My idea is correct!

My idea is correct! These words are still reverberating, with the operatic bravado of Zen Master Sŭngsan’s deep baritone voice, and rattling around somewhere within my eighth level of consciousness. This simple statement, as with many of the euphemisms that somehow found their way into the minds of students lucky enough to have studied with this great Bodhisattva from Korea, is an extremely powerful insight into the rampant global malady of the twenty–first century. Zen Master Sŭngsan would often return to this point over and over again; sometimes it was during public talks, and other times it was during one of the many koan interviews that I was lucky enough to have with him. But, there was one particular morning that a group of us were lounging around in the living room after breakfast at Dharma Zen Center in Los Angeles.
Someone in the group asked, “If dharma is the truth, why can’t we just make people understand this truth, it has always seemed to me that we should not have wars and should not be killing people, yet it seems that the problems keep getting worse. Why can't you just tell the Pope and the other world religious leaders to follow the truth or the dharma?” Zen Master Sŭngsan answered the question in this way,

“It is quite common to hear people say that their own beliefs are correct, and that any other belief structures can not be correct because there is only one true belief structure and that is the one that I adhere to! Some may even go so far as to say that if you do not believe the same thing as I believe, I will kill you! Today this is humanity’s number one problem. However, earlier you asked me what we can do about this problem. This morning I woke up at four thirty and bowed, and chanted and sat meditation. However, many of you believe that this is not enough?

Frequently I lecture on the Buddhadharma, yet the true Buddhadharma is not Buddhadharma, also, neither the sun, nor the moon, nor the star ever said, ‘I am the sun, I am the moon, I am the star.’ Likewise, Śākyamuni Buddha never said, ‘I am the Buddha;’ nor did God ever say, ‘I am God.’ The true God, just like the true Buddha has no name. Additionally, the true sun, the true moon, and the true star also have no name. All names are created by mind alone; these are names like Buddhadharma, truth, and Christ Consciousness. The only true Buddhadharma is no Buddhadharma and the ultimate truth is no truth. The true Christ Consciousness is also no Christ Consciousness, but you must watch out! If you create Buddhadharma then you will have Buddhadharma; and if you make Christ Consciousness you will have Christ Consciousness. But if you cut off all thinking, and then everything in this cosmos and you will become one.
Also, if you attach to some idea, then you only have some idea, and you lose everything in the cosmos. If you relinquish every idea of your own, then you already have everything in the universe. This means that you must, throw away Dharma, Buddha, and God, and you must also throw away your understanding. If you can do this you will then realize the true Dharma, the true Buddha, true nature, and true substance.

Once you realize this, then everything you see, everything you hear, and everything you smell, is Dharma, Buddha, and truth. If your mind perceives the correct Buddhadharma, then everything is the correct Buddhadharma. If your mind perceives the truth, then everything is the truth. If your path is correct, then everything is the correct path. This is Buddha’s teaching, that everything is made by the mind alone. But how do you just now, moment to moment, keep your correct situation? This is the point. So if you make your idea completely disappear, then everything you see, everything you hear, and everything you do, all is Buddhadharma.”

I have practiced under the tutelage of Zen Master Sŭngsan and Zen Master Robert Moore for more than twenty years five years, and with their patient guidance I have slowly digested many of the extraordinarily simple euphemisms that Zen Master Sŭngsan would use. In light of the recent situations occurring throughout the world the actual subtleness of a simple statement like “my idea is correct,” has caused me to reflect upon the situation which faces humanity in this twenty–first century. Additionally, as I have reflected upon the teachings of Śākyamuni Buddha, Jesus Christ, Mohammed and many of the other great Spiritual Master’s who have continued in this unbroken chain of enlightening this world of its darkness, it seems that we haven’t made much spiritual growth as a human race. These teachings were first revealed almost five thousand years ago and contained in the stories and metaphors of these ancient teachings are representations of the same problems that most people continue to complain about today.

Part of the problem is that we all have opinions; even Spiritual Master’s and enlightened teachers have opinions that are held close to the heart. This is a very important point, because there is a new–age belief that we can completely rid ourselves of all of our opinions. Fundamentally, it is easy to let go of the opinions that aren’t good for us, or cause us immense suffering, and after even a few months of practicing all meditators begin to shed some of their unnecessary and unwanted ideas. The danger is that these ideas quickly are replaced with new ideas about our own spiritual path. We begin to think that everyone should be doing what we are doing because this has helped us so much. Then we start to think that we are doing this right and begin to correct those around us. This is what Zen Master Yúnmén called, “the stink of Zen.”

Over the years, I have come to understand that the best we may aspire to achieve with some of our opinions is to not attach to them so powerfully and desperately and to see the ultimate transparency of all of our thoughts. One of the fundamental requirements that my grand-teacher Zen Master Sŭngsan had of his students is that they aspire to relinquish attachment to their opinions, their condition and their situation in an effort to allow the truth of each and every moment to shine though with its own undefiled luminosity. However, this is a very tall order for those of us who practice meditation everyday and still live in this modern twenty–first century world.

Photo: Zen Master Sŭngsan and Zen Master Subong