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Cabin in the Woods
The most important thing
others can receive in your presence
is not a thing -
not anything you give, say, or do -
yet, without you, it doesn't happen
* * *
The Buddha gave an intimate discourse,
Mahākāśyapa did not conceal it.
Flowers open in a night of falling rain,
valley streams at dawn fill with spring fragrance.
*John Daido Loori. The True Dharma Eye.
[Buddha, lit. Awakened One; Mahākāśyapa, the Buddha's disciple and successor.]
* * *
The Zen Teacher, Hakusui Hon-nin, preached to an assembly, saying, "Normally, we should not wish to preach to humans using voice and words. Why? Because voice is not only voice and form is not only form."
[There is more, always - before, during, after. You cannot put a mountain in a jar. Then, why did the Teacher say anything?]
A monk asked, "What do you mean by 'voice is not only voice'?" The Teacher said, "Can you show anything by speaking of it? No."
["Rainbow" has never been a rainbow. So, why do persons fuss about "God"? "I" was never born, will never die. When you say "I," something has already changed. When you say "God," nothing has remained the same.]
The monk asked, "What do you mean by 'something is not something'?" The Teacher said, "Can you show voice by speaking of it? No." The monk had no reply.
[Finally, silence, while talk still is present. The monk is stuck at a dead end and cannot turn around. Very good! The Teacher's words hit his head like a hammer. His common sense was knocked out. An auspicious blow. Words have one finger pointing somewhere, so they have value - the Teacher shows that. Silence - not merely not-talking - says more.]
The Teacher said, "In short, I have preached for you. If you understand, I will affirm that you have entered the place that should be entered."
[The "place." Does the monk see the Truth? Do you? Some may enter without knowing they entered: appearances are deceiving to self and others. There may be more Buddhas and Christs under bridges and at homeless shelters than in temples, churches, and meditation centers. Preachers give sermons, teachers give lessons, retreat leaders give retreats: they never give the Truth. Reverends, gurus, roshis, masters,... all fail. Wonderful! We toss around shadows that cannot strike a wall. Not even one period or comma in a holy book is a faint shadow. A "Moooo" is not a cow, nor is it more or less than a cow. Yet, we must say something. Still, there are doors before which only to kneel and breathe quietly. Even Jesus and the Buddha would not say anything.]
If you want the air to remain clean,
don't start a fire.
If you want to hear what silence says,
don't wag the tongue.
* * *
The Buddha gave an intimate discourse,
Mahākāśyapa did not conceal it.
"Intimate." Neither outside nor inside. Neither far away nor near. Fences could never keep this from itself. A story tells of the Buddha declaring Mahākāśyapa to be his successor. The Buddha held up a flower before the assembly. He wanted to know who had insight into the meaning "underneath" the act. Mahākāśyapa smiled - he knew the place to enter. Nothing special, nothing holy, nothing not-special, nothing not-holy. He heard what the Buddha said as he silently lifted the flower. Or did the flower say it? Did anyone say anything? Apparently, the Buddha and Mahākāśyapa knew so. But how could a flower and a smile talk?
Flowers open in a night of falling rain,
valley streams at dawn fill with spring fragrance.
Flowers do not need someone to hear them. Their blossoming in rainfall is speech. Valley streams, likewise, spreading fragrance at sunrise. Can we learn from flowers and streams? They do not charge for their wisdom. You do not have to call them anything, like Master, Preacher, Right Reverend, Bishop ... anything.
* * *
The poem and koan story point to what Buddhists call "intimate talk." But what is "intimate talk"? When talking, what precedes talking? With talking, what fills the space afterward? When talking, what is present before, during, and after?
What is present before, during, and after is intimate speech. Though that is not a thing, we can call it something. This sound has nothing to do with any sound. Mahākāśyapa recognized this speech when the Buddha held up the flower. Others present just saw the Buddha lift a flower.
This intimate speech is like when I offered the Eucharist weekly to end Sunday worship meetings. I voiced a request, through prayer and hands stretched out over the elements, that Spirit bless those present to receive the grace of Christ's presence through the elements. Thus, the Eucharist is a means of communicating (speaking forth) the unseen through the seen, the formless through form, Spirit through matter. Yet, there was intimate talk before and after the intimate talk through the elements; otherwise, there would have been no intimate talk with the elements.
* * *
Everything said and done and appears is an expression of something before, during, and after. Expressions like this can be a means of grace, of Presence that is not an appearance. We realize there is something "underneath." Every thing is a bubble floating on water.
When we unite our presence with that Presence, that grace, that life, we welcome the communication no one can see with eyes or hear with ears. We welcome something to touch others through us, not as us, whether they discern it or not. Spirit witnesses with spirit, so some will sense and some not. The Sun shines whether one remains in the dark or dances in the Light.
We can call This
a eucharistic life
a sacramental life
a religious life
a spiritual life
a graceful life
an awakened life
an enlightened life
We can call it
being filled with the Spirit or
walking in the Spirit
Whatever we name it
cannot reach it -
it's as though
arms are pointing in the opposite direction
and eyes
are closed shut
So, when the preacher stayed home,
the Sunday sermon flowed like a river
And the best spiritual retreat someone had
was washing the dinner dishes
* * *
the manifest is not Spirit,
it is a gesture of Spirit
yet it is not other
than Spirit
like
wave and ocean
sun and sunshine
face and smile
happiness and laughter
through forms, shapes, colors, and presences
Presence is tapping our shoulder
trying to get our attention
blessed is the heart turning back and smiling
long before one knows it
like
breathing air, not-knowing
breathing happens
God happens
we happen
call this "Thusness" -
what you will
rivers overflowing their banks
waters on this side, waters on that side
look at the map, wade the wetness -
can you find a side and a side?
sides are not illusions
though not there
they are sides
to manifest the Life
dive fully into your life
otherwise
what you say, do
is not intimate -
no matter how close you get
playing games
hiding behind spiritual talk -
a show... where's the marrow in the bone?
see, sex does not
equal intimacy
sitting side-by-side does not
mean closeness
speaking does not mean
saying something
still
there's nothing between here and there
and we must all live with it, to enjoy it
the intimacy that always
is
* * *
(C) brian k. wilcox, 2026
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