To Know God is to Forget God—To Forget You is to Love You
Series: Zen and the Jewish High Holidays (Part 3 of 3)
No one and nothing is excluded. Not a single person. Not a single thing.
This world we have inherited, are responsible for, and responsible to, needs every single one of us. We create it together—arm in arm, hand in hand—year by year, moment by moment, breath by breath.
It’s imperative to see that just as the world needs us, we need each other. Just as we are all vitally important and significant, we are never alone. All of this, all of this, all of this is about vulnerability, intimacy, and love.
Forgetting the Self
In the Zen tradition, there is one particular line that I hold, especially near to my heart. It was written by the 13th century founder of Japanese Zen Buddhism, Eihei Dōgen Zenji in his life’s work called the Shōbōgenzō:
To study the Buddha way is the study the self. To study the self is to forget the self. To forget the self is to be actualized by myriad things. — Eihei Dōgen, Shōbōgenzō: Genjōkōan
If we see the important, the sacred, the real, or anything Divine as strictly out there, something or someone other than ourself—in the midst of our very life—we are missing something very valuable.
In the Christian tradition, Jesus taught, “I am the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6). What if this were true of everyone? Each and every human being? Taken from this perspective, we can say that to know God is to know ourself.
The Man of No Dust
On the Jewish New Year, we celebrate the creation and birth of the world. “For our sake, the world was created” (Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:5). The question begs, for whose sake do we create the world? Yes, the world was created for our sake, yet there is more to it.
It is from truly accepting this grace that we come to see from this realization that we are still responsible for and accountable to others. We recognize the perfection in others upon realizing our own perfection. Similarly, we realize our own imperfection upon recognizing the imperfection of others.
I find it a terribly challenging and distressing human truth to accept and realize that as a man, as a human being, I am capable of both tremendous good and also tremendous evil. Good and evil are no more or less a part of creation.
Bodhi originally has no tree, The bright mirror also has no stand. Fundamentally there is not a single thing, Where can dust collect? — Huineng, The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch
While we strive to do good and refrain from evil, genuine freedom and liberation comes from accepting ourselves, our capabilities, and the entirety of who and what we are. Yes, to know God is to know the Self. And, to know God is to forget the Self.
While the world was created for our sake, we are also simultaneously nothing but dust and ashes. My own name is a constant reminder of that for myself. I am named Adam after primordial man, the very Adam in the book of Genesis, the very first human being created, in God’s image.
The name Adam shares the same Hebrew root (a-d-m) for the words meaning man (Adam), earth (adamah), and red (adom). So, to be Adam is to be nothing other than the red dust of the earth. Accepting our nature, accepting that the world was created for our sake, that we all are made in the holy Divine image, requires us also to remain humble.
In the Jewish tradition, we spent the entire month before the New Year, the Hebrew month of Elul, in deep introspection, reflection, and preparation for atonement. We are in no way evil creatures, though we are capable of doing evil, or said more simply, causing ourselves and others harm. This is simply unavoidable.
Yet what do we do about it? We love. What else can we do? As human beings, we are bound to make mistakes. We are innately perfect yet deeply error prone. This doesn’t make us wrong. It makes us human.
Break Your Heart Wide Open!
Day-to-day, I work as a practicing psychologist. Some time ago, I went to a play therapy conference on working with children and adolescents who were sexually abused. The presenter mentioned a quote: “Let your heart break. It will not kill you. It will save you.”
This is what it means to repent. This is our practice of atonement. As hard as it is, remain openhearted. When necessary, allow your heart to sink. Yet, please be careful as you do this. You are very precious, you know?
The Hebrew prophets teach that God does not want our temple sacrifices. It is written in the book of Hosea (6:6):
I desire mercy and lovingkindness, not sacrifice; the knowledge of God, rather than burnt offerings.
To know God is to know the Self. And to know God is to forget the Self. How do we come to know of God? Through acting with mercy and lovingkindness. In the Book of Isaiah (1:11-17):
What need have I of all your sacrifices? Says the Lord. I am sated with burnt offerings of rams, And suet of fatlings, And blood of bulls; And I have no delight In lambs and he‑goats. That you come to appear before Me— Who asked that of you? Trample My courts no more; Bringing oblations is futile, Incense is offensive to Me. New moon and sabbath, Proclaiming of solemnities, Assemblies with iniquity, I cannot abide. Your new moons and fixed seasons Fill Me with loathing; They are become a burden to Me, I cannot endure them. And when you lift up your hands, I will turn My eyes away from you; Though you pray at length, I will not listen. Your hands are stained with crime— Wash yourselves clean; Put your evil doings Away from My sight. Cease to do evil; Learn to do good. Devote yourselves to justice; aid the wronged. Uphold the rights of the orphan; Defend the cause of the widow.
What God wants is not the blood sacrifice of animals. God yearns for us! God wants the blood, not of animals, but of our own fleshy, bleeding hearts.
God loves the brokenhearted! It is this sacrifice that God yearns for. It is this vulnerability that God needs from us. It is this sacrifice that saves us. “Let your heart break. It will not kill you. It will save you.”
Such a Wondrous World
Just last night, I received a text from an acquaintance. Only in his 20s, he’s celebrating the birth of his first child, a happy and healthy baby boy!
How do we atone? Know God. Forget God. Be intimate with all things. When your heart breaks, cry out to the world. When your heart rejoices, rejoice with the entire world.
Such a wondrous world we live in. Please take good care of it and each other.
Shanah Tovah and Happy New Year! Blessings for a meaningful Yom Kippur ahead! May you enjoy a sweet year with ease and joy—and may the tablet of your heart be inscribed to choose life!
P.S.
May your heart shatter with wonder!
(Note: This is Part 3 of a three-part series on Zen and the Jewish High Holidays. Catch up with Part 1: Returning to Imperfection and Part 2: The "Thing" Beneath the Patch Robe.)
(Lyric "What a Wonderful World" written by Bob Thiele and George David Weiss © Range Road Music Inc / Quartet Music Inc. Performed by Jon Batiste.)
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