Book Excerpt & Reflection

“The Empty Mirror: Experiences in a Japanese Zen Monastery.”- Janwillem van de Wetering
The priest was going to have guests and he had been busy all morning, perfecting his garden. He had raked all the fallen leaves together, and thrown them away. He had sprinkled water on the moss, he had even combed the moss here and there, he had put down some leaves again, in the right places; and when finally, he stood on his veranda and contemplated his garden, could only tell himself that his garden was, in every respect, as it should be. The old Zen master had been watching the priest's work work interest while he lent on the fence which separated the two temples.

'Isn't it beautiful?' The priest asked the master. 'Don't you think the garden is now as it should be? My guests will be coming in a little while and I want them to find the garden as the monks who originally designed it meant it to be.'

The master nodded. 'Yes,' he said, 'Your garden is beautiful; but there is something missing, and if you'll lift me over the fence and put me down in the garden for a moment I'll put it right for you.'
The priest hesitated, for he had got to know the master a little and he knew that the old man could have extraordinary ideas. He couldn't refuse of course. A master's will is law, and that his master happened to be retired didn't change the rule.

When he had lowered the master carefully into his garden the old gentleman walked slowly to a tree, growing in the centre of a harmonious rock and moss combination. It was autumn and the leaves were dying. All the master had to do was shake the tree a little and the garden was full of leaves again, spread out in haphazard patterns. 'That's what it needed,' the master said. 'You can put me back again.'

***

Motivation behind polishing minor details in one's life is not always self-centered. Sometimes, this polishing is done with the approval of others in mind; we often think that to show our flaws to others will make them think less of us, and so feel the need to act as though we are flawless. Even though everybody is born with inherent imperfections, we also seem to have the mindset that it is necessary to rid ourselves of these imperfections. This is an unhealthy attitude to entertain for numerous reasons, the biggest one being that it is unrealistic. Because you have flaws, it is unavoidable that eventually these flaws will shine through and be revealed to others. Some people will judge others for exposing their own flaws, and this too is unavoidable, but there are also those who will embrace the flaws of the people surrounding them.

The Zen Master, from this memoir written by Janwillem van de Wetering, holds the philosophy that without a sense of imperfection, nothing is complete. He believes, unlike the humble priest, that imperfection is a perfectly natural thing. This is an attitude that has become increasingly less talked of in today's society; the impossible journey towards the supreme target of perfection is encouraged, the need to impress other people with an illusion of self-perfection is one felt strongly by so many people. In doing so, we are only misleading others and ourselves, and to do so is to live a life that is not entirely your own.

The priest is unable to understand why or how the Zen Master can find beauty in imperfection, how something so peaceful and tranquil as a garden can also be unkempt and disheveled. While it's simple to be swept up in the mentality that flaws must be concealed from the outside world, once you let go of that approach, and accept the idea that to disguise fault from others is pointless and time consuming, life can become far more enjoyable and less stressful...