Inka Speech
[Raises Zen stick overhead and hits table]
No attainment is attainment and attainment is no attainment.
[Raises Zen stick overhead and hits table]
No attainment. No no attainment.
[Raises Zen stick overhead and hits table]
Attainment is attainment. No attainment is no attainment.
Which one is the truth?
KATZ!
Outside, birds are singing; inside, fans are humming.
A long time ago in Japan, one Zen Master was receiving a scholar; a university professor. At their meeting the Zen Master invited the scholar to drink tea with him. They sat together and the professor was talking and talking and talking about his understanding of Zen. In the meantime, the Zen Master started to pour tea into the cup. He was pouring and pouring and pouring and pouring. When the cup was full he kept on pouring and the cup overflowed. The professor was talking but finally noticed the overflowing cup and said, "Stop! It cannot take any more. It's already full." The Zen Master put the teapot aside and said, "Just like your mind. Always filled with opinions. How can I teach you anything? "
So that's what mind is mostly all about. Since the moment we were born we started to learn. But not just to learn. We started to have opinions about everything. More and more and more opinions about everything. Like and dislike. Good and bad. Nice, not nice. So on and so on. How can we really attain when the cup is so full? The same with giving. How can we give anything when we're holding too much? Not possible. You cannot do anything. Open your hands and you can give and you can get. Open your mind, and you can give and everything can come. So it's very important to have enough mind. Enough mind, then maybe half a cup, maybe two thirds of a cup. Maybe completely full cup. Maybe empty cup. Doesn't matter. What are you doing right now? Today just one quarter of a cup of tea. Wonderful.
[Raises Zen stick overhead and hits table]
The sky is blue.
[Raises Zen stick overhead and hits table]
The grass is green
[Raises Zen stick overhead and hits table]
Flowers are red.
Is it enough mind or not enough mind?
Today is Sunday, July 31st.
