Return to Summer/Fall 2002

Steve Cohen, JDPSN

Dharma Combat at Providence Zen Center

Q: So, a sutra says, “In one particle of dust there’s this entire universe.” Which particle of dust might that be?

SC: [Hits floor]
Q:  Only that?

SC: Dust particle has already appeared.
Q: Thank you very much.

Q: I know you work outside. You have family. You come sometimes to Zen center for morning practice. You sleep sometimes for four hours. How can you survive?

SC: You already understand.
Q: No, I don’t.

SC: What are you looking at just now?

Q: I’m looking at you.

SC: Survival has already occurred.
Q: Thank you.

Q: Steve, you once told me that if you hadn’t been a doctor, you would have liked to have been a poet. So, my question comes in a verse from W.B. Yeats: Between extremities man runs his course. A brand, a flaming breath comes to destroy the antimonies of day and night. The body calls it death, the heart remorse. If these be right, what is joy?

SC: [Hits floor]
Q: Only that.
SC: You’re looking at me,  I’m looking at you.

Q: The skin on my knee is scraped from bowing too much. Do you have any suggestions?

SC: [Hits floor]
Q: Only that?

SC: Office hours are 9 to 5, Monday to Friday. That’s dermatology. This is dharmatology.

Q: Mu Sang Sunim told me an amazing thing about you—that you were an Olympic gymnast. So that means you did some amazing things with just your Dharma Combat two hands. Now you’re a great bodhisattva with 10,000 hands, so can you do a triple backflip without leaving your cushion?

SC: [Hits floor]
Q: Only that?
SC: [Extends hand] Thank you for coming today.
Q: That’s only one hand.
SC: [Extends both hands] Thank you for coming today.

Thank you, Doctor.

Q: During an inka ceremony it’s very important to answer quickly and believe in your answer 100%. Can you do that?

SC: [Hits floor]
Q: Only that?
SC: Your kasa is brown.
Q: So?
SC: Not enough?
Q: Good!

Q: You keep talking about blue sky and green tree. But that tree is brown and the sky is gray. So why do you tell so many lies?

SC: [Hits floor]
Q: Only that?
SC: What color is the sky?
Q: You tell me.
SC: Dog runs after the bone.
Q: Correct.

Q: I didn’t know you were a poet. I love poetry. So instead of asking you about someone else’s poem, what’s your poem?

SC: [Hits floor]

Q: Only that?

SC: How can I help you today?

Q: That’s a good poem. Thank you.

Q: Today is Buddha’s birthday. There was a lot of talk about Buddha. My question is: Is Buddha Buddhist?

SC: [Hits floor]
Q: Only that?
SC: Blue sky and green sea are the Buddha’s original face.
Q: Thank you very much for your teaching.

Q: Every morning we bow 108 times, and traditionally it’s said we do 108 bows because there are 108 delusions, and so we put them all down. But then, one of the sutras says there are 84,000 different delusions. But the bodhisattva vows say that delusions are endless. So how many delusions are there?

SC: [Hits floor]
Q: Only that?
SC: Another delusion has just appeared.
Q: Thank you.