Author: Wuming Chuan

http://oldoakdao.org/blog/about-me/

Guan Yin (觀音) Bodhisattva of Compassion

Guan Yin (觀音): Bodhisattva of Compassion

This talk explores the iconic image of Guan Yin, Bodhisattva of Compassion. We look at the role and function of Asian iconography in spiritual practice, who is Amitabha and Avalokiteśvara and how and why did he become the female Guan Yin, what is the Pure Land and how does it relate to non-conceptual meditation in Zen & wuweidao, and more. Why did Zen Master Seung Sahn name his “Kwan Um” school after this figure, and why did Liu Ming place the character guan (觀) on the cover of his translation & commentary of the Dao De Jing?

Dao De Jing Chapter 80 (public)

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Small countries have few people

Though there are many tools

The people do not use them

They feel the weight of death

And do not leave their homeland

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Though there are boats & wagons

Nobody rides them

Though there are armor & weapons

Nobody displays them

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Allowing the people to repeatedly use knotted cord*

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Sweet their food

Beautiful their clothing

Peaceful their dwellings

Joyful their customs

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Neighboring countries see one another

Hearing the sounds of one another’s chickens & dogs

The people grow old and die

Never having come or gone

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(*Knotted cord refers to ancient practices of observation, divination, and calibration – a form of record-keeping and communication predating written language.  Coding information (spirit) into material form as a means of managing everyday human affairs.)

2024 Yang-Wood Dragon (甲辰)

2024 is the year of the Yang-Wood Dragon.  What does this mean?  Explosive new birth! Playfully soaring upward & outward with great restless curiosity. A great wind coming into our sails – we have no idea where it will lead us. A time of radical new beginnings, let us meet it with the simplicity of a child. See the description below of the Heavenly Stem, Earthly Branch, and corresponding hexagram for the year, and listen to my 2024 Yang-Wood Dragon New Year Talk.  Be sure to first listen to this talk: Introduction to Lunar New Year Talks: Classical Chinese Almanac-Astrology. For more background on this system, see my introductory post on Chinese almanac-astrology and view these YouTube videos describing the Heavenly Stems, the Earthly Branches, and the Sexagenary Cycle.

Yang-Wood (jiǎ, 甲) is powerful expansiveness – qi growing outward.  Assertive vision and determination to rise and grow and expand, like a mighty pine or a sturdy oak.  Dragon (chén, 辰) is bold and courageous.  Grandiose – far more powerful than any other animal, even Tiger.  The only mythical animal in the Chinese zodiac, in some sense it represents a combination of all animals merged into one.  Dragon is fiercely robust – stable and ambitious, confident and secure.  Its big and bold appetite is constantly looking for adventure.  It is characteristically arrogant and self-absorbed.  The native Dynamic of Dragon is Yang-Earth; Wood breaks up Earth, so this is like Dragon with its grandparent – it is simple, innocent, playful, and perhaps a bit reckless.  It benefits from wise restraint and sensitivity to the auspices of the moment.  A guided Dragon – ambitious, expansive, exploding throughout the cosmos – discovering the virtue of appropriate conduct through the open and playful curiosity of a beginner’s mind.

Wood Dragon corresponds to Hexagram #60, Water/Valley: “Juncture”.  Water flowing in the Valley – everything finding its proper place and time.  Regulation through natural (not imposed) cycles.  The character (節) shows a bamboo node; this term is also used for “jieqi” (節氣) – the 24 solar terms of the year, similar to the moon cycle but not based on the moon.  According to the Chinese almanac, each jieqi has appropriate foods and conduct.  “Jieri” (節日) is the term for holiday or festivals – festivals of course comprise community rituals that regulate qi to harmonize human conduct with cosmic flow.  Wood Dragon therefore suggests aligning our conduct with almanac-astrology and fengshui.  Some guidance and learning is helpful – though the best learning and the most appropriate actions come not from calculated cognition but spontaneous response.  Water of itself has no shape or structure, like a Dragon it can assume any form.  Valley suggests a container – channels guiding movement and giving shape and expression to things.  “Flow here, not there.”  Wood Dragon is learning to be like Water.  The key for Wood Dragon is letting our conduct spontaneously align with the auspices of the moment.  As Zen Master Seung Sahn says, “moment-to moment, correct situation, correct relationship, correct function.” A Daoist approach to Confucian conduct.

A look at the most recent Yang-Wood Dragon Year, courtesy of Recollection Road: Flashback to 1964 – A Timeline of Life in America.

For monthly updates on the Heavenly Stem & Earthly Branch of each moon, subscribe to our Dark Moon Newsletter.

Hui-Dao (會道) – Assembly of Dao

Dragon pokes its nose
Ancient wisdom door opens
Come join the circle

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Hello Friends,
 
In the forthcoming Year of Yang-Wood Dragon, we will be introducing a practice called Hui-Dao (會道), which translates as Assembly of Dao or the Way of Council. Hui-Dao was practiced by the original Celestial Masters lineage in the Han Dynasty – they considered community an indispensable treasure of the path.
 
But this practice is not limited to any particular religion or sect – this is the ancient wisdom practice of human beings across myriad cultures gathering in a circle and sharing their experience in a particular way. I believe this is how the Dao De Jing and countless other wisdom paths emerged. Let’s start engaging this practice in our Wuweidao Cultivation Group.

There are many ways to hold council. But there are specific principles and protocols helpful for invoking the latent magic of true community. I am a mere beginner in this craft – I am still learning and will surely continue to stumble in my efforts to facilitate our emerging body of practice – may my sincerity merit your trust.

The Hui-Dao circle is a sacred space we set up together to invoke Dao and see what arises.  Come ready to engage. For more information, email me at oldoakdao@yahoo.com.

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