Personal Reflections on the Kakisage
The Kakisage is often spoken of as being the tenth Besseki Lecture. After a period of preparation, recipients of the Kakisage, having just been granted the truth of the Sazuke, are advised to read daily and ponder its intended meaning. My own ponderings change day by day, according to the state and truth of my mind at any given time. Upon reflection I find that my thoughts and ponderings change, not only day to day but moment to moment. In that regard I will attempt to be guided in my ponderings by the two poems from the Ofudesaki appearing below.
From now on I shall speak in the metaphor of water.
Be enlightened by the word clear and muddy.
Ponder this: no matter how clear the water may be,
if you put
mud into it, it will become muddy.
"You must listen and understand well the one truth after the order of the lectures. In the one truth after the order of the lectures, I teach you the truth for a lifetime, you must listen and understand well."
In my view the "order of the lectures" is the process of gradually, step by step, calming one's mind. After calming the mind, "the order of the lectures", the recipient is in the proper calmed mental state for totally settling and accepting the grant of "Sazuke", instantly awakening to the one truth, the original parental mind and intention for all human beings, the ever-present truth for a lifetime.
The first step: Sincerely calming the mind, revealing its origin as the one truth; then honestly and deeply pondering the implications of that one truth is the order of the Path, the order of the lectures. Understanding well, comes from sincerely settling that one truth as the foundation for the mind, the foundation for all future self-centered thought.