Plain Zen sayings often cut to the chase of truth. They can stop conventional notions and turn our universe upside down. 'Taking no heads above your own' verifies your Buddha nature. It is a kick in the pants for staying true to your universal nature and not getting lost in the theory and philosophy, heroes and heroines, antics and solemn rituals, the popularity or disfavor of Zen. The world can be a carrot for spiritual donkeys.
It is the equivalent to 'thine own self be true', yet with a far more complex and subtle nuance. Who is it that takes no heads above your own? And does taking no head above your own mean that you understand that everything already belongs to you. As Walt Whitman said, 'For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you'.
We live in times when more and faster and bigger are better. We are trained to long for what we don't have, to compare what we have with what somebody else has, and to feel incomplete the way we are. Culture has become spiritually synonymous with the denial of the sacred. The miracle is you. How can we practice and live in a way that affirms the fullness and wholeness of ourselves as we are, and realizes that everything in the moment is the face of Buddha, whole unto itself as a unique part of the cosmic tapestry, intimately flowing with all other parts of the tapestry. This is the realization of Indra's net, the cosmic fabric of reality with mirrors at every intersection which reflect the whole.
Gazing at the night sky
A mirror without reflection
Who does the looking?
No Heads Above Your Own
