The table fan

X
Thuan lives very disciplinedly, all daily activities of himself and his family follow the schedule he sets, except for unexpected cases of force majeure.
Thuan's writing desk is placed right at the east window of the living room, above it is a computer with Internet access, a table fan, a small vase with fresh flowers. Every morning, Thuan opens the window, the morning sunlight, the fresh breath of the universe and the endless energy of the sun flood into the room, filling it with vitality. Every night, just sitting here, Thuan can watch the moon rise, look at the villages, rice fields, and gardens bathing in the cool night dew, comfortably admiring the charming, lyrical, romantic beauty of the golden moonlight, drifting in space, swaying on the branches of trees and blades of grass.
A small window has opened before Thuan's eyes a vast, transparent, quiet sky with all things in myriad shapes and forms rotating, dancing regularly, rhythmically with each breath of the universe. It can also be said that the sky, that all things have penetrated through the window bars to the place Thuan sits. It also gives Thuan many levels of emotions from low to high, from the vibrations of the senses to the vibrations of the deepest level of consciousness. Thuan often sits motionless for hours by the window, staring into the endless space like an astronomer, both searching and discovering new things happening in the universe and contemplating those new things.
Once, I went to his house to play without telling him in advance. I arrived at the main door but Thuan still did not notice. He sat staring at the working table fan, his left hand resting on the table, his index finger tapping on the table surface, his right hand propped up his chin, two fingers holding a pen. A moment later, Thuan reached out to turn off the fan. When the fan blades stopped, he poked a pen into a few slots of the fan blade protection cage, smiling.
-It's just a normal fan, what's so strange about it?
I asked Thuan. He turned to look out, a little surprised, stood up, and said happily:
-Oh! Uncle! Are you new? Please come in.
I walked in, Thuan led me to sit on the sofa, I said:
-You've been here for a while but didn't want to stop my flow of thoughts and emotions.
Thuan smiled, pretending:
-What's wrong, uncle? Would you like some coffee?
I nodded, Thuan went to make me a cup of iced coffee. The two of us chatted for a while, then I returned to the topic of the fan. I asked:
-What? What did the fan say to you? Did you learn any lesson or “truth” from it? Tell me!
Thuan smiled, scratched his head in fear, and said:
-Yes! There is nothing so terrible, uncle! The truth is so great, only saints can see it, how can an ordinary person like me express it! But…if I say there is nothing, it is a lie. Actually…I just made a small comparison, uncle!
-Compare what?
-Yes! Compare the fan with emptiness.
I was startled. Emptiness is the core concept in Buddhist teachings, so profound and wonderful, it is very difficult to think about. During his lifetime, Buddha Shakyamuni preached about emptiness in Savatthi city, which was recorded in two suttas Culasunnata-sutta and Mahasunnata-sutta. After Buddha's death, both Theravada Buddhism, Mahayana Buddhism and many other sects continued to discuss emptiness, but in terms of theory, there are still many different opinions . However, this is an important and delicate issue that should not be taken lightly or made fun of. I reminded and scolded Thuan: - Do you know that doing so is an insult and blasphemy against the Buddha ? Thuan was confused: - Yes! I... I... don't dare! - It's been two years, clearly, why do you say you don't dare? Thuan looked at me and said politely: - Yes! Please calm down and listen to me calmly. I also read the two sutras you mentioned and many books discussing emptiness, but the concept is too abstract, my foundation is low, my mind is confused, so I still cannot visualize and understand emptiness. Therefore, I tried to find something simpler, more concrete, easier to see and know than the arguments of metaphysical philosophy to open the mind. Finally, I discovered the table fan because it has many similarities with emptiness. I also do not have the ambition to become an emptiness apologist, I just want to apply what I see to my daily life, uncle.
I regret and feel ashamed. Why was I so calm and hasty? I should have waited to hear Thuan talk about the purpose of the comparison and what his views and knowledge are like, whether they are right or wrong, then it would not be too late to criticize and evaluate? I apologize to him:
-As a Buddhist, you have not yet eliminated the three obstacles, and you are still "attached to the self and the dharma" so you have wrongly scolded me. I sincerely apologize to you.
