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

identity is always prefixed by the possessive adjective "my" - my fans, my wife, my son - the
doctor... And just as we define and sustain ourselves by such human possessions, we try to
suck the quality from material possessions, and assimilate these qualities to ourselves.
Sometimes we develop a collector's mentality and desire expensive or rare objects just
for the sake of possessing them. "I have something nobody else has. As it is unique, I, its
possessor, am unique." Art or artifact, it does not matter what the class of object is. Believe
it or not, there are people who collect toilet seats. Our surprise by such a category should not
be increased by learning that Charles, Prince of Wales, numbers himself among these strange
collectors of privy memorabilia.
We are convinced that the quality of our possessions magically adheres to us. A man
who deems a Ferrari superior to a Ford, deems himself, as a Ferrari owner, superior to a Ford
owner. He wants an attractive car so that people will be attracted to him - yet he fully expects
that all will love him not for his possessions but for himself. He is certain, as he looks
through the parking lots of life, that he has few equals. And if it should happen that the
monthly payments on the Ferrari are bankrupting this particular man, so what? He does not
swagger less.
A woman argues with her hairdresser about the undulation of a particular tress. She
claims that it proceeds in a direction which makes her look unattractive. She is very fussy
about her hair. It is her best feature. Not until the perverse curl is reversed is she satisfied
with her appearance. And if it should happen that this woman weighs three hundred pounds
and grotesque rolls of fat cascade down her torso, is she less fastidious about her coiffure?
No. Her ego has attached itself to her hairdo. Her self-esteem is in her curls.
Sportscars and stylish hairdos are worthwhile if they increase a breeding adult's
attractiveness; but when procreative considerations are nonexistent, such flashy displays
usually indicate that the ego is serving no other instinct than its own self-preserving vanity.
This is an essential difference between youth and maturity. We expect young people
to crave attention-gaining things. A sixty year old woman driving a Ferrari is strange to us.
A spiked, punk hairdo is sort of engaging when it is worn by a sixteen year old boy. We
would, however, very likely refuse to dine with a sixty year old man who wore one. On the
other hand, when we find young people taking vows of chastity and poverty and retreating to
a cloister we wonder what is wrong with them.
For how long can an ego safely reside in a possession? Sometimes in samsaric
permanence. We have all met collectors who will pause in their accretions only to receive
Extreme Unction. While passing on, they direct the priest's attention to their latest
acquisition. As many attorneys can verify, there are hosts of vain women who name in their
wills the particular hairdresser they want to coif their corpse. We even occasionally hear
about sportscar owners who stipulate that they be buried in their Porches.
CHAPTER 12 RIGHT THOUGHT OR PURPOSE
S EVENTH W ORLD O F C HAN B UDDHISM
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