Zen Dreams—A Letter from the Field
JP is a Danish philosopher and bestselling author.
Dear Fred and Betsy,
It was a delight to hear a reference to our discussion (and also to Fanni-Sofia!) in your latest podcast. I was taking the dog for a walk on a sunny, crisp winter day and listened to it on headphones. Such a joy! 🙂
What I really wanted to say, though, is that in the last satsang we spoke about dreams and you appearing in them. So, after our conversation, I had a dream the following night. It was in my childhood home town, and you were taking a walk among some trees on a small hill, talking to some people (maybe kids). I watched you from a distance, you were smiling and just casual-like. I said (or thought) in the dream: “There goes a zen master – but how ordinary he is!”.
And here’s the thing – it might also relate to the statement I made in our CSP session. There is a puzzlement in the fact that of course, a zen master is ordinary. A puzzlement in the fact that after awakening, the chopping of wood goes on. The fact that there is no one holding the axe is the only thing that is different. Everything is the same, but different. Such a subtle shift, like a zen master being just a very ordinary fellow, and sometimes hard to — no, impossible to — wrap one’s head around it.
You in the dream were a symbol of that very subtle, very profound ordinaryness, that can only be sensed post-awakening.
Anyway, it was a gift of a dream, and it was lovely to meet you there too.
See you in satsang,
Best wishes,
JP
