The spiritual world, however, is not a world that is to be brought about, but rather one that exists at the present moment. It is very necessary to be able to think in terms of subject and object to make our way in the world. However, to be a human being is to experience the fact of our oneness with God and nature. While we must live in the world, in the economic and social world, we of course need ideas and other mental activities. With our mind that requires words and thinking, we have made an object of ourselves and likewise we have made an object of God and other authorities.
Since I am one with everything, including authority, there is no need for me to look up to authority. Since everything is expressing itself brilliantly, we can say that nature, man, everything, exists as its own existence and its own brilliance and it is all unified. When Buddha experienced enlightenment, his first statement was, “I am manifesting this brilliance along with everybody else in a unified manner.” Thus I am brilliantly expressing manifestation and, along with that, nothing is without its own brilliant manifestation. If the machinery is used in its proper place and condition, it is quite all right, but we have to be very careful in our judgment of where and when a machine is appropriate for use. By depending more and more on machines this brilliance seems to be becoming more and more cloudy. Since we are brilliantly manifesting ourselves, our activity in life should also reflect this brilliance. Even when we are dying we use the expression, “We are dying.” Thus, we are constantly expressing ourselves. What is this firm determination to live as human beings? We are always alive. Unless we have a strong determination to apply human effort, we will become so affected by machinery that we will begin to lose purpose. Why? Because we are affected by the philosophy of machinery in our lives. Zen idea fades even farther into the distance with the use of the machine. This laziness has a Zen meaning, so do not confuse it with the ordinary meaning of laziness. By observing people in action while the machine is operating, it seems to me that they are even more lazy than they were before the use of the machine. The human effort becomes almost like a ghost. Observing the machine in action one sees that it requires no human effort except to push a button. But since we have no radio or television it is, in the respect the same spirit as in Japan.īecause of your concern you have purchased a dishwashing machine. Here we have both a telephone and a tape recorder.
In Japan it is said that there are no things such as machines in a meditation hall. With the introduction of machinery, things have become troublesome.
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