{"id":4084,"date":"2013-05-08T11:17:22","date_gmt":"2013-05-08T11:17:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/antaiji.org\/?page_id=4084"},"modified":"2020-12-19T02:13:56","modified_gmt":"2020-12-19T02:13:56","slug":"kodo-to-you","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/antaiji.org\/en\/services\/kodo-to-you\/","title":{"rendered":"To You"},"content":{"rendered":"

To You (1)<\/h3>\n

by K\u014dd\u014d Sawaki R\u014dshi<\/p>\n

These are a few selected quotes from an early version of K\u014dd\u014d Sawaki R\u014dshi’s “Tou you”, a book translated from Japanese by Reih\u014d Haasch and Muh\u014d. The complete, revised and edited book will be available in print from Hohm press<\/a> in 2021.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Muho\"<\/p>\n

1. To you who can\u2019t stop worrying about how others see you<\/h4>\n

You can\u2019t even trade a single fart with the next guy. Each and every one of us has to live out his own life. Don\u2019t waste time thinking about who\u2019s most talented.<\/p>\n

The asshole doesn\u2019t need to be ashamed of being the asshole. The feet don\u2019t have any reason to go on strike just because they\u2019re only feet. The head isn\u2019t the most important of all, and the navel doesn\u2019t need to imagine he\u2019s the father of all things.
\nIt\u2019s strange though that people look at the prime minister as an especially important person. The nose can\u2019t replace the eyes, and the mouth can\u2019t replace the ears.
\nEverything has its own identity, which is unsurpassable in the whole universe.<\/p>\n

Some children have caught a mouse and now it\u2019s writhing in the trap. They\u2019re having fun watching how it scrapes its nose till it bleeds and how it rips up its tail . . . In the end they\u2019ll throw it to the cat for food.
\nIf I was sitting in the mouse\u2019s place, I\u2019d say to myself, \u201cYou damn humans won\u2019t have any fun with me!\u201d And I\u2019d simply sit zazen..<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

2. To you who think there\u2019s something to being \u201cin\u201d<\/h4>\n

You\u2019re always hanging onto others. If somebody\u2019s eating French fries, you want French fries too. If somebody\u2019s sucking on a candy, you want a candy too. If somebody\u2019s blowing on a penny whistle, you scream, \u201cMommy, buy me a penny whistle too!\u201d
\nAnd that doesn\u2019t just go for children.<\/p>\n

When spring comes, you let spring turn your head. When autumn comes, you let autumn turn your head. Everyone is just waiting for something to turn their head. Some even make a living turning heads \u2013 they produce advertising.<\/p>\n

One at a time people are still bearable, but when they form cliques, they start to get stupid. They fall into group stupidity. They\u2019re so determined to become stupid as a group that they found clubs and pay membership dues. Zazen means taking leave of group stupidity.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

3. To you who are totally exhausted from fighting with your spouse<\/h4>\n

The question isn\u2019t who\u2019s right. You\u2019re simply seeing things from different points of view.<\/p>\n

Stop trying to be something special \u2013 and just be what you are. Hold fire. Just sit!<\/p>\n

It all begins when we say, \u201cI\u201d. Everything that follows is illusion.<\/p>\n

A man who understands nothing marries a woman who understands nothing, and everyone says, \u201cCongratulations!\u201d Now that\u2019s something I cannot understand.<\/p>\n

Family is the place where parents and children, husband and wife simultaneously all get on each other\u2019s nerves.<\/p>\n

Even funnier than watching the monkeys at the zoo is observing these humans on the loose.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

4. To you who have just begun brooding over life<\/h4>\n

What a shame to have been born a human being and to spend your whole life worrying. You should reach the point where you can be happy to have been born a human.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s strange that not a single person seriously considers his own life. For ages, we\u2019ve been carrying around something uncooked. And we comfort ourselves with the fact that it\u2019s the same for the others too. That\u2019s what I call group stupidity: thinking that we just have to be like the others.
\nSatori means creating your own life. It means waking up from group stupidity.<\/p>\n

In a part of Manchuria, the carts are pulled by huge dogs. The driver hangs a piece of meat in front of the dog\u2019s nose, and the dog runs like crazy to try to get at it. But of course he can\u2019t. He\u2019s only thrown his meat after the cart has finally reached its destination. Then in a single gulp, he swallows it down.
\nIt\u2019s exactly the same with people and their pay checks. Until the end of the month they run after the salary hanging in front of their noses. Once the salary is paid, they gulp it down, and they\u2019re already off: running after the next payday.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

5. To you whose life is about money, money and more money<\/h4>\n

The measure of man: you give him a little money and immediately he starts to move.<\/p>\n

Human happiness and unhappiness doesn\u2019t only depend on money. If the balance in your savings account were a measure of your happiness, it would be a simple matter. Yet it really isn\u2019t so. <\/span><\/p>\n

