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Greetings Friends,

As we begin this new year, I want to spend sometime with the Heart of Great Perfect Wisdom Sutra. This chant is one that is chanted across Mahayana Buddhist traditions, within our own Zen school, it is chanted daily in most monasteries and regularly in many practice communities.

It’s a pithy teaching that cuts to the heart of our practice. And it starts with the Bodhisattva of Great Compassion (the archetype of compassion) practicing Prajna Paramita (which translates as wisdom beyond wisdom). Right here, in the first line of this chant we see a fundamental relationship between compassion and wisdom.

Wisdom is the practice of Great Compassion. Great Compassion, the activity of wisdom beyond wisdom.

There is a koan about the Bodhisattva of Great Compassion that I am quite fond of and would like to share.

Blue Cliff Record Case 89—Hands and Eyes of Great Compassion

Yunyan asked Daowu, “‘How does the Bodhisattva Guanyin use those many hands and eyes?”’

Daowu answered, “‘It is like someone in the middle of the night reaching behind her head for the pillow.”’

Yunyan said, “I understand.”

Daowu asked, “How do you understand it?”

Yunyan said, “‘All over the body are hands and eyes.”

Daowu said, “That is very well expressed, but it is only eight-tenths of the answer.”

Yunyan said, “How would you say it, Elder Brother?”

Daowu said, “Throughout the body are hands and eyes.

The koan begins with two dharma brothers, two spiritual friends, walking together. One of the characters for friend in the Japanese kanji is the character for moon, twice.

Two moons walking together. So intimate. The moon is a symbol we use in Zen to refer to our original, awakened nature. Two original humans, seeing each other’s nature.

I always think about this poem by Rumi called Sema, Deep Listening

There is a moon in every human being, learn to be companions with it

Give more of your life to this listening

Its like friendship is the act of seeing the awakened nature in another, nurturing their inner moon. And allowing our awakened nature to be seen by another. Letting them nurture our inner moon.

And we also learn through friendship and through practice, how to companion ourselves—to nurture our own inner moons. To give more of our lives to this listening.

Listening is an aspect of compassion. Kanzeon one manifestation of the bodhisattva of compassion hears the cries of the world.

Listening is also a dharma gate to deep intimacy, wisdom beyond wisdom–many teachers awakened upon hearing a sound. Listening can help us move beyond the realm of concepts.

We listen, and for many the sense of self expands. The whole body hears. Hearing open our awareness to the vast expanse of Mind’s nature, spacious, without bounds.

So we have two friends, two companions, the intimacy of friendship, deep listening, nurturing awakened nature in each other—

And one friend poses a question—do you have friends like that? Who ask questions that draw you in? Ponder aspects of the dharma together? Ponder life together? Are you a friend like that? I think in Zen practice we are learning to be this kind of friend to ourselves, and others. We are practicing refining our questioning—and this can be playful.

What do you think the bodhisattva of great compassion does with all those hands and eyes?

In one depiction of Avalokiteshvara they have 10K arms and hands, in each hand sometimes they hold an eye (to see/bear witness to the suffering in the world) and sometimes they have a different kind of tool or instrument to help relieve suffering.

Pause here—because we are learning more abo