Day of the Voyage, 33rd of Childwinter, 526, M.E. (Castor): Every time it gets bitter cold, I reflexively revisit Tozan's "Go to a place that's neither hot nor cold." I did it last November, when the first cold blast of Hagwinter hit the American South. I did it two winters ago. I did it way back in 2010. The problem with maintaining a blog for 20+ years is that the ruts my mind is stuck in become so painfully obvious. Yet when the temperatures aren't uncomfortably cold or hot, I don't think very much about Tozan or his advice. 

Zen Mater Eihei Dogen (1200-1253 AD) wrote a poem in apparent response to Tozan's advice:

How can the three realms and ten directions be all one color?

Who would discuss the difference between human and heavenly beings?

Do not convey talk of birds suffering in the cold.

The lake with no heat of anxiety is on the snowy mountain.

Contemporary Zen Master Shohaku Okumura (1948-present) helpfully explains that "birds suffering in the cold” is a reference to an allegorical pair of birds in the Himalayas. In the night, when it is extremely cold, the female bird repeatedly complains, “Cold is killing me. Cold is killing me.” Her mate replies, “Let’s make a nest tomorrow. Let’s make a next tomorrow.” However, when the sun rises and it becomes warm, they forget the plan of making a nest, and just enjoy the daytime. When night comes again, they complain in the same way. They repeat this every day and every night though their entire lifetime.

Whenever the temperature drops below the mid-20s here in Atlanta and my furnace can't keep my house as warm as I'd like, I turn to Tozan. "Help me make it through the night," I beg. "Give me some words of wisdom to help me endure this bitter cold." Spring comes as it always does and I need the Wikipedia page to even remember who Tozan was.

The "three realms and the ten directions" in Dogen's poem is a poetic reference to the entire universe throughout space and time. It's not all one color and we can't expect it to always have the same comfort-zone temperature in all places at all times. It is a basic Buddhist understanding that there is no difference between human and heavenly beings. Depending upon how we look at it, life can be either heaven or hell. When they suffer with cold, those birds complain and make up their minds to build a nest where they can sleep comfortably, but when the sun rises and it becomes warm, they forget about the cold night and their plan to make a nest is never carried out. Dogen ends the poem by pointing out that despite the bitter cold, in the same snowy mountains where the birds live there also supposedly exists a mythological lake that was thought to be the paradise source of all rivers in the world. Warmth in the cold, cold in the warmth.

It's 41° outside today. My furnace is easily able to keep me comfortably warm and I've stopped dripping my faucets. The storm has passed for now. Time for this goony bird to forget about Tozan until the polar vortex fails again and another mass of cold Arctic air spills over the North American continent.