Without money, you\u2019ve got difficulties. Still, you should know that there are more important things than money.
\nYou constantly think about sex. Still, you should know that there are more important things than sex. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

6. To you who think the prime minister is a really special person.<\/h4>\n

He who seeks his true mission won\u2019t want to pursue a career. A person who wants to become president doesn\u2019t know where he\u2019s going in life.<\/p>\n

Their election is so important to them that presidents and congressmen campaign to rally votes. Idiots! Even if they asked me to become president, I\u2019d turn it down: \u201cHow dumb do you think I am anyway?\u201d<\/p>\n

One guy loses the presidential election, so he cries. Next time around he wins the election, and then he smiles into the camera. What makes politicians different from little children anyway? It\u2019s exactly the same way with a crying child: you offer him some candy and already a smile breaks out on his teary face.
\nA little more maturity would be nice.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

7. To you who would like to leave your rivals in the dust<\/h4>\n

We often wonder who here is really better? But aren\u2019t we all made out of the same lump of clay?<\/p>\n

Everyone should sit firmly anchored in the place where there is no better and worse.<\/p>\n

Your whole life long you\u2019re completely out of your mind because you think it\u2019s obvious that there is a \u201cyou\u201d and \u201cthe others\u201d. You put on an act to stand out in a crowd, but in reality there\u2019s neither \u201cyou\u201d nor \u201cthe others\u201d.
\nWhen you die, you\u2019ll understand.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

8. To you who are sobbing because somebody\u2019s put one over on you<\/h4>\n

At some point you\u2019ve got to slap yourself in the face and seriously ask yourself: is your personal gain or loss really worth this overwhelming joy and suffering?<\/p>\n

Sooner or later everyone starts thinking of nothing besides themselves. You say, \u201cThat was good!\u201d But what was good? It was only good for you personally, that\u2019s all.<\/p>\n

Why is it that we humans are so wiped out? It is the constant effort to gain a little advantage that wipes us out.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

9. To you who would like to slap your boss with a letter of resignation.<\/h4>\n

As a human being, whatever you do, you should do it in a way that can\u2019t be repeated a second time. What can be repeated is best left to the robots.<\/p>\n

Life doesn\u2019t run on tracks.<\/p>\n

Birds don\u2019t sing in major or minor. Bodhidharma\u2019s teaching doesn\u2019t fit on lined paper.
\nThe buddha-dharma is wide and unlimited. When you try to hold it still, you\u2019ve missed it. It isn\u2019t dried cod, but a live fish. Living fish have no fixed form.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

10. To you who wants to begin with zazen<\/h4>\n

Once there were 500 monkeys in the service of 500 Buddhist saints. One day the monkeys decided to mimic everything the saints did, so they did zazen copying the saints with their eyes, noses, mouths and whole bodies. They say that in this way a thousand saints practiced zazen and realized satori. This is why it\u2019s my wish to preserve \u2013 even if it\u2019s only through imitation \u2013 the seed of zazen.<\/p>\n

When you practice Zen, it has to be here and now, it has to be about yourself. Don\u2019t let Zen become a rumor that has nothing to do with you.<\/p>\n

Zazen is the buddha that we form out of our raw flesh.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

11. To you who wants to strengthen your hara with zazen<\/h4>\n

\u201cThrough zazen you strengthen your hara<\/i>\u201d
\nKnowing that this hara<\/i> isn\u2019t worth a damn is real hara<\/i> and real zazen.<\/p>\n

Some people want to strengthen their hara<\/i> with zazen so that they will be able to scare the bill-collector away with a roar. But they don\u2019t need zazen for that, they just have to drink sake like real men.<\/p>\n

There are books around like \u201cZen and the Art of Cultivating Your Hara<\/i>\u201d. This hara<\/i> culture is just about making yourself numb.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

12. To you who is wondering if your zazen has been good for something<\/h4>\n

What\u2019s zazen good for? Absolutely nothing! This \u201cgood for nothing\u201d has got to sink into your flesh and bones until you\u2019re\u3000truly practicing what\u2019s good for nothing. Until then, your zazen is really good for nothing.<\/p>\n

Unsatisfying: simply practicing zazen.
\nUnsatisfying: realizing zazen with this body.
\nUnsatisfying: absorbing zazen into your flesh and blood.<\/p>\n

Being watched by zazen, cursed by zazen, blocked by zazen, dragged around by zazen, every day crying tears of blood \u2013 isn\u2019t that the happiest form of life you can imagine?<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

13. To you who says that you have attained a better state of mind through zazen<\/h4>\n

As long as you say zazen is a good thing, something isn\u2019t quite right. Unstained zazen is absolutely nothing special. It isn\u2019t even necessary to be grateful for it.
\nWouldn\u2019t it be strange if a baby said to its mother, \u201cPlease have understanding for the fact that I\u2019m always shitting in my diapers.\u201d
\nWithout knowledge, without consciousness, everything is as it should be.
\nDon\u2019t stain your zazen by saying that you\u2019ve progressed, feel better or have become more confident through zazen.<\/p>\n

