UJI Part Twenty-Four | Centering in Uji
“Although the venerable Masters up to the present time have spoken about the Matter in such a way, might there not be something more that needs to be said? Well, I would add, “There are times when intending and expressing are halfway there, and there are times when intending and expressing are halfway not there.” You would do well to investigate and clarify the Matter in such a way. And again, “Making That One’s eyebrows rise and His eyes twinkle is half of what ‘just for the time being’ is about, and making That One’s eyebrows rise and His eyes twinkle may also be a counterfeit ‘just for the time being’, and making That One’s eyebrows rise and His eyes twinkle may also be a completely false ‘just for the time being.’”
The written wisdom of the venerable Masters, while a blessing, is best understood when we view it through the lens of our own practice. A deeper dive into the intricate dance of intention and expression within our practice reveals that these elements are not fixed but are dynamic. There are moments when they are halfway there and moments when they are halfway not there. This continuous self-reflection is the key to witnessing your Buddha nature.
True insight lies in our direct engagement with our practice. There are times when our intentions and expressions are crystal clear and in perfect harmony, and other times when they must be refined or clarified. This does not diminish their value; rather, it underscores the ongoing process of realizing our awakening. Our practice is not a binary state of perfect clarity or total confusion but a focusing lens we continuously sharpen for deeper understanding and embodiment of our true nature.
Dōgen's exploration of "making That One's eyebrows rise and His eyes twinkle" pushes this even further. There is half uji, counterfeit uji, even completely false uji. We may want to sort these into genuine moments that belong to the Way and mistaken moments that do not, but Dōgen takes away that refuge. Even the mistake completely manifests its own being-time. This does not make error correct or falsehood true. It means that there is nowhere outside uji from which our errors arise. Each becomes another place where investigation and practice are demanded of us.
To illustrate this further, consider the image of a half-opened flower. We may instinctively imagine that the half-open flower is incomplete, waiting for some future moment when it finally becomes what it should be. But this is precisely the assumption Dōgen unsettles. Half-open is completely half-open. Halfway arriving is completely halfway arriving. It does not need some future completion to validate this moment. Even the half completely manifests uji.
Investigating and clarifying "the Matter" requires us to look deeply into our experiences without grasping at fixed ideas of complete and incomplete, genuine and false. This process is not about achieving perfection but engaging sincerely with each moment. By doing so, we cultivate a dynamic and rooted practice in the reality of uji.
Recognizing this requires humility and the willingness to continuously reassess our understanding and actions. Through this ongoing process of investigation and clarification, we deepen our practice and awaken to our true nature.
Dōgen's insight into the "half" reaching or not-reaching reflects our practice's authentic moments. These examples remind us that each moment, whether it feels complete or not, is a fully expressed instance of uji. Our effort to understand and act in alignment with wisdom is what matters. In our journey, we will hit and miss the mark; this is the nature of things-as-they-are. Our practice is about how we respond to real situations, and it's the ongoing effort and attention we give to this moment that encourages awakening's bloom!
