Summer Night

On my way to bed, I turn out the light and notice with surprise another illumination filling the room from my large window. I open it and look outside. A full moon is riding the sky above the pear trees. Its silvery light glistens delicately on the dewy lawn. Late summer yet the air is warm while the moonlight sheds a cooling touch.

I go out onto the lawn. Nothing moves. There is a perfect silence. Not a rustle of a mouse, not an owl call - just a simple, illuminating stillness. There is something mysterious about it: not only because I cannot see beyond the shadows, but something else as if a different dimension had opened itself to the senses.

And indeed, it has. The moonlight reflecting dimly the brightness coming from the distant sun takes us into another world. How rarely do we venture there! We hide away indoors as the darkness falls of an evening. Or else we scuttle in from the garage having parked the car in the dark.. Moonlight is rare in Britain and full moons only appear once a month. This is special.

Why do we pay so little attention to the Night? In the still nights of a windless full moon, there is a wonder beyond the windows. That’s the word – wonder! So often, we flee from the wonders of our world even when they are right there before us - demanding nothing.

Wonder – the world is full of wonder and the night can be an especial case. Let us go out now and tread on the dew-dampened grass under the moon’s orb. What is this wonder about? Perhaps it is the mystery of ‘half-light’?

Allow the being of the still ‘moment-without-thought’ to be. That is a half-light too – an opening to a thoughtless moment.

Let’s not ignore the night. When it glows in silver wonder, go forth and meet that mystery. It is simple enough. And we should never avoid simplicity, for that is where one can discover a secret of Zen - the half-light of no-reason.

Dogen told us the important discovery in 'Sitting' lies not in thought nor in the rejection of thought but simply in being without thought. Moonlight is sunlight as half-light. Meditation can reveal a mental half-light as one moves from Samatha into Tranquility and then maybe into Clarity.

Have you discovered that you can also fall into 'without-thought' at any moment? This can be surprisingly revealing. Just stop thinking, sharply surprising the mind with a "PHAT!"

Turn the inner lights out and you will discover the moon beyond the window. Explore the actuality of this. There is an opening here.

Chuan-deng Jing-di

Tuesday, September 21, 2010