The Way to Liberation | Mysticism | Honora Zen Monastery

The winter retreat (100 Days) will end tomorrow. Spring is just around the corner. It is a warm and sunny afternoon. I was very sad knowing that we part soon. He's been right beside me at every sitting meditation session and when we slept. "As far as I know, humans are supposed to rely on their own effort to perfect themselves for liberation. But the more time I spend in the meditation hall, the more attracted I am to an unidentifiable other power or mysticism. Do you think this is normal?"

Mysticism - The Way to Liberation

"That is a difficult question. It is something that zen monks often experience however. 'Suppose a man is shot by a poisoned arrow and falls to the ground grievously wounded. His friends call for a doctor, but he refuses to be treated until his questions are answered: Who shot the arrow? What was the design of the bow? Where was the poison derived? and more. Well, what do you think would happen?

He would die before he got his answers.' While wasting time on such impertinent issues, the man was dying. Is this world limited or unlimited? Or does God exist, or not? Even if you had the answers, the question of endless human suffering still remains. That is the critical point. It is very existential."

"Humans should raise questions about their own existence, and they must answer the questions for themselves. This is the starting point of religion and existentialism. One reason why modern intellectuals pay attention to religion is that the invisible world - in other words - theology, it didn't devise dependable human guidelines to replace the commandments of God that people have lived under. It asserts that humans are independent beings thrown into the world absurdly."

"No matter how wise they might be, existentialists are also sentient beings. Although they were able to depict the human condition, they couldn't posit a solution and save the world."

Modern Mechanistic Civilization

"Another reason which is even more fundamental, is that modern mechanistic civilization threatens the foundation of human existence by standardizing and collectivizing human lives. Religion points out defilements and teaches a way of liberation from them."

"But, Monk. Humans must live as humans. They cannot transcend or escape from the human realm, can they?"

"Absolutely correct. Human existence cannot be transcended. But humans can be perfected and their condition harmonized. Zen arose within Religion for the perfection of human existence. It is possible for humans to perfect themselves through Zen. Zen is not mysticism, and it is not something controlled by an absolute being, either. It is the path to perfect human beings. It s the path to Liberation."

"You are identifying human perfection with Liberation. Granted, is liberation real? Or is it just a possibility?"

Existentialism

"Existentialism asserts that everything exists as reality, not as possibility. It asserts that the world is monistic and nothing exists behind reality. It argues that it is nonsense to talk about a substance or eternal wold behind phenomena. It doesn't show a way of human perfection. This is a shortcoming of existentialism."

"Liberation doesn't indicate a world beyond death. Rather, it harmonizes the absurd and indiscriminate reality of defilements. Liberation refers to the wisdom that illuminates emptiness."

"Liberation represents the world liberated from attachment to form. Liberation is ultimate truth and being and non-being is a relative truth. If attachment to being and non-being has something to do with life and death in this phenomenal world, entering into Liberation means eternal liberation."

God

"Don't you think the perfected human is a god? Is this why so many different gods have been created and worshipped since ancient times when humans began to think?"

"There are people longing for a so-called omnipotent God and waiting for the coming of the Messiah. If such a day has already been decided, then humans are mere puppets without free will. Puppets of absolute being. Slaves of God. If Heaven is like that, I'll choose Hell where I can live with free will no matter how painful it may be. If Paradise is like that, too, I will run from it and embrace the endless path of karmic suffering."

"You are human oriented."

"It is because I'm a monk. Religious starts with the human and ends with the human."

The holy Question - Liberation

"I think I should work harder on my sacred question."

"Absolutely. We don't really know what is going to happen even a moment from now. If this is true, how can you leave your holy question even for a moment? If you neglect your question, you are a mere sentient being. As long as you hold it, you're on the path."

We heard the sound of the temple bell announcing the dinner offering. We stood up and began to walk, slowly. Though we walked slowly, we live with great urgency within.