Question: Can you explain why Zen Master Saung Sahn calls will, emotion & intellect the three clouds?
Knud Rosenmayr JDPSN:
Thank you for your good question! These three clouds can cover our true nature, like clouds obscure the sun, but the sun always shines above the clouds. Sometimes it’s cloudy, and we cannot see the sun, but we know that the sun always shines.
Interestingly, clouds appear and disappear—sometimes we have dark clouds, sometimes white clouds, sometimes they pass by fast, sometimes they stay for a while. Sometimes they darken the view. Sometimes they are big and thick, and sometimes they’re soft and thin. Some clouds are high up and some are lower to the ground. Some clouds bring rain, some clouds bring snow. Some clouds bring thunder and some of the clouds bring lightning.
What are these three clouds? First, we have will. I remember once my six-year-old nephew wanted to go outside to play, but his father didn’t allow it. My nephew was standing in the doorway wanting to go outside and one could see clearly that he was fighting with the strong urge to do what he wants and not knowing how to deal with it. The second cloud are emotions. The energy usually can be felt in the chest region, when emotions become strong. Whether it is sadness, fear, anger, joy, disgust or another emotion. We are completely (in) the emotion. The third cloud is intellect. All our energy is up in the head, and sometimes we keep on holding it there.
When any of these clouds appear, we cannot see, hear, smell, taste, touch or think clearly. Please don’t follow or ignore these clouds. If we follow them they will become bigger and if we try to ignore or suppress them they will come up in another way. But none of the clouds will stay forever. They always come and go. When this is seen, it is like the sun breaking through the clouds. You can see the rays of the sun coming right through. When the sun appears again, please use the suns' energy to help this world.
