Zen and Creativity 02 10

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date of the document's last update/modification {18/09/93}

This file is the work of Stan Rosenthal. It has been placed here, with hiskind permission, by Bill Fear. The author has asked that no hard copies, ie.paper copies, are made.

Stan Rosenthal may be contacted at 44 High street, St. Davids,Pembrokeshire, Dyfed, Wales, UK.

Bill Fear may be contacted at 29 Blackweir Terrace, Cathays, Cardiff, SouthGlamorgan, Wales, UK. email [email protected].

Please use email as first method of contact, if possible. Messages can besentto Stan Rosenthal via the above email address - they will be forwarded on inperson by myself.

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We are taught that we should look both to nature and to our fellow beings inorder to learn, and to keep in touch with the world at large, rather than

cutting ourselves off by leading a life which is overly 'spiritual', or whichdenies us our essential humanity. We are told that by 'living in the world'(not shutting ourselves away) we will often discover that there is a viewpointother than our own, and that may not be in opposition to our own, but acomplementary opposite. It is said that when we can see this complementarynature of opposites,

'we have the ability to be in harmonywith all people and all things'.

Sometimes this discovery of complementary opposites can involve performing anaction opposite to the one we might otherwise perform, and sometimes it willmean apparently 'doing nothing'......

Ryokan, the Zen poet, was asked to speak with his nephew, whose father,Ryokan's brother, believed the young man to be wayward. Ryokan visited hisbrother's home but said no word of reprimand to the young man, although he couldsee that his brother was accurate in his perception.

The next morning Ryokan was too stiff to bend over and tie his sandals. Hecalled to his nephew, and asked him to help. The young man went to his uncle'sassistance, and as he was stooping down to help the old man, he felt a drop ofwater fall on his head. Looking up, he saw that the old man was looking at himsorrowfully, and was crying. From that day the young man changed his behaviour.

There was of course no guarantee that Ryokan's nephew would have responded

positively to his uncle's strategy. But it was undoubtedly the fact that theold man did not initially rebuke his nephew for his misdemeanours that enabledthe young man to relate and be so responsive to his tears.

Whether Ryokan contrived the situation or not is unimportant, for what the storyillustrates above all else is that the old poet knew 'when not to act'. By notrebuking the young man, as others had presumably already done, the old manenabled his nephew to relate to him differently from how he had related toothers. It was therefore by seeing the total situation that Ryokan allowed hisnephew to relate to him. This in turn enabled the youg man to break the pattern


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of his behaviour. We can assume that this pattern was caused by obstinacy onhis part, and a need for him to show his parents that he could 'be his ownperson'. By showing he cared, but not condemning him for his wayward behaviour,his uncle allowed the young man to feel that he had made his own decision tochange.

We need to accept that in having respect for nature, and by not separatingourselves from it, we might act in a manner which others would initially thinkof as foolish. A particularly good illustration of this is the story of Chiyo,a young lady who later became quite famous through her example.....

A wealthy but sceptical young man, hearing of Chiyo's great virtue andZen manner, went to visit her at her home early one morning. She was not athome. Whilst he was waiting for her to return, the overgrown well in her gardencaught his attention. He was surprised that she had not cut back thegrowth to give her better access to the well. When he saw her approaching,carrying a bucket of water from her neighbour's well, he called out to her,

"Show me the spirit of your Zen."

Chiyo replied with the now famous haiku,"The morning gloryentwines the bamboo pole.I beg for water."

In other instances, we should perhaps think of the situation from a viewpoint wedo not usually have, thus expanding our range of awareness.....

"Thank the beggarwhen you fill his bowl,for he has provided the opportunityfor you to clear your conscience a little."

(Sei-Setsu, sometime master of Engakuji)

Even when taking a stroll beside the river, the opportunity presents itself tocease our 'inward thinking' and to 'see outside of ourselves', simply byobserving nature.....

"On the river bank,dead grasses covered in frostecho my footsteps."

(Suiteki)

At the root of relatedness is the wish to be at one with the beauty whichsurrounds us. But to appreciate that it exists we must first be aware that itexists. We can do this by expanding our range of awareness to include whatmight be called 'ordinary things'. First we must learn to see, then to identifywhat is seen and to acknowledge its existence. Then we can act upon it to makereal our own potential. It was with these things in mind that Suiteki repliedto a novice who wrote asking if it is important to bow to the 'safu' (cushion)

before using it for meditation,

'It is not bowing which is important,It is not bowing which is important.'

