Zen Master Seung Sahn opened his first zen center in
Providence, Rhode Island. The area was fairly violent with drunken brawls and
knife fights. The atmosphere was unhappy. At that time Zen Master Seung Sahn
was totally independent and self-financed. He started everything from zero.
There was no furniture except for a small kitchen table and a few wooden
chairs.
One day a Buddha from Korea arrived in a large wooden box.
It was broken into about 15 pieces. Without hesitation, and with a joyful mind,
Zen Master Seung Sahn started piecing the Buddha together meticulously and
patiently, converting emptiness back into form. From this starting point, we
now have over 100 zen centers around the world with many students practicing
the Dharma together, making harmony, and helping each other.
Now our situation in Hong Kong is similar to this broken
Buddha statue. Our society is broken with different strong opinions. Many
families are also broken. The world situation is also like this. Nobody wants
to put it all down and listen to each other and find harmony. Many people are
just holding to their one cracked piece and think that this is it. One of Zen
Master Seung Sahn's greatest teachings is keeping 'don't know' mind and 'just
do it' to fix any situation. This 'don't know' glue can close the spaces
between us and put back together the broken pieces. Strength comes from being together
and from not splitting among ourselves. Behind there is no selfish intention.
Only how can I help?
The horse is trotting away, and the goat is entering the
gate of 2015. Sifu sincerely wishes that we all make a vow together to use this
'don't know' glue treasure. The ingredients of this glue include an open heart
and the putting down of our strong attachments to our opinions and emotions. At
the same time, we respect each other and make harmony. This will be the
greatest gift to our families, our colleagues, our friends, our communities,
and eventually to our world, in the Year of the Goat.
Dae Kwan Hap Jang
