American dog say, 'Woof, woof.' Korean dog say, 'Mung, mung.' Polish dog say, 'How, how.' So which dog barking is correct? That is human beings' barking, not 'dog' barking. If dog and you become one hundred percent one, then you know sound of barking. This is Zen teaching. Boom! Become one.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the notion that understanding transcends language and cultural differences; true understanding comes from a deeper, unified experience.
This quote by Seung Sahn illustrates a core principle of Zen teaching: that reality and understanding go beyond mere words or sounds. It suggests that the true essence of communication, whether in relation to dogs barking or human interactions, lies in a deep connection that is felt rather than articulated. By indicating that the sounds attributed to dogs vary by culture, he points out that these are constructs of human perception—yet when one emerges into a state of oneness with another being, the true 'barking' or essence can be felt and understood without language. This understanding encourages one to seek unity and deeper comprehension in all aspects of life.
In practice
In a mindfulness workshop discussing the importance of presence and understanding.
Correct meditation means correctly understanding your situation moment by moment - what are you doing now? Only do it! Then, each action is complete; each action is enough. Then no thinking, so each moment I can perceive everything just like this.
We have the universe to roam in in imagination. It is our virtue to be infinitely varied. The worst tyranny is uniformity.
The most shocking fact about war is that its victims and its instruments are individual human beings, and that these individual beings are condemned by the monstrous conventions of politics to murder or be murdered in quarrels not their own.
This world of ours... must avoid becoming a community of dreadful fear and hate, and be, instead, a proud confederation of mutual trust and respect.
And truly it is a very natural and ordinary thing to desire to acquire, and always, when men do it who can, they will be praised or not blamed; but when they cannot, and wish to do it anyway, here lies the error and the blame.
Christ will be master of the heart, and sin must be mortified. If your life is unholy, then your heart is unchanged, and you are an unsaved person. The Savior will sanctify His people, renew them, give them a hatred of sin, and a love of holiness. The grace that does not make a man better than others is a worthless counterfeit. Christ saves His people, not IN their sins, but FROM their sins. Without holiness, no man shall see the Lord.
The essence of America lies not in the headlined heroes...but in the everyday folks who live and die unknown, yet leave their dreams as legacies
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