Mushotoku Gate

A common mistake is to see zazen as a technique.
This is utilitarianism: “I sit zazen in order to…” and then it does not differ from what makes up our life outside the cushion.

From such an approach of sitting, there is nothing to be learned.
It is just one more gesticulation, to the ridiculous glory of our little makeshift being, all decorated with the trappings of spirituality.
Mushotoku, non-profit, is in reality a disposition of welcome and openness to what is.
To what is greater than me, to what is also the misery of our little being prone to spiritual gesticulations.
The disciple rids his horse, walking, trotting, or galloping on the zafu,
In a well-mown lawn or in a wild forest,
Surrounded by pious knights emblazoned with reassuring armor,
Or alone on a shaggy and bucolic donkey,

As long as the disciple on his mount has not crossed the gate of Mushotoku,
there is nothing worth saying or commenting on.
Once you cross the Mushotoku gate, there is nothing worth saying anymore.



©FJ Nov 2023
Recueils / Participation/ Groupe