or The Point of the Arrow

A Bull's Eye The Point of the Arrow "The man, the art, the work --it is all one.” Eugen Herrigel (Zen in the Art of Archery)

After winning several archery contests, the young and rather boastful champion challenged a Zen master who was renowned for his skill as an archer. The young man demonstrated remarkable technical proficiency when he hit a distant bull's eye on his first try, and then split that arrow with his second shot.

"There," he said to the old man, "see if you can match that!"

Undisturbed, the master did not draw his bow, but rather motioned for the young archer to follow him up the mountain. Curious about the old fellow's intentions, the champion followed him high into the mountain until they reached a deep chasm spanned by a rather flimsy and shaky log. Calmly stepping out onto the middle of the unsteady and certainly perilous bridge, the old master picked a far away tree as a target, drew his bow, and fired a clean, direct hit.

"Now it is your turn," he said as he gracefully stepped back onto the safe ground.

Staring with terror into the seemingly bottomless and beckoning abyss, the young man could not force himself to step out onto the log, no less shoot at a target.

"You have much skill with your bow," the master said, sensing his challenger's predicament,

"but you have little skill with the mind that lets loose the shot."

Kyudo According to the Nippon Kyudo Federation the supreme goal of kyudo is the state of shin-zen-bi, roughly "truth-goodness-beauty",which can be approximated as: when archers shoot correctly (i.e. truthfully) with virtuous spirit and attitude toward all persons and all things which relate to kyudo (i.e. with goodness), beautiful shooting is realised naturally. (Wikipedia)

Zen Archery  Sensei Suzuki "In the case of archery, the hitter and the hit are no longer two opposing objects, but are one reality."  Eugen Herrigel, Zen in the Art of Archery

or                                                             Zen and the Art of Science

Two Blind Men Crossing a Log Bridge Hakuin Ekaku (1685-1768)

My hut, in spring: true,  there is nothing in it, there is Everything! Yamaguchi Sodo (1642-1716)

Ryoan-ji - The Temple of the Dragon at Peace is a Zen temple located in Kyoto, Japan.  It is of the Myoshin-ji school of the Rinzai branch of Zen Buddhism

Carl Sagan -The Shores of the Cosmic Ocean Gone, and a million things leave no trace Loosed, and it flows through the galaxies A fountain of light, into the very mind-- Not a thing, and yet it appears before me: Now I know the pearl of the Buddha-nature Know its use: a boundless perfect sphere. HanShan (circa 630)

Studying texts and stiff meditation can make you lose your Original Mind. A solitary tune by a fisherman, though, can be an invaluable treasure. Dusk rain on the river, the moon peeking in and out of the clouds; Elegant beyond words, he chants his songs night after night Ikkyu (1394-1481)

In its eye the far off hills are mirrored --dragonfly! Kobayashi Issa (1763-1828) A special transmission outside the teachings; not depending on words or letters; directly pointing to Mind; realizing one's True Nature and becoming Buddha." Bodhidharma First Patriarch of Zen Buddhism All sentient beings are essentially Buddhas. As with water and ice, there is no ice without water; apart from sentient beings,  there are no Buddhas. Not knowing how close the truth is, we seek it far away --what a pity! Hakuin Ekaku

Break the Illusion of Limitation I believe Zen, Art and Science to be representational media. When done well, it is only a finger pointing but should provoke thought and stir emotion. "Whether you are going or staying or sitting or lying down, the whole world is your own self. You must find out whether the mountains, rivers, grass, and forests exist in your own mind or exist outside it. Analyze the ten thousand things, dissect them minutely, and when you take this to the limit you will come to the limitless, when you search into it you come to the end of search, where thinking goes no further and distinctions vanish. When you smash the citadel of doubt, then the Buddha is simply yourself." Daikaku

Chaos Theory and Fractal Art A master’s handiwork cannot be measured But still priests wag their tongues explaining the “Way”and babbling about “Zen.” This old monk has never cared for false piety And my nose wrinkles at the dark smell  of incense before the Buddha. Ikkyu (1394-1481) Quantum Art - Theory from an Artist

Empathetic Civilization Jeremy Rifkin To study the buddha way is to study the self. To study the self  is to forget the self. To forget the self  is to be enlightened by the ten thousand dharmas. To be enlightened  by the ten thousand dharmas is to free one's body and mind  and those of others. No trace of enlightenment remains, and this traceless enlightenment  is continued forever. Dogen (1200 - 1253)

When walking, walk. When sitting, sit. Above all, don't wobble. No gate stands on public roads; There are paths of various kinds; Those who pass this barrier Walk freely throughout the universe  Mumon Ekai 1183–1260, The Gateless Gate Yes, I’m truly a dunce.  Living among trees and plants. Please don’t question me about illusion and enlightenment -- This fellow just likes to smile to himself. I wade across streams with bony legs, And carry a bag about in fine spring weather. That’s my life, And the world owes me  nothing. Ryokan 1758–1831 Mountains and plains, all are taken by the snow --  nothing remains. Naito Joso (1661-1704)

How the universe appeared from nothing The body is the tree of enlightenment, The mind like a clear mirror stand; Time and again wipe it diligently, Don't let it gather dust. Shenxiu (circa 638) Enlightenment is basically not a tree, And the clear mirror is not a stand. Fundamentally  there is not a single thing  Where can dust collect? Huineng  Sixth Zen Patriarch in China 638-713 Lawrence Krauss Life, the Universe & Nothing From the first, No thing is Huineng  Sixth Zen Patriarch in China 638-713

[Dragon rising over Mount Fuji].  Between 1890 and 1920 You cannot take hold of it,  but you cannot lose it, In not being able to get, you get it. When you are silent, it speaks; When you speak, it is silent. Cheng-tao Ke 1604-1670   I gained not one thing from Absolute Awakening and that is why it is called  Absolute Awakening Siddhārtha Gautama  563 BCE to 483 BCE

Follow your nature and accord with the Tao; Saunter along and stop worrying. If your thoughts are tied you spoil what is genuine... Don't be antagonistic to the world of the senses, For when you are not antagonistic to it, It turns out to be the same as complete Awakening. The wise person does not strive; The ignorant man ties himself up... If you work on your mind with your mind, How can you avoid an immense confusion? Seng-ts'an 606

For some reason, I like this quote from the Way of Zen by Alan Watts.

"First, liberation is not revolution. It is not going out of one's way to disturb the social order by casting doubt upon the conventional ideas by which people hold together. Furthermore, society is always insecure and thus hostile to anyone who challenges its conventions directly.
To disabuse oneself of accepted mythologies without becoming the victim of other people's anxiety requires considerable tact. Second, the whole technique of liberation requires that the individual shall find out the truth for himself. Simply to tell is not convincing. Instead, he must be asked to experiment, to act consistently upon assumptions which he holds true until he finds out otherwise."

I agree. And hopefully...
as you point at the moon, people don't just stare at your finger.

© 2007 wonder404

One

The Science of One Nothing & Something are One Hon rai mu ishi matsu. From the first, no-thing is. Hui-neng 6th Patriarch of Zen Buddhism

Image credit: Leonard Eisenberg

It cannot be called void or not void, Or both or neither; But in order to point it out, it is called "the Void" Nagarjuna Men are afraid to forget their own minds, fearing to fall through the void with nothing on to which they can cling. They do not know that the void is not really the void but the real realm of the Dharma... Huang-Po

To use the imagery of a Tibetan poem, every action, every event comes of itself from the Void 'as from the surface of a clear lake there leaps suddenly a fish' Allan Watts