Excerpted from the introduction to Zen 24/7: All
Zen/All the Time, a HarperSanFrancisco publication,
by Philip Toshio Sudo. Order
your copy of the book here.
Zen Toilet
We tend to think of the divine spirit
in terms of radiance, but it encompasses all things,
including the polluted, filthy, and vile.
Yes, zen can be found even in the toilet.
A
monk once asked the zen master Ummon, "What
is Buddha?"
The
reply came, "A shit stick!"
The monk was shocked by the master's
vulgarity. But Ummon's message was that all things
speak of God, even soiled toilet paper. We may think
of bodily waste as dirty, and yet it feeds the ground
as fertilizer.
Another
zen story tells of a student who asked his master, "Please
show me zen."
The
master said, "I have to go
relieve myself."
Upon
returning, the master said, "Zen
is like going to the bathroom. I cannot go for you.
You have to go for yourself."
Rich or poor, famous or anonymous: We
all have to go. When nature calls, listen to Nature.
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