...to be a 'nothingist'

天葬台

宰了

割了

烂捣碎了

燃一柱香

打一声呼哨

来了

就去了

来去都干干净净

Sky Burial

Cut

Scalped

Pounded into pieces

Light an incense

Blow the whistle

Come

Gone

Out and out

- 13 April 1986, Beijing

I discovered the Nobel laureate Gao Xingjian (高行健 ) last week via a reference in a novel I was reading. Sadly it seems that this poem is the only one to have survived his 're-education' during the Cultural Revolution and it does not appear that he has published any poetry since, although he has published 5 novels and many plays.

From an interview in the Guardian:
"Literature can't merely be an expression of self - that would be unbearable," Gao says. "You have to be critical not just of society and others, but of yourself: each subject has three pronouns: 'I', 'you', and 'he' or 'she'." He sees such self-scrutiny as a safeguard: "If you're not perfectly conscious of yourself, that self can be tyrannical; in relationship to others, anyone can become a tyrant. That's why no one can be a Superman. You have to go beyond yourself with a 'third eye' - self-awareness - because the one thing you cannot flee is yourself."

The interview also includes this excerpt from The Case for Literature, translated by Mabel Lee, published by Yale University Press:
"Without Isms is neither nihilism nor eclecticism; nor is it egotism or solipsism. It opposes totalitarian dictatorship but also opposes the inflation of the self to God or Superman. It hates seeing other people trampled on like dog shit. Without Isms detests politics and does not take part in politics, but is not opposed to other people who do. If people want to get involved in politics, let them go right ahead. What Without Isms opposes is the foisting of a particular brand of politics on to the individual by means of abstract collective names such as 'the people', 'the race' or 'the nation'."

All such thinking aside, I posted this because the poem touches me deeply. I read it and feel like weeping for the fragility of a human life, the pain and sadness of impermanence. And yet the simple beauty also. Come. Gone. Out and Out. Indeed! A reminder to let go, always to let go. Sadness? Let go. Pain? Let go. Happiness? Let go. Positive thoughts? Let go. Negative thoughts? Let go. Opinions? Let go. Hopes? Let go. Judgements? Let go. Emotions? Let go. This body? Let go. This mind? Let go. Light an incense.

Let go now, don't waste a precious moment, this life might be over sooner than we expect.

UPDATE: The Artsy website has wonderful page profiling Gao Xingjian and his artwork. Do check it out.

Caring for Ourselves this Valentine's Day

The practice of metta (lovingkindness), uncovering the force of love that can uproot fear, anger, and guilt, begins with befriending ourselves. The foundation of metta practice is to know how to be our own friend. According to the Buddha, "You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere. You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection." How few of us embrace ourselves in this way! With metta practice we uncover the possibility of truly respecting ourselves. We discover, as Walt Whitman put it, "I am larger and better than I thought. I did not think I held so much goodness."

Sharon Salzberg, Lovingkindness

From Everyday Mind, edited by Jean Smith, a Tricycle book.

Received as Daily Dharma from Tricycle.com on the 14th of February 2009

The universe may one day perish, yet my vows are eternal

The Most Venerable Master Sheng Yen let go of his physical body and left behind great compassion and great vows in this world

What I am unable to accomplish in this lifetime, I vow to push forward through countless future lives; What I am unable to accomplish personally, I pray for everyone to join forces to promote

Busy with nothing, growing old.
Within emptiness, weeping, laughing.
Intrinsically, there is no "I."
Life and death, thus cast aside. ~ Venerable Master Sheng Yen


The Most Venerable Master Sheng Yen, founder of Dharma Drum Mountain, passed away at 4:04pm of the afternoon of 3 February, 2009, at the age of 80.

The Master has dedicated his whole life in promoting the idea of "uplifting the character of humanity and building a pure land on earth" through the manifestations of his own physical body and actions. The Sangha community and followers of Dharma Drum Mountain around the world will uphold and fulfill the Master's wishes so that great compassion and great vows will continue in this world.

The Most Venerable Master, who humbly called himself "a monk amidst the rain and snow", was voted as one of Taiwan's fifty most influential people in the last four hundred years. A review of the Master's life depicted a life of drifting from place to place, facing endless trials and dramatic turnarounds. As a child the Master was always sick and frail. After receiving monastic ordination in Wolf Hill, Jiangsu Province, China, and throughout the period of performing chanting rites for the deceased, serving in the military, studying in Japan for his PhD degree, propagating the Dharma in the United States of America, the founding and establishment of Dharma Drum Mountain, the Master always found a way out of all difficulties. In times of hardship we can witness his compassion, through his unswerving determination we can witness his wisdom through Chan practice. To the Master, life is a journey of practicing the Dharma.

In 2004, the Master, well aware of his poor health, made a will and instructed that after he passed away; instead of a traditional funeral ceremony, a Buddhist memorial rite should be held. It should be simple, solemn and economical, all flowers and wreaths are to be declined, just the chanting of "NAN MO A MI TUO FO" (Homage to Amitabha Buddha) so that we will all be joined in the Pure Land. Since he fell sick, the Master's attitude to life and death is not to wait for death, fear death or seek death. Instead he followed his vow "The universe may one day perish, yet my vows are eternal" and continued to lead everyone forward on the path of building a pure land on earth.

In September 2006, the Master handed over the position of Abbot President to his disciple Venerable Guo Dong, symbolizing the transmission of the Dharma Drum Mountain lineage from generation to generation. In regard to the issue of selecting the Abbot President, the Master had clearly stated that regardless of whether a bihikkshu or bhikshuni was elected from within Dharma Drum Mountain or engaged from outside, when the person takes up the position of Abbot President, he/she also receives the transmission of the Dharma Drum Mountain lineage and will not abandon the vision and direction of Dharma Drum Mountain.

Under the leadership of Abbot President, Venerable Guo Dong, the Sangha community and followers of Dharma Drum Mountain throughout the world will inherit the past and continue forward in carrying out the practice of "Four Insistence" - to insist upon the ideas of Dharma Drum Mountain, to insist upon the Three Types of Education, to insist upon the Four Kinds of Environmentalism and to insist upon the practice of orthodox Chinese Buddhism – to support the vision of Dharma Drum Mountain as they had done in the past and to jointly fulfill the will of the Master in the building of the Dharma Drum University.

In accordance with the Master's will, his ashes will be returned to the earth and buried in the Life Memorial Garden.

The Most Venerable Master Sheng Yen once said, "Where there is life, there must be death. If one cannot face this reality it will become one’s greatest barrier in life, if one can regard death merely as a fraction within the eternal time and space then death is not an end to life but the beginning of the next."

Original Article on the Dharma Drum Mountain website here.

Master Sheng Yen's will can also be found here in English and the same page carries links to photos, videos etc.

There is also a statement on the Western Chan Fellowship (which carries his lay western lineage in the UK) website here.