Zen master Seung Sahn used to bring a glass of water to his Dharma talks. He would place it in front of him and asked his audience. “What is water?” He would get many answers: “H2O,” or “it is a liquid,” or “you find it in the ocean.”
To all the answers he would simply reply, “no.” Then he would tell somebody in the audience, “now ask me.”
“What is water?” The member from the audience asked. Facing the questioner right on, Seung Sahn would grab the glass of water and drink it. After tasting the water and placing the glass in front of him, a big smile appeared in his face.
What was he trying to communicate by doing this? The question was clear: How do you really ‘know’ something? So many times we overthink ourselves to death, when in fact the only way to really ‘know’ is by entering the situation—only the full experience of every moment will tell you what is in front of you.
In your life, do you ever overthink what is in front of you? Do you trust yourself as you experience life? How do you transform the clarity of experience into wisdom?
Try this meditation:
- Moment by moment, what’s in front of you?
- What do you see?
- Breathing in and out, focus on the present moment.
- Here and now, breathe. With clarity, help all beings.