The Seed Growing Secretly

Sitting quietly, doing nothing, Spring comes, and the grass grows by itself.

-Zen poetry

He also said, ‘The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, ²⁷and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how.The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come. -Mark 4:26-29

Attention! Master Dizang asked Fayan, “Where have you come from?”
“I pilgrimage aimlessly,” replied Fayan.
“What is the matter of your pilgrimage?” asked Dizang.
“I don't know'” replied Fayan.
“Not knowing is the most intimate,” remarked Dizang.
At that, Fayan experienced great enlightenment.

-Book of Serenity, Case 20 (trans. Gerry Shishin Wick)

"Spring comes and the grass grows by itself."

"The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head....

We have entered the world of parallel sayings - a zen poem and a parable of Jesus. I like it when that happens. It makes me wonder. So, we have the parable of the seed growing in secret. As we ponder this parable and look at our lives we are confronted with mystery as we move beyond our ability to know or control our life. As we explore this not knowing more deeply we find that understanding does not get us very far and that, as Chinese Ch'an Master Luohan Guichen said to Fayan, "Not knowing is most intimate." A quick bit on the parable follows:

Jesus told the parable like this: someone goes out and scatters seed across the field. She sleeps and rises, night and day. The seeds have sprouted and she doesn't know how. It is simple really -- she scatters seed, sleeps,, rises, and wakes to New Life! Speaking to those gathered, concerning this new life Jesus points out: the seed sprouts but the farmer knows not how. We are always looking for explanations, the meaning of something, the reason why -- as if by understanding the miracle of life is somehow dissectable, less mysterious, perhaps more approachable. This parable asks us to look beyond the reasons why, beyond our human understanding to the gift of life itself. By moving beyond our understanding, we move beyond our illusions of control and come to simply accept and appreciate our lives as they come to us. This not knowing is our immersion in life itself, resting in the mystery and not getting hung up on our understanding or explanation. Folksinger Iris Dement sings about accepting the mystery of human life in her song, "Let the Mystery Be," the first verse printed below:

Everybody's wonderin' what and where they all came from.

Everybody's worryin' 'bout where they're gonna go when the whole thing's done.

But no one knows for certain and so it's all the same to me.

I think I'll just let the mystery be.

Iris Dement, Let the Mystery Be