We only say, \u201cThings are going well!\u201d when they\u2019re going our<\/i> way.<\/p>\n

We should simply leave the water of our original nature as it is. But instead we are constantly mucking about with our hands to find out how cold or warm it is. That\u2019s why it gets cloudy.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

14. To you who do everything you can to get satori<\/h4>\n

We don\u2019t practice in order to get satori. It\u2019s satori that pulls our practice. We practice, being dragged all over by satori.<\/p>\n

You don\u2019t seek the way. The way seeks you.<\/p>\n

You study, you do sports, and you\u2019re fixated on satori and illusion. So that even zazen becomes a marathon for you, with satori as the finish line. Yet because you\u2019re trying to grab it, you\u2019re missing it completely.
\nOnly when you stop meddling like this does your original, cosmic nature realize itself.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

15. To you who is showing off your satori<\/h4>\n

Why don\u2019t you simply have \u201cI have satori!\u201d tattooed all over your body?
\nIf you\u2019re not conscious of your stomach, that\u2019s proof your stomach is healthy. If you can\u2019t forget your satori, that\u2019s proof that you haven\u2019t got any.<\/p>\n

You think that you\u2019re something special because you\u2019ve got satori, but you\u2019re simply showing off your sack of flesh.<\/p>\n

When an ordinary person has got satori, he\u2019s called a Zen-devil . This is because he thinks he\u2019s something special.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

16. To you who are impressed by scientific and cultural progress<\/h4>\n

We mustn\u2019t forget that today\u2019s science and culture have only developed out of the lowest levels of consciousness.<\/p>\n

Everybody is talking about culture, but what is it besides a refinement of our illusions? However much we iron out our drives, from a Buddhist standpoint, it\u2019s got nothing to do with progress or civilization. Everyone is talking these days about progress, but I wonder in which direction we\u2019re actually progressing.<\/p>\n

When you observe insects in a tank, you see how they bite into each other and hold on with all their might. It must be amusing to observe from another corner of the universe how humans stock up on atomic and hydrogen bombs.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

17. To you who say you don\u2019t get along with others<\/h4>\n

Everyone talks about their own point of view, but who really cares? It\u2019d be better if you just kept your mouth shut!<\/p>\n

Some say, \u201cWho do you think I am anyway?\u201d An ordinary person, what else?
\nSome are proud of their wealth, others of their name and position, still others of their satori. In this way they\u2019re just showing off how ordinary they are \u2013 people these days are so stupid!<\/p>\n

People always have something they can\u2019t forget. If they\u2019re rich, they can\u2019t forget their money. If they\u2019re intelligent, they can\u2019t forget their brains. If they\u2019re talented, they always think about how good they are at this or that. But whatever it is, it always gets in the way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To You (1) by K\u014dd\u014d Sawaki R\u014dshi These are a few selected quotes from an early version of K\u014dd\u014d Sawaki R\u014dshi’s “Tou you”, a book translated from Japanese by Reih\u014d Haasch and Muh\u014d. The complete, revised and edited book will be available in print from Hohm press in 2021. 1. To you who can\u2019t stop worrying about how others see you You can\u2019t even trade a single fart with the next guy. Each and every one of us has to live out his own life. Don\u2019t waste time thinking about who\u2019s most talented. The asshole doesn\u2019t need to be ashamed of being the asshole. The feet don\u2019t have any reason to go on strike just because they\u2019re only feet. The head isn\u2019t the most important of all, and the navel doesn\u2019t need to imagine he\u2019s the father of all things. It\u2019s strange though that people look at the prime minister as an especially important person. The nose can\u2019t replace the eyes, and the mouth can\u2019t replace the ears. Everything has its own identity, which is unsurpassable in the whole universe. Some children have caught a mouse and now it\u2019s writhing in the trap. They\u2019re having fun watching how it scrapes its nose till it bleeds and how it rips up its tail . . . In the end they\u2019ll throw it to the cat for food. If I was sitting in the mouse\u2019s place, I\u2019d say to myself, \u201cYou damn humans won\u2019t have any fun with me!\u201d And I\u2019d simply sit zazen.. 2. To you who think there\u2019s something to being \u201cin\u201d You\u2019re always hanging onto others. If somebody\u2019s eating French fries, you want French fries too. If somebody\u2019s sucking on a candy, you want […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":72,"menu_order":20,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"side-navigation.php","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-4084","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/antaiji.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4084","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/antaiji.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/antaiji.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antaiji.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antaiji.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4084"}],"version-history":[{"count":76,"href":"https:\/\/antaiji.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4084\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18731,"href":"https:\/\/antaiji.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4084\/revisions\/18731"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antaiji.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/72"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/antaiji.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}