The Blind Go Tap! Tap! Tap! & Why Does Buddha Have Dumbo Ears?
by Ki Bong Sahn

Not so long ago I was walking to the store during a very busy hour of the day-lots of commotion going about. My mind was full of all the activities and such I would be doing that day-grocery store, then to so and so's house, back to the center by 5. Yah, for a little while there my mind was not in the present moment - I was drifting away here and there. Not a big problem-this happens.

I crossed the street at a somewhat busy crosswalk and beside me walked this blind man, OK? Waving his stick this way and that way - TAP! TAP! TAP! As this man was tapping his stick about, his stick hit a car parked on the side of the road. You could see this blind man was asking himself, "what is this?" by the way he was looking. This was not expected, he did not plan this at all! He didn't know how to overcome this obstacle in his path. Maybe he was thinking, "did I count wrong, maybe I have completely lost my way-where do I go from here?" As I watched all of this unfold another man looked up saying, "3 steps to the left-around to the front of that car." I thought that's absolutely wonderful - the blind man TAP! TAP! TAPPED 3 times and SHOOM! - around the car no problem! But where was I?

That's our Zen practice-not some special commitment to the universe - not some hope of how things will come to manifest in our future. Not even a longing for that which has already passed us by. It is simply in this moment - as it just unfolds and we respond - "what can I do to be of service to people?" Our task becomes in our day to day life is to cultivate this practicing that we are already connected to and with! Clear mind - I don't know - how can I help all beings? Sometimes I wish it were more complicated than that - but it's not - so many words just to ask you, "what are you doing?" That's all there is. The mind road has no end.

Many people are practicing to avoid something. Usually as we are running around this race course of our life - we run with our demons. They elbow our face, punch us in the gut and try to nudge ahead, yah? But for a bit-we can stay ahead and in control. Unfortunately for us (ha ha) - practice means turning around on this race track and running right at those demons. This can be painful, not so many like collisions. In Zen we split suffering into two categories - the around and around type of suffering. Always doing circles. And then we have suffering that takes us to an END of suffering. That's the suffering we experience if our practicing is strong. So now I will ask you-which kind do you like?

After a talk one night their were all sorts of children running about in the playroom of the center, a young boy came up and asked, pointing to the statue - "Why does Buddha have Dumbo ears?" Ha ha ha! What a wonderful child, yah? Buddha's and bodhisattvas are always sculpted or painted with these very large Dumbo ears. In Western cultures small ears very, very close to the head are thought to be very beautiful. In the Orient, these Dumbo ears indicate great wisdom and great compassion. It is funny that we must become like a Dumbo to find that point within ourselves. So the Buddha has these very large ears because he is depicted as this compassionate being. Hearing the sounds of this world and universe - crying of all beings suffering - and so Buddha responds! In Zen the size of our physical ears are not so important, it is our mind's ears that are significant.

Zen means finding your true self and your great compassion. Your true self IS great love, and great sadness. When the Buddha left his palace to find the questions about this life and death-what is a human being-why are we on this planet? It was not some intellectual game he was playing - or even to take away his own suffering. It was for all beings. This world needs no more arhats - it needs bodhisattvas! Avalokitesvara has 1000 hands and eyes to help this world with - which hand - which eye - is the correct hand - the correct eye? If you find that - the world will thank you very much.

Every season comes about whether we ask them to, or whether we do not. These are our teachers among us all of the time - they are wonderful the seasons! Every situation and moment gives one the chance to see this mind that a lot of times has trouble trusting and facing whatever is unfolding before them. Sometimes in Zen you will hear, "when spring comes the grass will grow." This grass just does it - whether it is early or late spring - this grass has no opinion at all. Go ask the grass if it has a problem with spring coming early or late - you will hear no problems.

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