I’m going to tell you a story about the Buddha.
During his life people would sometimes just follow the Buddha around and wait for teachings. On this particular day the Buddha was at a place called Vulture Peak. So, at this place there was a crowd of monks. They saw this platform getting set up and they knew the Buddha was going to give a teaching.
So they all got really excited. I imagine it was like they were the crowd waiting for a Jay-Z concert or something like that. The way the story gets told sometimes indicates that there were thousands and thousands of people at this event, but that seems like an embellishment.
Anyway, these monks were standing around waiting. They wondered if the Buddha was going to give them a new teaching or add some clarification to another teaching. They wondered if he was going to give them a long teaching like the Lotus Sutra or a short one like the Heart Sutra. And they stood around talking about it, “What’s the Buddha going to say?” They were big fans, that’s what I’m trying to get across.
After a short time the Buddha ascended to the platform. And the monks were ready. This was their moment.
The Buddha surprised them. He held up a pretty flower. And then he just stood there in silence. This is called the Flower Sermon.
So, after a few moments the monks were really unhappy. They thought they were going to get some great teaching, not whatever this was. No one would boo the Buddha, but I imagine they came close that day.
But there was one old man in the crowd who reacted differently. His name was Mahakasyapa and he was someone who had been part of the sangha for a while. Mahakasyapa smiled when he saw the flower.
And the Buddha said, “He has the true Dharma Eye,” and then the Buddha left and the teaching was over.
What’s the point of this story?
All these monks were carrying around the baggage of their expectations, their desires, and their comparisons to past teachings. So they were disappointed or upset or mad. This teaching didn’t match what they were wanting. But Mahakasyapa saw it differently. When he saw this pretty flower he wasn’t carrying around any of that stuff. So he just saw the pretty flower and he smiled. He had what we call Beginner’s Mind or Don’t Know Mind. He was not projecting anything onto this experience. He was just having the experience. While the other monks were thinking to themselves, “Why is this so disappointing?” Mahakasyapa was able to have a mind that just thinks, “Right now it’s like this.”
The truth is a lot of the time we have more in common with those other monks than we do Mahakasyapa. We carry around our baggage and expectations. When things go wrong we turn to lamenting, “Why is this happening to me?” instead of doing what could help us.
I started a new job at work and it’s been a real struggle for me. I struggled at it for months. Some of that is because the job is really technical and there’s a lot to learn. But some of it is coming from me. I’m carrying baggage. I’m disappointed it’s not like my old job. I’m worried I won’t get good at it. I’m afraid to fail, but really I’m afraid to struggle at all. It’s uncomfortable, as growth always is. And I hate being uncomfortable. So I’ve carried all that around and just wished really hard that things could be different.
And what should I do? Focus on exactly what’s in front of me, one thing at a time. It’s not a pretty flower, of course, but I don’t need to be bringing all this other stuff into my experience. That’s something I’m choosing to do and if I can choose some different thoughts and just think, “right now it’s like this,” then I’m going to be a lot better off. This is true of any situation where our baggage and expectations are making us struggle.
A flower can just be a flower.
Right now it’s just like this.
==========================================
Upcoming Events:
Talk: Emotions and Ethics July 23, 2023. 10:30am-noon at St Marks Hope and Peace. 3800 Troost Ave. Kansas City, Missouri. During the Rime Center Sunday Service