A STORY: The old Zen master Hakuin the abbot of Kukai monastery decides to go visit his old friend Shotsu. They have been friends for over 60 years and he is looking forward to spending a week together. Just before Hakuin returns Ami, the little old cleaning lady decides to clean his room so that it would be ready and prepared for him. Ami adores Hakuin who could be very very kind but could also be very very fierce when necessary.
She moves her way around the room vaccuming and dusting the shelves and book cases. She gets to his desk and decides to pick up his favourite vase to dust. This vase is a lineage heirloom - being handed down to him from his master, and from many masters before. Hakuin would at times just sit and look at the vase in wonder at its beauty.
As she is dusting it she drops it and it smashes on the floor into a thousand pieces. Just at that moment Hakuin returns from his vist away, Ami turns towards him with horror and fear on her face. Hakuin looks directly into her eyes and says, "Don't you worry me dear, I got that vase for pleasure not for pain." He walks over to old Ami and bends down and helps her pick up the pieces.
I really love this story and I was reminded of it only this week. I got my partner a new iPad and found myself playing on it and really liking it. Then of course I realised one iPad wash't enough for our household so I bought myself one.
Anyway my partner took hers to London and when she returned I could not find her iPad. I thought she had left it on the train. The next morning however she knew exactly where it was.
I realised two things here. The first is that I did not respond as graciously as our friend Hakuin - I was a little peeved that she may have lost it, but all this was going on in my head, she hadn't lost it at all. The other thing I realised is just how pain is the shadow of pleasure. Whatever is a source of pleasure, in the blink of an eye - or in the belief of a thought - can become a source of pain. This does not mean that we don't possess the objects of the world but we need to look closely at our relationship to them.
The image of a stick came to mind. There are always two ends to a stick - you cannot have a stick with only one end. Pleasure and pain are similar. It seems to me that they are like the two ends of a stick - you pick one end up and the other comes with it. They seem inseparable.
I realised the best I can do is not carry the pain longer than I need to - what I need to do is to learn to let go of it again and again and again.
www.mindfulnesscic.co.uk
