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

follow a prescribed moral code that is designed to enable him to function successfully in
larger, more diverse, groups.
Large societies offer distinct survival advantages: the larger the social group, the
larger the gene pool; the bigger the army, the greater the variety of skills; and so on. But
this increase in security and cultural enrichment is not automatically yielded. It is gained by
the cooperation and contribution of all members. In short, the benefits of a civilization
accrue according to the degree of organization and inspired participation of the citizenry.
The Hero instinct inspires the child to become a better person, as decent, loyal,
honest, generous, skilled, industrious, courageous and responsible as he can possibly be.
This is a great deal to expect, but that we all grow up to be the sterling citizens we are attests
to the relative ease with which the difficulty is surmounted. The Hero is extremely powerful.
This civilizing or `ennobling' process commences when Mother and Father begin to
tell our model child marvelous stories about Heroes. They will start with the first Hero
figure, the Trickster.
We have all met the naughty but likable Trickster. He is Loki, the fire god who is so
troublesome to control; he is Bugs Bunny, who steals the farmer's crops; he is noisy Woody
Woodpecker. Since all Hero projections are generated in the same manner, we can see how
this amazing instinct works in all its sequential forms by considering a myth that Navajo
parents tell their children. (They recite this story slowly and with great seriousness.) The
Navajo Trickster figure is called Coyote:
Coyote was always getting into trouble. He would forget to do things that he had
promised to do; he would fall asleep when he was supposed to stay awake; and sometimes
when he had received specific instructions, he would decide that he knew a better way and he
would really mess things up. Everyone laughed at Coyote and nobody would trust him with
even the smallest job. Very sad, he went to the Great Spirit and asked for a chance to redeem
himself. "Please give me a job to do so that I can show everyone that I have learned to be
responsible," he said.
At first Great Sprit refused, but Coyote begged and begged until Great Sprit felt pity
for him and relented. "Here is a job for you," he said. "By tonight, I have to pay a debt to
Great Bear who lives on top of a distant mountain. Can you take this pouch of sparkling
stones to him as my payment of the debt?" "Of course," said Coyote. "I'll run and run and I'll
get it to him before nightfall." Then Great Spirit tied the pouch with a rawhide cord and gave
it to Coyote. "Make sure this pouch doesn't come untied or the gems will be lost." Coyote
was very grateful for the chance to prove himself. "Oh, thank you, Great Spirit, and do not
worry," he said. "I'll take good care of the pouch." He put the pouch in his mouth and ran off.
Pretty soon he got hungry and as he ran, the ends of the rawhide cord rubbed against
his nose and lips. The cord smelled so delicious that he thought he would nibble on the ends
CHAPTER 7 A WORKING MODEL OF THE PSYCHE
S EVENTH W ORLD O F C HAN B UDDHISM
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