Ryonen Scars Her Face

Hello Friends,

Happy April 1st! Here we are, its Aries Season, it’s Spring, Mercury and Venus have both been retrograde for a while now (which can give a certain feeling of friction or underworld journey to our days), there is much happening in our geo-political world that I (we) wish wasn’t happening.

And still the magnolias are blooming, the songbirds are back, tulips are pushing through the mulch in our front yard, the sun is rising earlier and setting later.

Aries season reminds us that our life force is resilient, there is a certain courage within the bud that allows it to open. There is a certain courage within each of us to continue to live our lives, to walk this path of awakening, to let ourselves be opened by the world—even when things feel fragile or scary or uncertain.

In this spirit I would like to share this koan from the Hidden Lamp Collection called Ryonen Scars Her Face.

As a young woman, Ryonen Genso was an attendant to the empress, and was known for her beauty and intelligence. When the empress died, she felt the impermanence of life, and she decided to become a nun. Ryonen traveled to the city of Edo in search of a Zen teacher.

The first teacher refused her because of her beauty. Then she asked Master Hakuo Dotai, who also refused her. He could see her sincere intention, but he too said that her womanly appearance would cause problems for the monks in his monastery.

Afterward, she saw some women pressing fabric, and she took up a hot iron and held it against her face, scarring herself. Then she wrote this poem on the back of a small mirror:

To serve my Empress I burned incense to perfume my exquisite clothes.

Now as a homeless mendicant I burn my face to enter a Zen temple.

The four seasons flow naturally like this,

Who is this now in the midst of these changes?

She returned to Hakuo and gave him the poem. Hakuo immediately accepted her as a disciple. She became abbess of his temple when he died, and later founded her own temple. Before her death she wrote the following poem:

This is the sixty-sixth autumn I have seen.

The moon still lights my face.

Don’t ask me about the meaning of Zen teachings—

Just listen to what the pines and cedars say on a windless night.

This koan is about a lot of things, which is one of the beautiful things about koans. They often meet us in the stuff of our lives. They give us a nod, or a wink, or reach up and hold our hand and say me too. I see you.

In this story we can find themes of courage, vow, determination, sacrifice, injustice, impermanence and a deep reflection on what is truly reliable. And still, in this koan with so many words, much still isn’t said—or can’t be said.

Just listen to what the pines and cedars say on a windless night

As I reflect on Ryonen with that hot iron in hand, I know that she probably wasn’t thinking too much about what she was about to do and the impact that might have on her life into the future.

She picked up the iron and touched it to her face.

Done.

There are times in our spiritual lives or simply on this path of life, where we take that brave next step willing to face whatever consequences come from such action. This is very Aries.

Just Do.

Act first, think later.

Can you relate?

In my own life, I can feel Ryonen’s iron in my choice to become a monastic. At the time I was thinking about my finances or professional development, I wasn’t thinking about what futures I might be giving up—I just had this vow in my heart and ordination felt like the only way I could live that vow. And, I felt willing to face whatever consequences came from orienting my life in this way.

Some steps on the spiritual path have this bold, no turning back feel.

A single act marks a transformation.

For Ryonen, it marked an orientation, a vow, a direction. The inner process of transformation usually doesn’t happen in one single gesture.

Much of our letting go on the spiritual path happens gradually or even invisibly.

Many times it is a series of small commitments. We give over a night every week to practicing in sangha. Or we rearrange our morning or evening routine to accommodate our meditation practice. Or we start using our vacation time for retreats.

Or we find ourselves changing certain behaviors. Perhaps we stop using substances or clean-up toxic relational patterns. Perhaps we start investigating the nature of judgment or learn to accompany the feelings of boredom. Maybe we start to courageously feel our feelings or speak our needs in our relationships.

It’s like walking through fog, Suzuki Roshi says, after sometime we realize we are completely saturated. Transformed through our persistence, awakened through the simple, yet courageous act of continuing.

The spiritual path can also bring us into relationship with the dark night. Times when the habitual ways that we have found pleasure and joy in the past no longer hit the spot. Times when we are called deeper into ourselves to discover a satisfaction that is not dependent on other people or things.

I mentioned that Venus is currently retrograde. Venus retrogrades last about 40 days and 40 nights and can have a really similar feeling as the dark night of the soul. Or even lent in the Christian tradition. A time of discovering a even deeper and more enduring love.

During this Venus retrograde, I have been studying the myth of Inanna. Inanna is the Sumerian goddess of love, beauty, harmony and relationship similar to the Roman goddess Venus. In one of Inanna’s myths that astrologers relate to the Venus retrograde cycle, Inanna receives a call from the underworld.

Now Inanna’s sister Ereshkigal is the goddess of the underworld. So Inanna hears the call, and chooses to respond, chooses to meet her sister in the underworld.

This is something we do in our own lives. At times there is a call, maybe from within from Psyche or from Spirit asking us to move towards a particular part of the path, to open or include more of who we are, to truly love ourselves.

It could also be a call to action in the socio-political realm or in our relationship. In whatever shape it takes something compels us to move towards something unknown, something we othered or disowned or simply ignored.

How do you heed this call?

Inanna being a goddess and queen, gets all suited up in her royal and protective attire and sets off for the underworld. When she gets to the gate, the gatekeeper informs her that she is going to have to pass through the seven gates of the underworld. At each gate she must remove another layer of her protective and royal attire. By the time she reaches the underworld, her final destination, she is naked and unadorned.

This is another shape that sacrifice takes on the spiritual path, through progressive surrender. We shed or see through the protective beliefs and adorning thoughts that have kept us separate or on the surface of things.

In its heart, the myth of Inanna is a story of wholeness, the two sisters come to see that they are each other. Inanna’s descent is actually an opening to inclusivity. True love and beauty include all facets and shapes of this one life.

The descent is never easy, coming to wholeness or spiritual awakening involve periods of sacrifice, or darkness. These times help us discover our deeper resources, hidden or forgotten sources of support and a faith that isn’t dependent on an object.

As Ryonen says before her death:

This is the sixty-sixth autumn I have seen.

The moon still lights my face.

Don’t ask me about the meaning of Zen teachings—

Just listen to what the pines and cedars say on a windless night.

…

For a more in-depth contemplation of this koan and the myth of Inanna listen to the audio.

I’m Amy Kisei. I am a Zen Buddhist Teacher, Spiritual Counselor, budding Astrologer and Artist. I offer 1:1 Spiritual Counseling sessions using IFS and somatic mindfulness. I also offer astrology readings. Check out my website to learn more. I currently live in Columbus, OH and am a supporting teacher for the Mud Lotus Sangha.

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