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Dear Friends,
In the famous collection of kong-ans known as the Wu-men Kwan (The Gateless Gate),
Wu-men offers this short poem in his introduction.
The Great Way has no gate;
there are a thousand different paths;
once you pass through this barrier,
you wander the whole universe in a single stride.
A few days ago I asked my husband, who is a native Chinese speaker, for his
translation of the poem. I was wondering if there were some nuances that I might be
missing. I’ve read different versions over the years, and wanted to know, which one
conveyed the most accurate meaning?
He read the original poem in Chinese, then looked at the translation I was most fond of
and said, yes, that was correct. I pointed to the last line and asked, “In other translations
it reads, ‘you wander the universe alone’. This is quite different!”
He laughed and said, “Well, that is correct also. You have to understand that what is
prized in Chinese poetry is not necessarily a word-for-word value. We find more
significance and beauty when a single character has multiple meanings, and many
associative echoes. The reader, then, has freedom to explore and discover something
completely fresh and new.”
I suppose this is how we can go about interpreting the poem that is our brief life. By
reading the signposts along the way, we can explore and discover our lives anew at
every stretch of the dharma road. Its teachings, we might say, are as broad as the
universe itself. Authenticity, or meaning, comes in how completely we bridge the gap
between the teachings of the dharma and how we embody it. A single stride, a
solitary wandering—are they the same or different?
The critical point in this poem/kong-an is really about passing through this gateless
gate. And, once passed through, are we done? No. At every moment, we have the
invitation to pass through. Do we have the courage? Do we have enough trust in Don’t
Know Mind?
At this juncture in my own life and practice with the Blue Heron Zen Community, I have
been feeling the pull of change and transition. Our sangha nowadays is strong and
growing. Also the sangha has matured to welcome new Ji Do Poep Sa’s and a new Zen
master from within our community.
My intention had been to pull back bit by bit. And I have been doing just that. Then
along came an opportunity for a new dharma adventure that drew me in to something
entirely new. In late October I heard about a job opening for a new guiding teacher
position at the Albuquerque Zen Center. They come from a Japanese Rinzai tradition,
but were open to teachers from other traditions. In short, after many meetings and a
visit to Albuquerque, they’ve invited me to be their new teacher, and I accepted. The
targeted start date is to be June 1 of this year.
As you can imagine, I have a lot of different feelings about this transition. I’m
enthusiastic about taking up something entirely new. And I’m intrigued by the
experiment of blending two different lineage traditions as a way of developing our
American Zen way. Although I will miss our sangha here, I intend to be back in town at
least a few times every year, and perhaps lead a retreat once a year. I bow in gratitude
for the many teachings I have received from this sangha, and for the many, many
dharma friendships that have come my way.
Yours, mid-step on the dharma road,
Jeong Ji
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