Hakuin

And My Spiritual Dabbling

By Hakuin’s side I am nothing but a small Spiritual dabbler

There are times I feel pretty good about myself — as a Buddhist, as a writer, as a reader, as a meditator, as a person. Then you come across a life of someone who truly lived his (or her) convictions.

Hakuin Ekaku (1686–1769) was an odd giant among Japanese Zen Buddhists. Not only is regarded as the reviver of the Rinzai school from a moribund period of stagnation, refocusing it on its traditionally rigorous training methods integrating meditation and koan practice, he was also an amazing poet.

Yes, this is a man who lived his convictions.

Running into a figure like this — pure, it seems from head to toe — you can turn in either of two directions: you can, in the run-of-the-mill human knee-jerk movement-school tell yourself to touch some walls, get real, and then crawl back under your blanket (or rock, or whatever); or, you can take the Keith Jarrett approach: Ah, that’s how true you can be (what Jarrett said was, “Ah, that’s how good you can be,” about, I think, Thelonious Monk).

It is inspiring to learn about men like Dogen who by the age of twelve knew he was going to dedicate his life to Buddhism and then went right ahead and spent the rest of his days doing just that.

But we don’t live in times like those. There are no Zen temples nearby who’d take me in, especially not at my age. And, of course, yes, this is how things worked back then. Back then.

Then an unwelcome thought brings this to my attention: what if this is the only way it ever can work: total dedication. What if one should take these old teachings literally. Literally cease current affairs involvement. Entirely. Basically, step off the grid.

Nah, not really. Right?

Well, yes, really.

Current man is so unbelievably screwed up that only total detachment, total abandonment of life as usual will work.

I should, says this thought, live just like Hakuin or Dogen. Eyes for no other thing, plans in no other directions.

A monk then?

That’s a start.

At my age?

At any age.

But reason wants to chip in here, if this is the only way, if a monastery is the only way, then there’s to chance for mankind, because we all must reach enlightenment but we cannot all be monks, too — the world would stop.

So, I back off the monk-plan a little and then consider this, too: so many teachers (gurus) claim — no doubt here, this is it, must be it — you must find a teacher you can trust, a living being, a person teacher you can trust, and then dedicated yourself to following him or her: the only way, they say.

Well, this too dooms mankind to eternal samsara, because with almost eight billion people on this planet and only a handful of teachers — well, you do the math: it’s a grim outcome.

So, I’m here to prove that you can gain true and full enlightenment by practicing with the help of good books (and perhaps online teachers, which I must confess I have not tried) and good schedules. Should this work, and I pray it will, then there is hope for us humans, if not — pity, really.

Okay, back to Hakuin, or, for that matter, Ryokan (another amazing Japanese poet), I am glad that people like this have lived lives that we can hold up as examples of integrity and dedication, as torches to carry, as lights to guide us, for without them, how would we find our feet?

© Wolfstuff