Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Buddhist
Zen and the Art of Calling Out to the Universe

Zen and the Art of Calling Out to the Universe

Last updated on: November 1, 2011 at 3:13 pm by James Ford

Zen and the Art of Calling Out to the Universe 2011-11-01T15:13:04-07:00 James Ford

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDm5yV5oiVo

As readers of this blog know I belong to several listservs. Among these I belong to two listservs for Zen teachers. One is “school specific,” and is therefore somewhat more parochial. Although I hasten to add I really appreciate it. The other, however, includes teachers from all the well-known lineages of all schools, as well as most of the less-well known, which are represented on this continent. And, it is the one I have to admit I often find most interesting.

There’s been a lot of action on that list recently regarding the fires in California, where there are so many Zen centers and temples and monasteries. Right now Tassajara, Mt Baldy, Ring of Bone and Shasta Abbey all have had brushes with fire.

In addition to this one of the senior teachers in North America was recently diagnosed with cancer.

It’s the response to these events that generate this reflection.

Those responses have been expressions of concern and specifically, assurances of chanting and other forms of petition to the deeper forces of the universe (can I say God in this context?).

Out of that, a couple of thoughts. First something from the west. And then a little on that “chanting” thing. And woven into it all, some reflection on the mystery of causal relationships.

I’m deeply moved by the Serenity Prayer which most of us know through the work of Alcoholics Anonymous. Its deep origins are probably the collective insight of the human condition. The sentiment appears first in English, best we can tell, as a seventeenth century Mother Goose Nursery rhyme.

For every ailment under the sun
There is a remedy, or there is none;
If there be one, try to find it;
If there be none, never mind it.

The Christian theologian Reinhold Niebuhr acknowledges, how it “might have been spooking about for years, perhaps centuries, but I don’t think so. I honestly believe that I wrote it myself.” I’m confident both statements are true. It is ancient wisdom. And Niebuhr put it to the words we mostly think of when we think of the need to walk a harmonious middle way between action and surrender in the face of what is.

God, give us grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed,
courage to change the things that should be changed,
and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.”

Of course the AA version we mostly know, the one that people in all sorts of situations have found to provide comfort and guidance is:

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.

I’m not sure whether I like serenity or grace best. A worthy reflection all by itself, I’m sure. Whatever, I find these words very helpful, a serious pointer to sorting things out, to seeing what can and what cannot be done, and going a long way to both taking action and letting be.

And I find myself thinking about the specifics of these various events, including raging forest fires and the harsh reality of cancer. And where our decisions about what to do or not fit in here. My Zen clergy friends, in the face of these things, many of them, offer up chanting. Specifically the chant verses associated with the Bodhisattva Guanyin, in Japanese pronunciation, Kanzeon.

This is an old favorite for Zen types, chanting an appeal to Kanzeon in times of distress. I’ve not always liked this chant, it smacks a little too much of my childhood appeals to Jesus to have my fat pulled out of various fires. But, in recent years I’ve mellowed a bit, and take some atavistic comfort in the practices. In fact, we do a version of it at most all our regular Zen group meetings.

In our Boundless Way sanghas the version we use goes like this:

Enmei Jikku Kannon Gyo
(The Eight-Line Kanzeon Sutra)

(In Sino-Japanese)

Kan ze on
na mu butsu
yo butsu u en
yo butsu u en
buppo so en
jo raku ga jo
cho nen kan ze on
bo nen kan ze on
nen nen ju shin ki
Nen nen fu ri shin

(Followed by an English “rendering.”)

Kanzeon!
One with the Buddha,
Directly Buddha,
Indirectly Buddha.
One with Buddha, Dharma, Sangha.
Joyful, pure, eternal being!
Morning mind, Kanzeon.
Evening mind, Kanzeon.
Mind of this moment, Kanzeon.
There is nothing but this.

There is a longer version, taken from a chapter of the Lotus Sutra, which I find very moving. This is the version used at the Vermont Zen Center.

The Lotus Sutra Scripture of Kanzeon Bodhisattva
(PDF version has symbols and instructions for chanting.)

Lead Chanter:
In verse Mujinni Bodhisattva asked,
“World Honored One possessor of all grace
For what reason is the heir of the Buddha named Kanzeon?”

