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

just to ease his hunger. By the time he got to the base of the mountain he was very hungry
and had begun to gnaw the cord and by the time he was half way up the mountain he was
chewing hard. Little by little he chewed-up and swallowed the cord. Poor Coyote! He never
noticed how much he had eaten. When he got to the top of the mountain he discovered that
the pouch had opened and all the precious stones were gone. He was so ashamed. "I ate the
cord," he confessed. "I'm so sorry." Great Spirit was very angry. "Do you see what your
disobedience has caused?" Coyote cried and begged for forgiveness.
When Great Spirit saw that Coyote was truly repentant he took pity on him. "I will
forgive you but I never want you to forget the lesson you learned here tonight!" And saying
this he waved his hand and all the sparkling stones that had been lost on the mountain flew
up into the sky. And that is how the stars were created. And to this day, every evening as the
stars come out Coyote is reminded of his mistake and you can hear him cry, "Oooooooooh...
I'm sorry! Oh..Oooooooooh I'm sooooo sorry!"
Legends, myths, and fairy tales do not merely entertain. They instruct, encourage and
reassure. They tell the child that mother and father know how hard it is to become
responsible. They let him know that when he errs, if he is repentant and sincerely tries to
improve, he will always be forgiven. Such stories are lessons in social awareness and in
expanding consciousness. Throughout his life, tales of the Hero will inspire him to greatness.
Without these role models, maturity is difficult if not impossible to attain.
As the child grows, the Hero stories change. He has learned obedience. Now he
needs courage and skill. He next learns about the second Hero figure, the Superman, that
half-man, half-god creature who protects the good and summarily vanquishes the evil. These
superhuman Hero figures have extraordinary powers - sometimes they can fly, see through
solids or swim underwater without needing air. At the very least, they can jump higher,
throw farther, run and swim faster, shoot their arrows more accurately and outwit anybody
else. Their exploits excite and inspire.
Father now begins to teach the child how to farm, fish, hunt, and fight. He instructs
him in the use of the ax, knife, net, bow and spear. He has a very willing pupil. Our child is
infatuated with his heroes and eagerly tries to imitate them.
The Enemy Shadow has also grown in stature. The boy is capable of much greater
mischief. He can be duplicitous, dishonest, lazy, irresponsible, and selfish - qualities which
will be neatly balanced by his increasing ability to pretend to their opposite.
As the boy's horizons expand and he encounters new and incomprehensible
phenomena, he relies upon his Heroes. Supermen know how to deal with all things fabulous
and real.
Since the skills that Father teaches must be practiced, the child now develops a
particularly close friendship: his best friend or benign alter ego. Such a friend has enormous
CHAPTER 7 A WORKING MODEL OF THE PSYCHE
S EVENTH W ORLD O F C HAN B UDDHISM
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