One step removed

In a famous koan, a novice monk approaches Master Zhaozhou.

Monk: “I have just entered the monastery, please give me some guidance.”
Master: “Have you eaten your rice gruel?”
Monk: “Yes”
Master: “Then wash your bowl”
This precipitated an awakening in the monk.

There are many things one can take away from this koan: the compassion of the master in asking whether the monk had eaten, that enlightenment is possible without the need for special experiences, the washing of one’s bowl as an analogy for letting go of attachments. Here we will focus on the simplicity of the command, “Then wash your bowl”

Merely wash your bowl. Do not doubt. Do not second guess. Do not wonder if this is a test. Do not ruminate over the person who slighted you and fantasise about revenge while washing your bowl. Merely wash your bowl.

So often we move through life one step removed. Not here but there, somewhere else, taking seriously the incessant, often unwholesome, often non-novel chatter of the mind. We habitually go beyond appearances, imposing unquestioned stories onto the circumstances as if they were sacrosanct; all of which places distance between us and just this – merely this.

Another instructive koan here is Joshu’s oak tree: “Why did Bodhidharma come from India? “The oak tree in the garden” Again, as with all koans, there are many things to take away but an oak tree is merely itself, in complete intimacy with reality.

An oak tree stands upright without effort. Its branches extend naturally toward sunlight. Its roots dig deep without hesitation. When wind blows, it yields. When rain falls, it receives. When seasons change, it adapts. No doubt, no second guessing, no separation. The tree exists in total harmony with nature.

The stillness of an oak tree invites us to return to a fundamental intimacy with life. To merely walk, when we walk. To merely sit, when we sit. To merely wash one’s bowl. Each moment presents an opportunity to drop the mental chatter – all the doubt, the stories, the judgments, the fears – and return to what is.

This stillness does not entail a cessation of all mental activity as there is nothing wrong with thinking; but in stillness there is mere thinking. Mere remembering. Mere problem-solving. Mere curiosity. Mere love. Everything is experienced directly without the need for a separate chattering ego as a mediator or filter. Living from stillness, we act, feel and think zero steps removed.