English

The world is on fire, plagued by myriad troubles both personal and universal. A loved one's fate takes a dark turn, a government is acting against its people, there are children in danger. This is always so. In some cases there might be something we can do to help, but often the situation is insoluble. The question then is, how do we meet the troubles of this world? 

Put out that fire across the river
      -Pacific Zen Institute Miscellaneous Koan Collection

Thriving In A World On Fire

Jesse Carden here with another koan meditation. This one is about saving the world. So it's good if you can find a place where you won't be disturbed while you're doing this meditation. You can listen to your body about what sort of position it wants to be in, whether that's sitting up in a chair or on a chair, whatever feels right. So feel free to stop this meditation, to pause it for a moment, if you need to get situated. Here we go. So just noticing how the world rises up to meet you as the sound of the bell drifts off. I'll give you this koan and when I give it to you, the first thing you can do is not have an opinion about it. Just notice what shows up in you when you hear it. So the koan goes like this, put out that fire across the river. Put out that fire across the river. And so just giving your attention to whatever shows up, whatever rises out of you to meet the koan. And since this meditation is about saving the world, I'd like to direct your attention a little bit. So see if there's something going on in your life or out in the world that's disturbing to you and particularly something you feel you can't do anything about. Could be a loved one is in trouble or ill, maybe a conflict with someone you know that feels unsolvable. It could even be something on a broader scale like war in other countries or in your own country, people being mistreated, poor, sick, suffering. There's always plenty of options to choose from, but just pick one that feels particularly resonant to you. And just notice what it's like when you think about it. What sort of thoughts come into your mind? What do you feel in your body and your heart? See if you can just stay with that for a moment. Noticing the particular quality of the field that that trouble generates in you. And this is a great moment to notice how your psyche responds to trouble it can't solve. It might come up with strategies or solutions, opinions about how people should do things differently, might design blame and punishments for those you feel are responsible for the trouble. There is an urge in the mind to go into the world to fix things. This can feel very strong and very urgent. But I encourage you right now just for this meditation to just sit with what's coming up inside you. And into this experience, you can let the koan appear. Put out that fire across the river. Put out that fire across the river. What's it like inside you just to hold the knowledge of the trouble without acting? Can you sink down below all the noise in the mind about what should or shouldn't be? What's right or wrong? Just or unjust? And just to feel your deep, intimate connection to all beings. Your deep, intimate connection to yourself. In this way, you might notice that the fire across the river is really not so far away. And so you might find that your responsibility to the trouble might not require you to go so far from home. The Tao Te Ching says, Do you have the patience to wait until your mud settles and the water is clear? Can you abide in stillness until the right action arises of itself? Can you be with this fire? Can you tolerate the heat and the pressure and resist the urge to flee? This is the way of transformation and freedom. Put out that fire across the river, across the ocean, across the world. Can you let its heat burn away any ideas about how things should be different? And so as usual, and so please remember, koans don't only like to visit you in meditation. They like it when you take them out into the world. And so don't leave this one here. Take it out onto the freeway, into the restaurant, into your family gatherings, everywhere you go. Thanks for joining me.