The Zen concept of harmony is not particularly easy to grasp, and the difficultyfor us is quite often that many aspects of our own 'civilization' encourageantagonism, rather than its opposite, 'synergism', (or 'synergy') this being thebasis of all harmonious action.


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Although somewhat difficult to grasp initially, as an introduction, it is worthconsidering this concept from its origins in Taoism, where an action which is inharmony with nature is described as being performed with 'wu wei'. It isnecessary first to understand that it is not possible to 'deliberately' act withwu wei; we can only learn to 'allow it to occur of itself', which means that weneed to stop ourselves from preventing its occurrence. The analogy of water isoften used to describe wu wei, as illustrated by Ishida.....

"When water running down the side of a mountain is blocked by a stone in itspath, it builds up behind that stone, filling and conforming to the spaceavailable. When that space is filled, the water washes over or around thestone. The water does not contrive to do this, nor to continue in its downwarddirection; in fact, by filling the space behind the stone, it may even 'flowupwards in order to flow down'. It does not contrive; it is incapable ofcontriving, and nor does nature contrive on behalf of water. Although, orperhaps because water is the most adaptive of all the elements, it possesses wuwei in the greatest abundance, and in acting without motive, acts with wuwei."

All of this is to say that water responds naturally to its enviroment, and toact with wu wei, this is all we need to do. Whilst developing an understandingof wu wei may be difficult, acting with wu wei is simplicity or naturalnessitself, even though it may not be easy to accomplish, for in order to act withwu wei, we must remove that which stands in its way.

The barriers to acting with wu wei are many, but the most usual are ego (thewish to do what we want to do, and to have others conform to what we want); and'conditioning' (to behave in a manner in which we have been 'trained'). Toovercome these barriers we must 'let go' of the ego, and of our 'conditionedselves'. Then we can act with wu wei, which is to perceive and accept situationsas they are, and respond to them harmoniously. So is is that Chiyo actuallyprovided her visitor with an example of wu wei when she explained to him thatshe preferred to beg for water rather than damage the short-lived plants in hergarden.

Zen teachers quite often use this technique of providing an example, and most ofthem have a definite ability to 'teach by experience'. Whilst this is not

unique to Zen, the manner in which this 'heuristic' method is used by suchteachers is somewhat unusual, for in 'providing learning', the Zen teacher mightactually provide the experience for the student, but does not always explain tothe student what he or she has learnt through that experience. Rather, theteacher might discuss what has occurred, enabling the student to 'discover theprinciple' as part of what is sometimes referred to as 'the gestalt process'.As the story told by Dr. Barnes-Wallis illustrates well, principles learnt (or'discovered') in this way are seldom forgotten.....

Dr. Barnes-Wallis, the famous inventor, was asked if there was any person whomhe felt had helped him more than any other. He replied that his geometryteacher was such a person. The interviewer then asked what the teacher had

taught him, and Dr. Barnes-Wallis explained how he had 'discovered' themathematical value of 'pye' when the teacher provided each boy in his class witha tin can of different diameter, a piece of string and a ruler, asking them tocalulate the ratio (mathematical relationship) of the radius of their tin can toits circumference. When each boy had done this, the teacher explained that thisrelational value is known as 'pye'.

Lao Tzu is speaking of relatedness when he says,

"When considering any thing,


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do not lose its opposite.When thinking of the finite,do not forget infinity."

In another verse, Lao Tzu returns to the same concept, this time providingpractical examples. In his lines on the utility of non-existences, he tells us,

"Though thirty spokes may form the wheel,it is the hole within the hubwhich gives the wheel utility.

It is not the pot the potter throwswhich gives the pot its usefulness,but the space within the shape,from which the pot is made.

Without a door,the room cannot be entered;

without windows it is dark.

Such is the utility of non-existence."

What Lao Tzu is telling us here is that we should not look only at the obvious,but should seek to discover that which is not so obvious. He is also sayingthat it is not only the physical or 'material' which is significant, but (veryoften) that which cannot be seen because, although it is there, it is there as anon-existent (non-physical) entity.

