Innocence is Divine

MKP November 07, 2022

Innocence is Divine

Zen has no value system. Zen only brings one thing into the world: understanding, awareness. Through awareness comes innocence. And innocence is innocent of good and bad, both. Innocence is simply innocence – it knows no distinction.

The last story. It is about Ryokan – the same master I was talking about a few days before, who burned the roof to save the bamboo shoot. Ryokan was a great lover of children. As might be expected of such a character as he was, he himself was a child. He was the child Jesus speaks about. He was so innocent that it was almost unbelievable that a man can be so innocent. He had no cunning, no cleverness. He was so innocent that people used to think that he was a little mad.

He liked to play with children. He played hide-and-seek, he played tamari, hand-ball, too. One evening it was his turn to hide, and he hid himself well under a straw stack in the field. It was growing darker and the children, not being able to locate him, left the field. Early in the following morning, a farmer came and had to remove the straw stack to begin his work. Finding Ryokan there, he exclaimed, ’Oh Ryokan-sama! What are you doing here?’

The master answered, ’Hush! Don’t talk so loud, the children will find me.’

The whole night under that straw he is waiting for the children! Such innocence is Zen. And such innocence is divine. Such innocence knows no distinctions between good and bad, knows no distinctions between this world and that, knows no distinction between this and that. Such innocence is what suchness is. And this suchness is the innermost core of religion.

Swami Vivekananda and Pavhari Baba

Swami Vivekananda was traveling around the India as an unknown monk as he was keeping his identity secret. On the way to Varanasi he came to know that Swami Yogananda, one of his brother disciples, was lying ill in Allahabad. He wanted to meet Yogananda. So he started moving towards Varanasi. On his way he came to know about the Saint Pavhari Baba, the 'air-eating holy man.'

Pavhari Baba practiced the disciplines of Yoga and Vedanta and was a Gyani. At this time Swami Vivekananda was tremendously in pain mentally as well physically. He was suffering from the sever pain of lumbago which had made it almost impossible for Swami Vivekananda either to move about or to sit in meditation. Swami Vivekananda was further mentally distressed, for the illness of Abhedananda and Swami Yogananda, his brother disciples. In reality Swami Vivekananda was very soft-natured man but outwardly he seems to be very stern because of his Vedantic views.

Swami Vivekananda wanted to forget the world and his own body through Yoga practices and he was looking at Pavhari Baba for the instructions, thus intending to make the saint his guru. But the Pavhari Baba, with characteristic humility, put him off from day to day.

One night when Swami Vivekananda was lying in bed thinking of Pavhari Baba, Sri Ramakrishna appeared to him and stood silently near the door, looking intently into Swami Vivekananda eyes. This vision of Sri Ramakrishna repeated for twenty-one days. Swami Vivekananda understood and he reproached himself bitterly for his lack of complete faith in Sri Ramakrishna. Tearfully he recalled how Sri Ramakrishna had fulfilled all his prayers and had forgiven his offences by the million and removed his afflictions.

Swami Vivekananda faith in Sri Ramakrishna was restored. But as long as Swami Vivekananda lived he cherished sincere affection and reverence for Pavhari Baba and one of the instructions of Pavhari baba which Swami Vivekananda cherished most was: 'Live in the house of your Master like a cow,' which emphasizes the spirit of service and humility in the relationship between the Master and the disciple.

Zen Master in Jail

A Zen master had been put into jail several times.... Now a step further! These Zen people are really eccentric people, mad people – but they do beautiful things.

A Zen master had been put into jail several times.... Now, it is one thing to forgive a thief, it is one thing not to think that he is bad, it is another thing to go to jail oneself. And not once, many times – for stealing small things from his neighbours. And the neighbours knew, and they were puzzled: Why does this man steal? and such small things. But the moment he would be out of prison he would steal again, and he would go back. Even the judges were worried. But they had to send him to jail, because he would confess.

He would never say, ’I have not stolen.’

Finally the neighbours gathered together, and they said, ’Sir, don’t steal any more. You are getting old, and we are ready to provide you with all that you need – all your necessities, whatsoever it is. You stop this! We are very much worried, and we are very sad. Why do you go on doing this?

And the old man laughed. And he said, ’I steal in order to get in with the prisoners, and bring them the inner message. Who will help them? Outside, for you prisoners, there are many masters. But inside the jail there is no master. Who will help them, you tell me?

This is my way to get in and help those people. So when my punishment is over and I am thrown out, I have to steal something and go back again. I am going to continue this. And I have found there in jail such beautiful souls, such innocent souls – sometimes far MORE innocent....’

Once it happened, one of my friends became a governor of a state in India, and he allowed me to go into jails all over his state. And I went for years, and I was surprised. The people who are in jails are far more innocent than the politicians in New Delhi, than the rich people, than the so-called saints. I know almost all the saints of this country.

They are more cunning. I have found in the criminals such innocent souls.... I can understand this old Zen master’s idea – of stealing, of getting caught, and bringing the message to them. ’I steal in order to get in with the prisoners and bring them the inner message.’