Give it no name

The master said to the young monk who stood before him, “You’ll go to America and become an ordinary man. You’ll learn a skill and earn a living, just like everyone else. As a monk you’ve learned to do without. You’ve filled your begging bowl from the generosity of others. You’ve understood that you and the Buddha share the same essential nature.

“Now you’ll go to a country quite different from your own, a vast country with great wealth and great poverty. Here too, you’ll live the same way — from the Buddha’s heart. Kindness and generosity will be your guide.” The master paused for a moment. “Do you understand?”

“I do.”

The master smiled at his disciple, loving him and his luminous heart. “There is one more thing. It is important and quite different from how you’ve lived your life so far,” the master said, as he placed a hand on the young monk’s shoulder. “You must not identify yourself as a Buddhist, a monk, or in any other way reveal to anyone that you are a religious person of any kind.”

The master stepped back and let his eyes rest on the young man. “In this way you’ll remain unknown, unencumbered by the opinions and beliefs associated with religion. You will continue to live in harmony with the Buddha, in your natural state, but you’ll give it no name. Is this clear?”

“It is,” the young monk replied. He gazed into the master’s eyes, knowing he would never see him again. Then placing his hand over his heart, he bowed.