Whilst it is not difficult to realise the significance of 'that which is notthere', namely empty space, to the potter or sculptor, a lttle deeper thoughtillustrates its significance in many other pursuits. We need look no furtherthan the martial arts for proof of this. In Judo for example, the Judoki avoidsbeing thrown by creating a space between himself and his opponent, and throwshis opponent by closing the space between them (making body-contact).Similarly, any Kendo player soon learns to appreciate that his art is as much to

do with the use of space (and the 'holes' we make in space when we move) as itis to do with wielding his sword.

In the graphic arts such as drawing and painting, the use of space (thenon-existent) is of course of prime importance, since a line is a device fordividing space and forming it into 'existent' shapes. A painting extends thisconcept by incorporating colour, the edge of a a colour being used to mark theboundary between a space and a solid mass which exists within it. If thepainter practices 'relatedness', he or she soon becomes aware of this. Furtherexperience then teaches the painter that the relationship between colours andshapes evokes a particular 'feeling' or imagery, and that the relationship of anew colour when laid beside an existing one, seems to change the colour of thepreviously painted area.

The work of the painter improves as his or her awareness increases. This is tosay that the ability to relate to 'the outside world' (that is, to those thingswhich exist outside of our own thoughts, feelings and emotions) is itselfrelated to our ability to express those thoughts, feelings and emotions. Thus,in Zen terms at least, our ability to relate increases our ability to expressourselves. Whilst relatedness has already been described as being of greatimportance in terms of retaining and developing our relationship with 'the worldat large', we can now see that the Zen view also contains the concept that bydeveloping our ability to relate, we also aid our own self-development.


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It is as much for the sake of our own development as for the good of societythat we are told, with regard to our relationships to others, to 'havecompassion for all sentient beings, causing them no neeedless hurt, norunnecessary harm'. It is a Zen belief that since all sentient beings are partof the same 'world', if we act in a manner which causes needless hurt orunnecessary harm to others, we not only cause that hurt or harm to them, but tothe world at large, and that since the world at large is our environment, wethereby damage ourselves. The benefits of compassion are therefore consideredto be individual (personal) and social. In Zen, this is considered to besufficient reason to teach that we should have compassion, and it is probablyfor the same reason (i.e. that compassion is so effective) that whilst Zen is avery disciplined philosophy, it is noted for its emphasis on compassion.

The Zen poet Ryokan's manner of acting compassionately has already beendescribed, and a famous verse of his reads,

"Oh that my robe were wide enoughto give comfort to all those who sufferin this floating world."

It is of course far easier to feel compassion for someone who is obviouslysuffering, but we can also be compassionate to (say) a thief. To help such a

person realise that stealing may be unnecesary is an act of compassion.....

A teacher went out visiting, and when he returned to his home he disturbeda thief who was just leaving with a bundle of clothes he had stolen.

The thief said,"I suppose you are going to try and stop me stealing these clothes from

you. I should warn you, I won't give them up easily."The teacher then said,

"There is no need for you to return them,and there is no need for me to take themback by force. Yet I can still preventyou from stealing them."

The intruder looked at him in a puzzled manner, and the teacher continued,"You have not taken anything which I wouldsorely miss, so that which you have takenI give you as a gift in order to preventyou from being a thief."

As well as illustrating that it is possible to be compassionate even to someonewho would 'harm' us, this story also shows that it is possible to reduce eventhe 'hurt' within oneself by acting with compassion to someone who acts towardsus in a manner which pays no heed to our feelings. By acting in this way wechange the very nature of the situation by changing our attitude towards it.

There is however another aspect to acting in this manner. It is that it

prevents us from developing bitterness, which is considered to be a verypowerful inhibitor of human development. Bitterness and hatred are destructiveand very 'energy consuming', and the energy they use cannot therefore beemployed for creative purposes. This is what Lao Tzu means when he writes,

"Only he who is compassionatecan show true bravery,and in defending, show great strength.Compassion is the means by whichmankind may be guarded and saved,


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for heaven arms with compassion,those whom it would not see destroyed."

There are many of Lao Tzu's statements which seem at first reading to tell usthat the wise person 'does not care' about human suffering. One such aphorismreads,

"Even when he seems to actin a manner kind or benevolent,the sage is not acting with such intent,for he is amoral and indifferent."

