Guest guest Posted March 10, 2005 Report Share Posted March 10, 2005 if you saw an avoidance type and a seeking type sweeping leaves, you probably wouldn't notice any difference in their appearance - but their attitudes wouldn't be the same. The seeking type would be thinking something like, " Oh boy, I'm deep into Zen now. This was Han Shan's practice - sweep the ground, sweep your mind. Any moment now I might be struck by the Great Enlightenment. Then the master will recognize me and I'll be known by all as a great teacher and thousands will flock to hear my talks and... " The avoidance type might be thinking something more like, " Oh well, I can't get out of this, I guess. Hmmm, sure would be nice to walk down that valley, in and out of the oak and bamboo groves, walk by the paddies' edge, watch the birds and the butterflies, maybe go down to the falls... " In that spirit, one day during work, I raked myself off from the others and, putting a leaf in a runoff trough, followed it as it emptied into a larger trough and then a ditch. The leaf floated across and down the hillside, around bends and over miniature waterfalls all the way to the creek. Before I knew it I'd gotten myself far down the hill and had to hightail it back before they put out an all-points bulletin on me. Often the seeker and the avoider are at odds with each other. Sometimes they even divide into cliques that roam monastic halls. It could even be said that the avoiders are seeking and that the seekers are avoiding. They're merely different expressions of the age-old-near- impossibility of just being. - David Chadwick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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