All:
The World Honored One answered too in verse:
“Listen to the actions of Kanzeon
Which have their application to all!
Her vow is deep like the ocean
Unfathomable though kalpas pass
A myriad of Buddhas she has truly served
And made a great, pure vow.
If you hear her name and see her body,
and bear her in mind,
Your life will not be in vain;
And you will end all sufferings.
If someone wants to hurt you
And pushes you into a great firepit,
If you think on the power of Kanzeon
The firepit will change into a pond.
If you’re cast adrift upon the vast ocean
And meet danger from dragons, fish and demons,
If you think on the power of Kanzeon
The waves will not drown you.
If from the peak of Sumeru
Someone would push you down
If you think on the power of Kanzeon
Like the sun you will stand firm in the sky.
If evil ones chase you
And push you from Mount Diamond,
If you think on the power of Kanzeon
Not even a single hair will be harmed.
If robbers surround you
Each with a sword drawn to strike,
If you think on the power of Kanzeon
Compassion will awaken in them.
If you suffer by royal command
And your life is to end in execution,
If you think on the power of Kanzeon
The sword will be broken to bits.
If you are imprisoned,
Shackled, and chained,
If you think on the power of Kanzeon
The fetters will drop and you’ll be released.
If someone wants to injure you
With curses or poison,
If you think on the power of Kanzeon
These ills will return from whence they came.
If you meet evil rakshas,
Poisonous dragons or demons,
If you think on the power of Kanzeon
They will not dare to harm you.
If you are surrounded by evil beasts
Whose teeth and claws are fearfully sharp,
If you think on the power of Kanzeon
They will run away in boundless retreat.
If vipers, lizards, snakes or scorpions,
Threaten to scorch you with poisonous breath
If you think on the power of Kanzeon
They will turn away quickly at the sound
of your voice.
If clouds thunder and lightning flashes,
If hailstones beat and rain pours down,
If you think on the power of Kanzeon
Immediately they will vanish away.
If sentient beings are in great adversity
And immeasurable suffering presses them down,
The wonderful power of the wisdom of Kannon can relieve the sufferings of the world.
Endowed with transcendent powers
Full master of wisdom and skillful means,
In all the worlds in the ten directions,
There’s no place she doesn’t manifest herself.
The suff’rings of those in the troubled states:
Hell dwellers, hungry spirits, and beasts;
The sufferings of birth, old age, illness and death all by degrees are ended by her.
She of the true gaze, she of the pure gaze,
gaze of great and encompassing wisdom,
gaze of pity, gaze of compassion—
ever longed for, ever revered.
She is a spotless pure ray of light,
A sun of wisdom dispelling darkness.
Subduer of woes of storm and fire
Illumining all the world.
Her will of compassion shakes like thunder;
Her mind of mercy is like a great cloud
Which sends down sweet dew of Dharma rain to quench the flames of earthly desires.
In disputes before judges or in the midst of battle,
If you think on the power of Kanzeon
All enemies will flee away.
She has a wondrous voice,
The voice of one who perceives the world,
A brahma voice, voice of the rolling tide,
A voice unsurpassed in all this world;
Therefore you should always think on her.
Have no doubt, even for a moment
The pure seer Kanzeon will be a refuge
When suffering distress or the misery of death. She is endowed with every quality.
Her eye of compassion views all sentient beings, her ocean of blessings is beyond measure. Therefore you should pay homage to her.”

Then Jiji bodhisattva arose,
Stood before the Buddha and addressed him thus:
“World Honored One, they who hear this scripture
Of Kanzeon bosatsu, and hear of her deeds
And transcendent powers,
No small amount of merit will they gain.”

Lead Chanter: (All with hands in gassho)
When the Buddha taught the scripture of the life and work of the All-Sided One, all present then in number eighty-four thousand strong, with all their hearts cherished a longing for the Supreme Enlightenment, with which nothing in all the universe compares.

So, I find myself thinking of the serenity prayer and its artful call to distinguish between what we can address and what we cannot, and the heart’s longing to be of help, even when one cannot do any specific “thing.”

Of course, there are also times, when we don’t know if our wishes have any effect on the shape of things, the currents of events, but nonetheless, even if it’s unlikely, we want so badly to be of use, and so we pray, we chant, our heart’s longing sung out into the universe.

I find myself feeling those feelings a lot of late.