However, Lao Tzu is not saying that the sage does not care, but that when heperforms a compassionate act he does so simply because it is his nature to doso, rather than out of any sense of morality or hope of reward.

In Zen, the concept of compassion extends to those situations which are quitecommonly competitive. We are taught that when there is no need to compete, weshould not turn the situation into a competition, for to do so is to create awin/lose situation. If one person wins, another person loses. By creating aloser in order to feed our own ego, we could be causing needless hurt orunnecessary harm to the other person, especially if that person is notcompetitive by nature, and even more so if he or she is vulnerable to suchpressures.

It may be very difficult, or even impossible to go though life without causingany hurt or harm at all. For example, we may kill an animal or plant for foodas a necessity of life; and our parents may be sad when we leave home to startout on our own, even though they know logically that it is a natural occurrence.In neither case does this mean that the hurt is caused deliberately, butequally, it would be unrealistic to believe that it did not occur at all. Wemust not delude ourselves into believing that the end (or the reason) justifiesthe means.

It is said that,"When giving food to a starving person, we should do so in a manner which

does not cause them to feel as if they are begging."

Similarly, if we are truly compassionate, when nursing someone through anillness, we will ensure that they are not made to feel more helpless, but willincrease their feeling of self-worth. The story of Kashin illustrates this.

Kashin was only fourteen, and studying for academic examinations when herdivorced father (with whom she lived) was taken seriously ill. The physicianstold her that they had done all they could for him, but that he was terminallyill.

Believing that her education was important for her future, her father told herthat she should not miss her studies. However, each morning, before going toschool, Kashin prepared a meal for him and checked that he was comfortable in

bed, asking him before she left, if he could help her with a small problem shehad with her studies. When she returned home in the evening he had usuallythought about the problem, and during the evening meal she would sit on his bedwhilst he told her his solution to the problem she had described to him.

One evening some weeks later, whilst tidying the house, Kashin found anincomplete manuscript which her father had written some time before. The nextmorning she showed it to him, and he told her that he had never completed thestory. She left the manuscript beside his bed, and whilst her father dozed,placed writing materials with it before leaving for school.


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When she returned home, just as she entered the house, she heard her father callher name. His voice seemed a little stronger. She went to his room, and herfather, although still weak, was sitting up in his bed. He asked her to sitdown, and when she had done so, he pulled the manuscript from under his pillowand showed it to her. Kashin saw that he had written more that day. Sheremarked upon this, and her father said that it was indeed fortunate that bychance, he had found some writing materials close by his bed.

Kashin's father did finish his story, and lived for many years longer than thedoctors had predicted, becoming a well-known teacher in his region. He neverforgot his debt to Kashin, (which means 'the spirit of blossoming'), and(sometimes to her embarassment) used the story of how she had helped him, as anexample for his students.

In Zen Buddhism it is sometimes said that 'compassion is the essence ofBuddha-nature', and one of the most famous koan discusses this, and alsohighlights an important aspect of 'the human condition'.....

The teacher Joshu was asked by a student,"Does a dog have Buddha nature ?",

to which Joshu replied,"Mu !"

Commenting on this many years later, the teacher Ekai (also known as Mumon)wrote,

'The dog, and the Buddha nature.Jushu's answer is perfect and final.

When you can say whether it has it or not,you will be walking hand in hand

with the patriarchs.'

Joshu's reply 'mu', can mean 'no' or 'nothing'. In this instance 'mu' does notmean that a dog cannot have Buddha nature, but that the question itself is a'nothing' question (that is, a question without profit, since no answer isprofitable). The implication here is that although all animals are sentient

beings (they have feelings) we do not know if they have free will, but maysimply live by responding to environmental stimuli.

Many people who have dogs or cats as pets will claim that their pet canrecognise when its owner feels sad, and will then approach in a comforting way.We might ask whether this is not a compassionate act, and the answer could inone sense be that it is, for the animal might well be responding to the sadnessof its 'owner'. In another sense though, the answer would be that it is not,for the animal cannot be said with certainty to choose to be compassionate.

We have only to think of a cat, from which we might gain considerable comfort ifit snuggles into our lap and purrs when we are feeling sad. To understand sucha feeling as comfort with regard to compassion, we need to ask whether the

comfort we feel is due to a compassionate act on the part of the cat, or simplyour own physiological response to its warmth, movement and sound. This is notto deny what we feel, but only to illustrate that what appears to be acompassionate act might be in fact a selfish action on the part of the cat, whomay simply be responding to its own need to be stroked.

