Reflections on Rinzai

David K. Reynolds, Ph.D.

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These reflections are based on a translation by D.T. Suzuki of selections from the Rinzai Roku. Placed in CL format the words may or may not parallel the intent of Rinzai thought. I recommend that the reader go to the original or some translation of the original for comparison.

Proper understanding of the way things are gives you proper understanding of the way things are. You are already your own master, though you may not realize it. Reality keeps happening to you; Reality is you. You are extraordinarily ordinary.

Don't let people with professional degrees or big names or skillful advertising fool you. Trust your life experience. Learn Reality's lessons well. Pay attention to what is happening.

Why do you let others decide for you what needs doing? A major reason is that you forget that Reality keeps sending various messages about what needs doing. Without being grounded in Reality you are pushed about by your own whims and the pressures of others.

We all share this Reality, though our perceptions and perspectives differ. Learn to distinguish between your view and the view. Watch the eyes of others to discern their views, too. Their eyes will help you see your own eyes. After all, eyes are eyes.

You, the reader, don't really exist yet as I write these words. What form you will take has yet to be determined. You take shape as you read. Yet you are Reality's representative even now. Thank you for giving these words form. Do not be deceived by words, however. They are mere abstractions, possessing only word reality. What needs doing now?

You can't prove or disprove the existence of Reality with words or theoretical physics or mathematics. Conceptual systems may hold that only conceptual systems exist, but the conclusion is built into the method. It is erasing erasers with erased erasers. Word abstractions are already abstractions and so really only talk about talking. So science is never exactly about Reality. Don't forget that you are reading words here.

So study well the one who studies. Bring your attention again and again to your assumptions and to your assumptions about your assumptions. Reality is your best teacher. Something makes sense of your experience. Something generates the thoughts and words and desires and emotions that are your mind. Greet that something now and then. Examine it. But do not fail to keep your room clean and your dishes washed and your bills paid. Your body, too, is Reality and so deserves good care as your Teacher.

However different our languages and customs and personal histories we humans are remarkably alike. Taking in the words and other cues from others we become even more like them. You are welcome to borrow my mind in this manner. Remember, we are all part of this Whole.

And so we all suffer sometimes. Suffering is an integral part of Reality. Like all of It, suffering must be accepted, too. Thoughts about suffering, and attitudes toward it will change. But whatever our stance, pain will appear, expected or not. Pain will fade over time unless restimulated. All you need do is wait for the occasional salvation from suffering.

What makes sense of stimuli? What makes sense of "stimuli"? What makes sense of the senses. Without inserting unnecessary obsessions and evaluations just appreciate the show. Tickets to attend the show are free. But you would do well to volunteer to work in the show as participant. The well-run show requires many hands.

What good does it do for me to write about such things? I want you to avoid some common misconceptions about self-esteem and possessions and emotional baggage and freedom and misery and worthiness. I want to reduce unnecessary suffering in Reality. When I know you are hurting, so do I.

Just keep on noticing what Reality brings you. Don't get caught up in mental processing mischief. Don't let word strands strangle you. Even fancy cords of silk can tie you up and hang you. Fit yourself to Reality seamlessly. That fit is good enough.

Illusory goals of constant bliss or endless happiness or freedom from all anxiety or continuous love or boundless confidence are not only unattainable, they are unrealistic. Such objectives, if they were to be achieved, would sidestep life. Give them up and become realistic. Your situations change; you change. Why would you want to wear your childhood clothing?

What is the difference between out there and in here? You can't put your finger on it. Memorizing set words and phrases and obeying some ancient rules and rituals are no substitute for noticing what needs doing and doing it. There is no mastering of the Way; there is only fitting myself to this moment's Reality now.

My computer freezes. My Internet connection drops away. My television goes off during a power outage. Weeds grow in my garden. Moles undermine my front lawn. Viruses attack my body. Not all right, one might think, but all reality. What to do now? What to do now? Enlightenment is merely Reality's response to Reality.

As you begin doing wrong you also begin paying the price for it. As you make shifts in Reality you make shifts in the yourself-aspect of Reality. Don't be foolish! No one is clever enough to fool Reality, though some try to fool themselves and others. Just keep on doing well.

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