Thuan stood up in panic and said:
-Oh no! Please don't make me break my religion and shorten my life. I am still learning and need your guidance a lot. What is your fault? I am still very grateful to you, how dare I find fault with you?
I smiled and said jokingly:
-Compassion and wisdom are two key elements of enlightenment, consider that nothing has happened between you and me, and we are even. Now tell me your thoughts, I am happily waiting to hear?
-Yes! Thuan sat down and said. After many observations and contemplations, I see that the fan and emptiness have many interesting similarities. First is the cage that protects the fan blades, like emptiness, an empty, clear, pure space; unchanging. The fan blades and the dust, the air… in the cage are all dharmas; the electric current is delusion. When the start button is pressed, the electric current will cause the fan to rotate in a semicircle, the fan blades rotating to create wind. That wind in turn creates consequences such as cooling or freezing, drying wet objects, flaming a fire or extinguishing a burning candle , making light objects fly… Increasing or decreasing the current intensity, the speed of rotation of the fan blades and the consequences it creates also increase or decrease, but the purity of the cage remains unchanged. When the fan is running, the fan blades form a solid shield, both blocking and preventing and repelling anything that wants to enter or penetrate the cage. The electric current must be cut off for the fan blades to stop completely in order to see the true nature of the cage, to be able to penetrate or pass through it easily.
The same is true of emptiness. When false thoughts arise, all dharmas arise, arise and spin; when all dharmas spin, karma is created; karma is a dynamic relationship in humans, this relationship will create an endless chain of cause and effect in life. Whether all dharmas arise more or less, spin fast or slow, heavy or light, good or bad karma all depend on whether false thoughts increase or decrease, good or bad. The spinning of all dharmas will create a veil of ignorance that obscures the vision, an obstacle on the way back to the pure, clear and unchanging emptiness. Wanting to return to emptiness, one must make all dharmas unborn and unmoved. Wanting all dharmas unborn and unmoved, one must eliminate false thoughts like cutting off the electric current of a fan… That is what I saw after comparing the fan and emptiness. Could you please give me some advice? Thuan asked me.
-Do you see anything else? I asked
-Yes, I do. Thuan replied. But because I have not yet thoroughly verified it, I dare not tell you today.
I nodded:
-Good! In general, your discoveries are nothing new, a bit crude but simple, easy to see and know. In life, there are things that are extremely ordinary but extremely necessary. Humans cannot lack air for an hour, but can still lack gold silver and jewels for an entire life.
-Thank you!
-However, the difficulty is how to eliminate wandering thoughts here, because it is not as simple and easy as turning off the electric current?
Thuan said, very confidently:
-According to the scriptures, Buddha taught many ways to get rid of wandering thoughts, but in the end, there are only three most basic ways: Samatha meditation, Samatha and Dhyana. As a newbie on the path of cultivation, I think I should practice according to Samatha meditation as the Buddha taught: "use a pure mind to initiate contemplation, take purity as the practice of contemplation the mind is not moved. By calming the thoughts, delusions stop, then see the appearance of habitual energy arising and ceasing in the eighth consciousness, contemplation for a long time, pure wisdom arises, suddenly see the wandering guests of body and mind from now on completely disappear, in the mind immediately feel calm, light and peaceful". (Vimalakirti Sutra)

X
After telling me, Ba asked me if I had any comments I also thought like him, Thuan's discoveries are not new but what is new here is that it has brought out a rather interesting metaphorical image. This is a common technique in Buddhist scriptures to enlighten sentient beings. For example, Shakyamuni Buddha used gold in ore as a metaphor for the mind. The reason we cannot see and cannot get gold is because the ore has too many impurities. To see and get gold, of course we must refine the ore, remove the impurities for the gold to appear. Impurities here are delusions, refining the ore is practice, as for other, deeper comments and assessments on Thuan's thoughts, I would like to ask the high monks and scholars who are profound in the Dharma to give further guidance./
 
 
TRUONG HOANG MINH