Meikyo-shisui
(The moon
reflecting on still water)
Meikyo-shisui
is the likening of spontaneous, ‘no mind’ response to the water and the moon.
Both the water and the moon are unthinking; therefore the moon does not think
about reflecting on the water, and the water does not think about being reflected
upon. If you scoop up the reflection of the moon in a container, it`s obvious
that the water is still going to hold the reflection. We can think of a person’s
spirit reflecting on things as being the same as the moon reflecting on the
water. Mirrors also reflect, and in the same way that everything held in front
of a mirror is reflected, a person's spirit will reflect everything held in front
of it.
However, if
something was casting a reflection and we placed our body in the reflection, our
spirit would be taken by it. Therefore, with an empty, calm mind, we produce no
reflection, just as if we face a mirror into a mirror; there will be no
reflection in between. We can think of this as being in an extremely aware state
of mind where we can react spontaneously and naturally with no distracting
thoughts, for, although we call this state mushin
or ‘no mind, ' it doesn’t mean ‘not thinking, ‘ it means ‘free of distracting
thoughts. ’ However, neither the moon nor the water is duty bound to speak by
means of the water’s purity or impurity. Also, although the moon reflects on the
surface of the water, if we search the bottom of the water and find no moon,
this is the end. It's simply the mind and heart that reflects the same as a
still lake or a clear mirror. The moon has shape and color. The mind has
neither shape nor color. By using the visible we provide a metaphor for the
invisible.
