DISCareer: DISCovering & Communicating Your Value
  • DISCareer | AboveALLResumes Home
  • Mindful-Career
  • Career Coaching Services
  • DISCovering - DISC Assessments
  • YOU-Branded Resume Writing
  • Select Your Coaching & Resume Services
  • Ordering Services & Scheduling a Consultation
  • Blog
  • Hey-Wendy Coaching To-Go
  • About & Contact

Koans for Everyday Life: Bells and Robes

1/11/2016

5 Comments

 
Picture
Today’s koan is “Bells and Robes” by Unmon (Case 16)

Zen Master Unmon said: “The world is vast and wide. Why do you put on your robes at the sound of a bell?

A monk in a Zen temple lives a regulated life—much more rigid than our professional lives—or is it? The koan refers to the meditation hall bell. When it sounds, the monk puts on his robe and goes to the hall.
But Unmon asks, “Why?”
Picture
Some background: There is a Buddhist saying that whatever comes in through the gates is foreign. The gates are the five senses: sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch.

As the story goes, if we move and act guided only by the senses, we are following foreign commands. If we see with our eyes only and hear with only our ears, we are living at the command of something other than who we really are—our authentic self.

Some commentators remark on this koan that to really understand our self, we need to see sound.
See sound? This is where you need to break the chains of concepts and free your mind to see what that means to you.

How can you use this koan in everyday life? The best way to put this koan to work is to use Unmon’s question as a mantra for a while. Why? Ask yourself, “why?”

Are your days lived following the ‘commands’ whispered to you by social norms? Other people’s professional or personal expectations of you? The siren call of commercialism? The need to be acknowledged or liked through habitual Facebook or Instagram posts and comments … and instant text message responses?

In response to those ‘bells’ in your environment, are you regulated to move, speak, or react without thinking? Without asking, “Why?” Do you frequently feel pressured, nervous, frustrated, or angry? Do you think it may be because you’re doing things based on foreign commands?

Maybe those foreign commands are the only ones you’ve ever heard. Maybe you haven’t looked to see the sound of what’s inside you in a long time—or ever!

Try this: Before the next thing you are about to do … or the next words you are about to say, ask yourself, “Why?” Then look inside to see the sound of the answer. YOUR answer.

I will end with Rev. Gyomay Kubose’s ending comments on this koan:

“…if one settles down firmly in one’s inner life, all actions, feeling, and deeds come from deep within. The unenlightened one does things because he MUST do them; the enlightened one acts because he wants to. Freedom lies in the center of life. Unmon points to the center.”

**************************************************************************************************
Overview of Koans for Everyday Life: Living Clearly, Simply, and Directly for Happiness and Success

On January 1, 2016, I began a practice for the new year: Reading, reflecting, and meditating on a Zen koan each day. I am using the book Zen Koans, by Rev. Gyomay Kubose, the father of my teacher, Rev. Koyo Kubose, and the founder of our school and center, The Bright Dawn Center of Oneness Buddhism.

A Zen koan is, in essence, a problem that can’t be solved by the intellect. In trying to understand it, you run up against the limitations of thought and, hopefully, tap into a direct and non-verbal awareness of reality. Koans plumb a dimension deeper than the five senses that keep us attached to things, conditions, and concepts—preventing us from being aware and resilient in the face of challenge and change.

We typically intellectualize and conceptualize our life—both personally and professionally. When we do that, we shackle ourselves to concepts. Concepts seem so real that our mind gets confused about whether it’s a concept or an absolute. These concepts harden like concrete, keeping our minds trapped and our forward momentum stuck.

We may classify or conceptualize certain people as “trouble” or “wrong” or “bad.” We may categorize a task or activity as “beneath us” or “too hard.” We may look to escape our job because the company our department is “behind the times.” Once that concept has repeated in our thoughts long enough, then that person IS trouble for us … the project impossible … and the company useless and of no value, even though we receive our paycheck from them.

Our minds have become victims to those perspectives and we freeze that person into a characterization, a concept, rather than a living being capable of change. And no task is beneath us, really. If a task that is a part of our job or our family life and it needs doing, then it is our responsibility to life to do it. Is a company or organization really not capable of change? Or did we make it not capable by giving up and looking to get out—essentially abandoning any help we can offer.

As part of my practice, I thought I would repackage and share a few of the koans, as brief blog posts offering a different way for you to view and respond to your professional life. Sometimes a new way of looking at things can help you solve a work problem, overcome a challenge with a co-worker, be more productive, or—if you’re a job seeker—bring a new, more positive energy to the challenge.

5 Comments
Michael Woronko link
12/3/2020 09:57:58 am

Hey there, very interested in a potential collaboration. Not sure if you're still writing - let me know. Thanks!

Reply
Wendy Haylett link
12/3/2020 01:09:21 pm

Hi Michael - I'm not sure what "writing" you're referring to. I am no longer writing resumes. I have published a book last year and am the host and main content writer for the Everyday Buddhism podcast.

Let me know what collaboration you're interested in?

Reply
Michael Woronko link
12/3/2020 03:11:11 pm

Oops! Let me know if you fail to get my contact inquiry submission via Everyday Buddhism (.com). Love your work and your websites! Thanks for all that you've put together.

Tasting with Tiffany link
2/20/2021 09:35:41 am

Grreat blog

Reply
Wendy Shinyo link
2/20/2021 09:46:00 am

Thank you very much, Tiffany!

Reply



Leave a Reply.



    About Me

    I was intrigued from the first moment I read the bold claim accredited to Socrates that "the unexamined life is not worth living" and it has been a touchstone throughout my life. And, through the power of hindsight, I see its influence powering many of my career choices and life activities.

    Socrates’ unequivocal statement is at the heart of who and why I am a writer. It drove my study of philosophy in college; powered an ongoing personal commitment to spiritual, religious, and theological immersion—including 20 years of dedicated study and practice in Buddhism and meditation/mindfulness training. And—most importantly—it motivates my concern for my clients, as a career coach and resume writer.

    I was inducted as a Sensei (teacher) and Lay Minister with the Bright Dawn Center of Oneness Buddhism in 2006 and currently serve as Senior Ministry Faculty member.
    Additionally, I have trained as a teacher in the Unified Mindfulness Teacher Training Program and offer mindfulness coaching as an additional tool for my clients.

    As a 5 Steps to Rapid Employment Master Coach, Certified Professional Behavioral Analyst (CPBA), Certified DISCstyles™ Communication Consultant (CDCC), Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW), and ProfilingPro's only DISC Advisor and Coach, I use DISC assessments as a tool to “examine” my clients’ communication styles and behavioral strengths, because I have seen how DISC assessments and companion behavioral and communication coaching can make a significant positive difference in the careers and lives of my clients.

    Archives

    January 2019
    May 2018
    April 2018
    January 2018
    April 2017
    August 2016
    May 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
Photo used under Creative Commons from Connor J Burton
  • DISCareer | AboveALLResumes Home
  • Mindful-Career
  • Career Coaching Services
  • DISCovering - DISC Assessments
  • YOU-Branded Resume Writing
  • Select Your Coaching & Resume Services
  • Ordering Services & Scheduling a Consultation
  • Blog
  • Hey-Wendy Coaching To-Go
  • About & Contact