No thought of gain…

No thought of loss…

Just the heart’s song…

A sort of tumble into the heart of not knowing…

Namo Kanzeon Bosatsu!

Uncategorized

Previous Post

June 29, 2008

Koans as the Sounds of Silence

Next Post

July 1, 2008 Moving Bardo

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category A Christmas Carol Abolitionist African-American Ahmadiyya Alan Watts Aldous Huxley Allen Ginsberg Amedkar Jayanti American politics American Zen Anaheim Zen Sangha Anglican Annie Besant April Fool Armageddon Art and Religion artificial intellegence Atheist Awakening B R Ambedkar Barlaam & Josaphat Beatnik Between Bhagavad Gita Bible biography birthday bodhisattva Bodhisattva Precepts Book burning Book of Common Prayer Book of Mormon Brahmo Samaj Buddha Buddhism Buddhist Buddhist Lord's Prayer Butterflies Calendars cartoons cat ChatGPT Chicken Tortilla Soup choices Christian atheism Christian mysticism Christian origins Christian Science Christian Zen Christianity Christianity and Buddhism christmas Christmas Truce Christopher Isherwood Church of Later Day Saints Cinco de Mayo circus covenant critical thinking culture D. T. Suzuki Dalit Buddhism Daniel Defoe Desert Fathers and Mothers dharma talk Dogen Donald Trump Dongshan's Five Ranks Dorothy Day dream Duty Easter ecology Edwin Arnold emptiness Empty Moon Zen Network Episcopal Church Eternal Now Ethics evolution existentialism Faith fantasy Fathers Day film film review fire Five Ranks Folk music food Form and emptiness Four Seals Francis of Assisi Francis Xavier Free thinker friendship George MacDonald Gerald Heard Glenn Taylor Webb God Good Friday Gospel of Gospel of Mark Gospel of Thomas grace Graduate Theological Unioin Graduate Theological Union Guanyin H R Blyth Hakuin Ekaku Hanamatsuri Hanukkah Harada Yasutani Zen Heart Sutra Henry David Thoreau Hermann Hesse Hinduism History and Religion history of religion Holy Spirit home Hospitality Icon Ides of March Isaac Newton Islam Islamic mysticism Jack Kerouac James Luther Adams Jiddu Krishnamurti Joan of Arc Johannes Gutenberg John Donne joke Judaism justice karma kensho King James Bible koan Koun Yamada Kyoto School Lewis Carrol Liberal Christianity Liberal Religion Life Plan Community Liminal literature Literature and Religion Liturgy Lord's Prayer Love Mahatma Gandhi Mahayana Martin Luther King Jr Mary Baker Eddy Mary Magdelene Mary Oliver Mayflower Compact Meditation memories memory metaphor money money and religioin Mormons Mother's Day movie review mysticism mythic Neighborhood Unitarian Universalist Church New Thought Nichiren Buddhism Nonduality not knowing Omar Khayyam Pacific School of Religion pagan Palm Sunday Passover peace Pentecost perennialism Phantastes Philip Kapleau philosophy Pilgrimage poetry Poetry and Religion politics Prayer Precepts Printing Press prophecy prophetic spirituality psychology Pure Land Queer religion queering religion Quietism Ram Mohan Roy rebirth recipe Relationships and religion religion religion and history Religious syncretism Resistance Retirement Retreat review Rissho Kosei Kai Ritual Robert Aitken Roshi Robert Ingersoll Rohatsu Romani religion Rosie the Riveter saints samadhi SanboZen Sangha Satyagraha science science and reigion science and religion science fiction seminary sermon Sesshin Sex and Religion Shinran Sikh Sikh tradition silence Social Justice Socially Engaged Buddhism Society and religion Soto Zen soul spiritual community spiritual practice Spirituality Sufism Suicide superstition Taoism Television Teresa of Avila Thanksgiving theological schools Theosophy Thomas Merton Time Transcendentalism Transcendentalist Trinitarian Trinity Uncategorized unitarian Unitarian Christianity Unitarian Universalist Universalism Vajrayana Vedanta Walking war Willa Cather William Ellery Channing wisdom women and religion women in religion World Teacher Writing zazen Zen Zen Center Zen inspired retriement zen meditation Zen Precepts Zen women

Select a Month September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

I am a runaway slave who became a brother. Paul pleaded for my master to receive me back in love. Who am I?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Onesimus Timothy Titus Philemon