There are many situations where an act which is of itself compassionate is inreality carried out for 'selfish' reasons, in that the person who performs theact does so knowing that he or she 'feels good' as a result of having performedthat act. This does not mean that the act itself is wrong, nor that we should


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stop ourselves from performing such acts. What it does mean is that we shouldaccept the reality of our motives, and not delude ourselves into believing thatan act which has a hedonistic or subjectively pleasurable basis is performed foraltruistic reasons.

One of the major attributes of any Zen teacher is the ability to relate to thesituation and experience of the student. By relating primarily to the needs ofthe student, and by calling upon his own experience, the teacher rapidly gainsinsight into the motivation of the student, and employs an appropriate'strategy' or 'medium' through which the student may learn.

There is a Zen story which illustrates this ability, and which also provides anexample of the relationship between right motive, non-competitiveness,compassion and relatedness to others. The story describes how a teacher taughta young man to examine, re-appraise and change his own attitude to all of these.In this case the teacher used as a medium, the ancient Chinese board game knownas 'Go'.....

A wealthy young man who was dissatisfied with his life went to a Zenteacher in order to 'make life more meaningful'. He told the teacher that he hadall the material things he needed, and that even though there was a young ladywhom he loved and who loved him, his life was still 'empty'.

The teacher asked him about his interests, and the young man replied that he

practiced Kendo (the way of the sword) and played Go in order to improve hisstrategy and tactics.

The teacher then said that he would be able to speak to the young man at lengtha short time later, and suggested that he might like to pass the time fruitfullyby playing Go with an old monk who lived at the school, saying that the monk wasan exceptional player, and that the young man might learn some new moves byplaying with him.

The young man was keen to test his skill against anyone, and readily agreed.The teacher told him that he might need to be patient because the monk was veryold, and liked to take his time before making a move. Thinking that he mightwin the contest easily, the young man said that he understood the situation, and

would be happy to play with the old man.

As they walked through the garden to the monk's quarters the teacher told thevisitor many stories about the monk, explaining that the old man had lived avery worthwhile life, devoting his time to helping others, and that he was nowreaping his reward by being allowed to sleep late,and being excused from theday-to-day duties with which a monk would usually be engaged.

After introducing the young man and the monk to each other the teacher withdrew.The two Go players sat down opposite each other and began to play. The youngman soon began to feel that he could beat the monk quite easily, but knowingthat it would be a little while before the teacher returned, decided to'string-out' the game, hoping that he might learn at least one new strategy in

the process.

However, the monk was not to be beaten that easily, and each time the young manbelieved that he was making a winning move, the older man responded in a waywhich his opponent could not fathom.

Suddenly the teacher reappeared. This time though he was quite irate. He toldthe two players that they must finish their game quickly, and then he withdrewagain. The game continued throughout the evening, the teacher returning moreand more frequently, his temper increasing.


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Eventually he said to the two players that he would watch their game, and inorder to provide an incentive, he would kill the loser. He drew a sword fromwithin the folds of his gown, and the young man could see from the fluidity ofthe teacher's movement that he was an expert in the use of the sword.

Within a few moments though, it seemed to the young man that his opponent hadbecome more unnerved than he, because the old monk began to make some seriousmistakes. Seeing his opportunity to begin a certain winning sequence of moves,the young man was just about to take his turn when he looked at the face of hisaged opponent and was reminded of the stories the teacher had told him of thegood works done by the monk during his long life.

For the first time in his life the young man was filled with compassion.Instead of placing his Go stone where he would be sure to win, he hovered, andmoved his hand to place it in a place where he would lose the game, and so losehis life.

As the young man's hand moved towards the board, the teacher brought down hissword with a mighty stroke, cutting the board in two, and scattering the Gopieces across the room.

Whether the teacher would have carried out his threat is unknown to us (althoughit is somewhat unlikely). What is important though is that the young man must

have really had a compassionate nature, but had never discovered it, since hehad not previously been taught how to relate to others. The teacher obviouslyrecognised this, and using his own experience of human nature, enabled the youngman to discover his own 'inner nature' for himself.

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Zen and Creativity 02 10