Once there was a woman who lived inside a rock

Dear Sangha,

I just received my (very belated) copy of the New York Review of Books, and came across this little story in an essay called “Buddhist Baedekers”. It begins like this:

Once there was a woman who lived inside a rock. She had a husband, a desiccated, barren yogi, who also inhabited the rock and spent his days and nights in meditation, striving for liberation from earthly existence; he never touched his wife, whom he had created out of his own imagination. The woman, “like a lotus burnt by frost,’ was weary of this loveless life: she, too, sought release.   One day a great sage, Vasishtha, wandering through the wilderness, heard the woman singing a sad and gentle song; he followed her voice and found her sitting outside the rock. She introduced herself and told the sage her story.   She also taught him how to follow her into the rock. This took some practice – at first Vasishtha could see only the rough, stony surface. Eventually, he was able to enter the deep, open spaces inside. There he saw endless worlds folded within worlds; every atom contained millions of interlocking universes. 

It’s a great story. It resonates on many levels, especially in this moment of forced isolation and “social distancing”. The desiccated, barren yogi can’t touch his wife because he’s fixated on liberating himself from earthly existence, represented by his wife, who for the time being remains a figment of his imagination, a fantasy. This is serious trap indeed – the dream of transcending the body, escaping pain, passion and difficulty. But the woman, thankfully, grows weary of this “loveless life”, and sings her sad and gentle song. It’s this that catches the sage’s ear and brings the two together – beyond inside and outside.

We’re told the sage learns from the woman how to enter the rock. What a beautiful move – to enter the earth itself instead of seeking salvation elsewhere! This takes practice, of course, but it’s what draws the sage into the deep, open spaces inside. He sees millions of interlocking universes, worlds folded within worlds. How wonderful!

I’m reminded of a great case from the Record of Chao-chou. A monk asks, “What about when the three-pronged sword has not yet fallen?” (The three pronged sword is is the moment before discrimination).   Chao-chou said, “Densely packed together”   The monk asked, “What about after it has fallen?”   Chao-chou said, “Wide open spaces.”

We’re living in a strange moment right now. The world can feel like it’s closing in, rubbing up against us, suffocating our lives with bad news and restricted movement. The pressure of change can make everything feel “densely packed together”, even when we’re being told to stand 1.5m apart. From this point of view, it’s easy to see why the sage only saw the rough, stony surface of the rock at first. But he must have asked himself, is that all there is? Or is the rock inviting me into something greater, something of richer value? What if everything is so densely packed together that it becomes seamless, whole?

In response to the monk’s question about what happens after the three-pronged sword has fallen (ie. with discrimination), Chao-chou says, “Wide open spaces.” This can be taken multiple ways – it’s a koan after all. On the one hand, discrimination cuts us off from one another. It creates a space between beings, between me and you, where we are suddenly as far apart as heaven and earth. On the other hand, discrimination can be found to be completely empty, a wide open door to infinite possibility. What a beautiful invitation! And what a beautiful challenge for all of us right now – to find the wide open spaces in the midst of this extraordinary moment of lockdown, isolation, sadness and despair.

To find the wide open spaces in the midst of difficult takes practice, of course. Which is why we gather and turn our attention to all the human warmth, love and sorrow – the “sad, gentle song” – that is being sung right now, in every aspect of our lives. Everywhere I turn I see solemn faces, serious behaviour, genuine tenderness, blessed humour. None of this can be ignored. In fact, it’s the very song we must follow to find the wide open spaces of profound opportunity and connection, the interlocking universes of our lives.

Just ask the woman who lived inside a rock.

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Kynan