Time constantly goes from past to present and from present to future. This is true, but it is also true that time goes from future to present and from present to past" (pp. 33-34).
Certainly, the Zen master is not suggesting that people can actually travel through time, but he is trying to make the point that a beginner's mind, a Zen mind, possesses the capacity to perceive time in this fluid fashion without the constraints imposed by the physical world. Moreover, Suzuki concedes that the process to achieving a Zen mind is not seamless or easy, and insists that proficiency in attaining a beginner's mind is a matter of practice and time. Nevertheless, the Zen master also emphasizes that the goal is obtainable by anyone who has the desire and the will and who is willing to follow some relatively straightforward guidance to achieving it. When the Zen mind is attained, though, clarity rushes in to fill the void. According to Suzuki, "When everything exists within your big mind, all dualistic relationships drop away. There is no distinction between heaven and earth, man and woman, teacher and disciple" (p. 44). This level of clarity also means that the respective role and position of the practitioner is malleable and situationally relative. In this regard, in the "big mind," "Sometimes a man bows to a woman; sometimes a woman bows to a man. Sometimes the disciple bows to the master; sometimes the master bows to the disciple. A master who cannot bow to his disciple cannot bow to Buddha. Sometimes the master and disciple bow together to Buddha. Sometimes we may bow to cats and dogs" (p. 44).
The latter assertion may cause some practitioners to pause. It is one thing to have sufficient humility to bow to one's superiors and even one's equals, but it is quite another thing to bow to "cats and dogs." What is the world was Suzuki thinking when he wrote this? It turns out that he was thinking the same thing all along, which is attaining the big mind means that everything is worthy of respect and acceptance as it is rather than as it is wanted to be by the practitioner. As Suzuki puts it, "If you do not have this firm conviction of big mind in your practice, your bow will be dualistic. When you are just yourself, you bow to yourself in its true sense, and you are one with everything. Only when you are you yourself can you bow to everything in its true sense" (p. 44). Consequently, from this perspective, it just makes good sense to bow to others and even bow to dogs and cats because everything in the universe is equal and one. In fact, just as the simple act of sitting has its proper form and approach that may be considered difficult by some, so too...
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