Help of Others

  Master Boshan writes, "Give rise to no other thoughts and don't count on the help of others" (from Sheng Yen, Attaining the Way, p.7). What does this mean, "don't count on the help of others"? Who are the "others" that Master Boshan refers to, and why don't we count on others? During the group sharing today, someone had asked the question of what we do when someone has a strong smell due to smoking, and Chang Yuan Fashi had shared a story of how he sent compassion outward toward ants that were occupying his place of solitary retreat. 

As I listened to these anecdotes, I reflected: sometimes we take this story to mean that the best way to get things the way we want them to be is to send compassion! But this is another strategy that the ego uses to try to gain control of a situation. The point is: when I stop trying to make things right for myself and simply have the confidence in myself to handle any situation with compassion, then there is no more grasping mindset, and things tend to go more smoothly and harmoniously.

   If we rely too much on the help from others, an expectation may come to mind, which involves a mind of grasping. This ironically blocks things from flowing. It's like a person trying to get help by running into a line of traffic and holding up a big sign. The act of seeking help paradoxically blocks help from actually arising. So, I think that when Master Boshan says "don't count on the help of others", he isn't saying that other people are cold or unkind, or cannot be relied upon. Instead, he is suggesting to drop all attachment or grasping at the phenomena of others, so that the real interconnectedness of things can flow more freely , like a kind of cosmic dance.

    When we give rise to no other thoughts (except the huatou, or that which is beyond birth and death), we are allowing all thoughts to appear. Having thoughts is not the enemy; it's the grasping that is. If you have ever seen something desirable or undesirable and tried simply yielding to its presence without a mind of grasping, you will know how difficult it is to see something with all its power for what it is, not for how we want to control it.