The So Cream Method

A different translation of the "Soft Butter method" is given by Trevor Leggett in his book "Second zen reader".

This So Cream Method is a specific technique of Introspective Meditation. It was taught to Master Hakuin Ekaku (1685 - 1768)by Master Hakuyu - a Mountain dwelling Hermit Master Hakuin went to consult in search of a cure against Zen Sickness.

THE SO CREAM METHOD

I said : May I hear of the use of the So cream?

Hakuyu said : If the student finds in his meditation that the four great elements are out of harmony and body and mind are fatigued, he should rouse himself and make this meditation. Let him visualize placed on the crown of his head, that celestial So ointment, about as much as a duck's egg, pure in colour and fragrance.

Let him feel its exquisite essence and flavour, melting and filtering down through his head, its flow permeating downwards, slowly laving the shoulders and elbows, the sides of the breast and within the chest, the lungs, liver, stomach and internal organs, the back and spine and hip bones. 

All the old ailments and adhesions and pains in the five organs and six auxiliaries follow the mind downwards. There is a sound as of the trickling of water. Percolating through the whole body, the flow goes gently down the legs, stopping at the soles of the feet.

Then let him make this meditation: that the elixir, having permeated and filtered down through him, in abundance fills up the lower half of his body. It becomes warm, and he is saturated in it.

Just as a skillful physician collects herbs of rare fragrance and puts them in a pan to simmer, so the student finds that from the navel down he is simmering in the So elixir. 

When this meditation is being done, there will be psychological experiences, of a sudden indescribable fragrance at the nose-tip, of a gentle and exquisite sensation in the body. 

Mind and body become harmonized, and far surpass their condition at the peak of youth. Adhesions and obstructions are cleared away, the organs are tranquillized and insensibly the skin will begin to glow. 

If the practice is carried on without relapse, what illness will not be healed, what power will not be acquired, what perfection will not be attained, what Way will not be fulfilled? 

The arrival of the result depends only on how the student performs the practices. 

Mr Trevor Leggett was a 6th Dan (6th degree Black Belt) in Kodokan Judo. He also trained in Yoga and Zen and translated numerous Buddhist scriptures in English. 

 

The WAY things are - Mysticism and Institutions.

It would seem that Communism and Buddhism do not really fit together well. Or is it that Dictature and Buddhism do not fit together well ?  

 

In Hanoi, Vietnam last week a group of young monks and nuns devotees of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, had to leave the Pagoda where they had taken refuge for the past 3 month following government efforts to disband their community.

 

 

Also last week, in the town of Kangding, Tibet, the Tibetan Phurbu Tsering Rinpoche was sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in jail on charges of illegally occupying government land and possession of weapons.

 

 

 

This is not just about Buddhism, Communism or Dictature, but a general trend. The WAY the world evolves... Chaos follows order, which turns into Chaos again... 

Introspection  - the search for truth by an individual inside himself rather than outside - is a threat to institutions. 

 

Most Religions were originally "launched" by individuals : Gautama Buddha, Jesus Christ, Mohamed... These individuals, having been raised in a traditional religion and not being satisfied with it, through introspection reached a different level of "knowledge" or experience of Reality, and had the audacity to start teaching to others what they had experienced. All of them got in trouble with local authorities, because they were threatening their stability.

 

This seems to always be the problem. One guy gets a great idea to help people . He starts teaching. His teachings threaten the established orders, he gets in trouble, might even get killed. But then his followers grow and grow and grow in number and strength, till the people in charge realize that if they want to control what is going on, they better work with the movement than against it. And so they do. (This is what Roman Emperor Constantine did in 313). 

A new institution is created, which needs Organization, Structures, Laws, Rules, Holly Scriptures... And here we go again, quickly the original vision of the founder (who was not looking to found anything) is lost under red tape, bureaucracy, and personal interest of dignitaries. 

 

Interestingly enough, this is not limited to religion... We can see the same thing happen in Martial Arts. When the Okinawan Masters (Gichin Funakoshi, Tsuyoshi Chitose, Chojun Miyagi, Choki Motobu, Kenwa Mabuni...) brought Karate to mainland Japan, the new Art was recuperated by the Dai Nippon Butokukai.

 

From an obscure "Chinese Hand" collection of (extremely efficient) fighting techniques, practiced without specific uniform, belt or rank system, Karate became Karate-Do - the way of EMPTY Hand, a mainstream Budo, soon recognized wordly. 

 

Whichever creativity involved in the beginning of Karate when students would travel to China so study under various masters and when back tn Okinawa would synthesize or modify what they had learn to adapt it to new conditions was pretty much lost. 

 

Nowadays, most Schools ans Styles emphasize the extreme importance to stick to the FORM (Kata) without deviating at all from the way they should be performed. Because this is the way it was always done. 

 

Comes a new idea, it is used and contaminates society. Little by little it becomes stronger and stronger until it prevails and society gets reorganized according to it. Strength brings Rigidity : the inability to adapt. Conditions change, the now old order is not adapted anymore, comes a new idea...

 

A baby is born, so flexible, in body as well as in spirit, it becomes stronger and stronger, he grows up, develops an ego and a strong sense of himself...

 

There is no point fighting the Tao.