seventh world of chan buddhism - Zen Buddhist Order of Hsu Yun

Since his ex-wife and kids live in another state, Jesse keeps his own little apartment;
and between the rent, the car and the child support payments, his existence hovers around the
poverty level.
He's more than bitter. Daily he says to himself, "Here I am, my life two-thirds over.
I've worked for years and what do I have to show for it? Nothing. My kids plays softball
with the stranger who's living in my house, sleeping with my woman, eating at my table.
And I sit here alone in this dump watching television." As the months pass, his discontent
deepens.
Jesse Doe has a barber who is a born-again Christian. Snip, snip, snip... "Brother,
until you've let Jesus into your heart, you're condemned to misery. Come with me to a
Revival meeting. You won't regret it." Snip, snip...
"No," says Jesse. And he means it. He dreads getting his hair cut because of the
evangelical pitch that comes with the snipping.
Then, one night, as Jesse sits before his flickering tube, the barber knocks at his door
with a proposition he can't refuse. "The world's greatest preacher is speaking in a tent just
outside town. Come with me and I swear the moment you say you want to leave, we'll leave
without a word. Not only that but I promise you that I will never bring up religion to you
again. Never."
A future filled with peaceful haircuts - and all for the price of taking a quick ride with
the barber. Jesse relents.
They pull up at the busy tent. Brilliant light streams from the entrance. A band plays
and even in the parking lot Jesse receives the tactile benefits of a sound wave massage. The
music, hauntingly familiar, evokes recollections of childhood innocence and simpler times...
before the world turned rotten, before he knew the burden of responsibility and the high price
of a fickle heart.
There in the convivial sights and sounds, someone pats his shoulder and calls him
Brother. A kindly old lady extends a tray of cookies towards him and calls him Sonny.
People are friendly. And the smells of cinnamon buns and coffee fill the air. And the music!
Soon, Jesse is singing and clapping his hands and stompin' his feet to the rhythm of hymns he
hasn't heard in decades.
And then the lights dim and a spotlight shines on a fellow in a white suit who comes
to the podium with The Book in his hand, a fellow who speaks in seductive cadences, who
lets his voice curl sensually around buzzwords while his tongue licks new meaning from old
and tired clichés, who gyrates and stretches, who points and pounds. Jesse is enthralled, and
CHAPTER 10 FIRST ZEN PRACTICE: THE 1:4:2 HEALING BREATH
S EVENTH W ORLD O F C HAN B UDDHISM
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