A Freudian Slip?
Posted: June 8, 2010 | Author: Doug | Filed under: Buddhism, Japan, Literature | 4 Comments »Continuing the theme of Idleness Week, I wanted to quote another passage from the 13th Century Japanese text, the Essays in Idleness, or tsurézurégusa (徒然草), section 146:
Myōun, the abbot of Enryakuji, once asked a physiognomist, “Am I in danger from weapons?” The man said, “Indeed, the sign is in your face.” “What kind of sign is it?” asked Myōun. The man replied, “A person in your position should be in no danger of a violent death, but the very fact that you thought of such a thing and asked me, however lightly, is in itself a portent of danger.” As a matter of fact, the abbot was killed by an arrow.
I thought this was a clever story because it shows how even though no one can hear our thoughts, they still reflect in our actions nevertheless. As the famous opening from the Buddhist text, the Dhammapada states:
1. Mind precedes all mental states. Mind is their chief; they are all mind-wrought. If with an impure mind a person speaks or acts suffering follows him like the wheel that follows the foot of the ox.
2. Mind precedes all mental states. Mind is their chief; they are all mind-wrought. If with a pure mind a person speaks or acts happiness follows him like his never-departing shadow.
Prof. Donald Keene also notes in his translation that Myōun the priest was indeed killed during a revolt, put down by the Genji (Minamoto) Clan. So, clearly the lesson here is that meddling in something you shouldn’t, even if you think no one knows about it, will still clearly reflect on your face and actions. Beware!
P.S. Thanks for reader “Jeff” for timely grammar correction. 
Hello, this blog is about my life as a father, Buddhist and Japanophile. Any useful information I can pass along will hopefully make the 
Slight typo here: “a person in your position. . .”
Summertime is always a good time to re-read Tsurezuregusa.
Thank you, sir. Blog post has been corrected. Yeah, I enjoy this book quite a bit, due to it’s light nature, and many quotables.
This is something I’ve seen quite a bit in life, from myself, and in others. Often it comes in the form of believing you know someone’s intentions or what they’re thinking when they do something, then treating them differently based on yours thoughts. Often, what they believe others are thinking, is wrong (unless you’re psychic) and treating them differently is simply foolish.
I’ve found myself getting aggregated with someone because they didn’t act or respond the way I thought they should, and later I get aggregated with myself for being so foolish in thinking I know how they should respond.
I find people are more simple than the reality I create in my mind makes them out to be. Even knowing this, I’m sure I’ll continue to do it from time-to-time, but hopefully I’ll become faster at recognizing it and countering it.
Hi Kendall,
Yeah, there’s a whole lot in Buddhism that shows how people most of the time aren’t really paying attention to reality around them, and have formed a kind of dream-like overlay to everything we see. This illusion or dream-like filter is a composite of our own experiences, cultivated habits and thought patterns. Often times, getting to the truth, as you show, can be “enlightening”.