass and again he returns in defeat, determined to end his study and go home in embarrassment. His teacher tells him to give the meditation five weeks more, just five weeks. After more urging, the student agrees and returns to his efforts, but is met with no success. Now he is thoroughly depressed and longs to be free of his misery. His teacher is not so eager to release him. The teacher says to him, " Give the problem just three more days. If, at the end of three days, you have not solved it, kill yourself. You deserve to die."

At the end of the second day, the solution comes to him.

Expressing

There was a group of students. They had studied and socialized together for many months. Over the months they had become familiar with each other, both men and women. Eventually, as often happens, one of the men fell in love with one of the women. Being shy, he wrote her a note, expressing his feelings for her. One day, as the group was breaking up and returning to their homes, he slipped the note to her, so she could read of his feelings. Several days passed and she showed no signs of having either read the note or of wishing to respond to the note.

There came a day when the group was together, sharing stories and thoughts. Each was asked if he or she had anything to say to the group. No one quickly ventured to stand. However, after some time, the woman who received the note stood. Looking around the room, as her eyes settled on the note writer, she said, "If you have something to say, say it here, say it now."

Life

Life has a complexity to it. As we live our existence, we add to the complexity. We search for some meaning. for some of us, that entails seeking religious values and explanations to our lives. For our it is the rejection of those same views and beliefs. In the end no real difference, just different directions on the same road. Some plod through the days, others look for a philosophical explanation for our existence. Some seek to find value or to leave a mark behind them, so they will have either made a difference while they were here or so that those that come after will remember them or speak of them.

For all of this, even for those we actually do study and learn about - those blessed few- the fact is we are merely exercising ourselves. Whether there is or is not a "true" religion, an answer for life, we'll never know. It is faith, not knowledge, it cannot be known. It is just a means to provide comfort if it is needed. Philosophy fills a similar void. Theoretical thought, opinion that sounds good, to ease the mind and provide a basis to explain away the doubts of life. As for our existence and time here, well, in the end, the value we have given, the worth we have created, however measured, is measured in current time, and has no real lasting measure. Even those we study so fiercely really have no lasting value beyond whatever we arbitrarily have provided them. That often is tainted by time and perspective too.

The world and of life is made of two true things, material and energy, both measurable. We are either one of the other. At one time in the continuum we are matter, and at another we become energy. While we are matter, we should be striving to become energy. Energy is purer, safer, and less troublesome. It is when we are in material form we have anxieties, moods, relationships, and all of life's problems.

Final Understanding

There is a old lesson that those who are following would do well to comprehend. Why is it that the man who has really come to understand is not required to stand before us and explain? Speech does not come only orally.