Having a Heart - The Zen of OZ

This past Sunday, Aug 03, 2008, I had the privilege of arranging the services and to give the sermon at the First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia. This was a great honor and I would like to thank the settled minister, Rev. Nate Walker and the congregation for giving me that opportunity. Herein, is my sermon.

“Having a Heart”
The Zen of OZ
Mark DeCourval, Aug 03, 2008
First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia

As an OZphile (a lover of the OZ books), I frequently find myself drawing spiritual inspiration from the fourteen OZ books written by L. Frank Baum. I suspect most everyone here is familiar with the first book in the series entitled, The Wonderful Wizard of OZ, and the 1939 MGM movie of the same name starring Judy Garland. The movie has probably been seen by more people than any other film in motion picture history. What is it about this movie that captures our hearts? Maybe it is because, it has an inspiring philosophy all of its own. As the movie’s opening dedication very precisely states, “Time has been powerless to put its kindly philosophy out of fashion.” I submit to you that this kindness philosophy effectively touches a spiritual cord in each one of us because it has a certain Zen to it.

Let us consider briefly, the meaning of Zen and how it serves to enrich our spiritual being. Zen practice is Buddhist in origin; it is a form of meditation that seeks to attain an intuitive illumination of mind and spirit. One, hopefully, realizes an “awakening” and spiritual enrichment through the direct individual assessment of one’s own experiences rather than through theory and the study of religious texts.

It seems to me that upon examination, the books and movie overflow with Zen wisdom. At the risk of letting one’s imagination run amok. I see the land of OZ actually being governed by a spontaneous creative Force that can do everything by doing nothing. Glinda, the good witch is clearly a Zen Master setting Dorothy on the Yellow Brick Road to enlightenment. Ultimately, Dorothy attains an experience of “awakening”. She finds her true self, her higher consciousness, her ultimate oneness with the cosmos, her home.

One of my favorite chapters and/or scenes is when the Wizard bestows on the Tin Man, who was seeking a heart, a huge heart-shaped watch and chain. He then urges his sentimental friend to remember that “a heart is not judged by how much you love, but how much you are loved by others.” For many years, I misread this statement as most do - - simply as “You will be judged by how much you love others.” No, the statement truly reads “a heart is not judged by how much you love, but how much you are loved by others.” So what exactly does the Wizard mean? The Wizard’s seemingly simple statement is actually a koan. In Zen, a koan is a riddle with no apparent meaning. A Zen Master often puts such a riddle before a student to train the mind to obtain an experience of awakening. The riddle is: Is a heart judged by how deeply you are loved by others? Or is the depth of your love the true measure of a heart?

How deeply you are loved by others, does reveal the sincerity of your love for others. No one loves the Wicked Witch, for instance, because she does not have a smidgen of love for anyone. She does not mourn the death of her sister and wants to eliminate Dorothy so as to seize control over OZ. Her motives are selfish and egocentric. She has no heart. She loves no one and no one loves her in return. The Wizard, on the other hand, is loved by the citizens of OZ as long as he protects them. But the Wizard’s love for the citizens is not genuine for he protects them only to remain in power.

How much you are loved by others is equal to how deeply you love. If your love for others is unconditional, you will be much more loved than a person whose love is selfish and motivated by greed. Love expands. Selfishness contracts. The more you expand and feel for others, the more you purify your own heart, aligning yourself with the Oneness of all things. In other words the love, sympathy, appreciation, compassion, and affection you receive are in direct proportion to what you give. The Wizard is essentially telling the Tin Man the same thing that Zen Masters and poets have been telling the world for centuries: “What goes around comes around.”

Hopefully, I have illustrated a little of the Zen philosophy that is contained in the stories of OZ. May your journey down the Yellow Brick Road make your life glorious and joyful in every way.


At this point, I would have concluded my talk to you today. However, the tragic event that occurred last Sunday at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church has struck our church family so profoundly as to evoke the “Why Response” in me. I believe this response is fairly typical. We want to know – Why did this happen? Why didn’t anyone see this coming? Why does an all-loving deity allow this to happen? Why can there not be a realization that we need not think alike to love alike. Why, Why. Why? I have yet to hear an explanation from a Zen Master, a Theologian or the Wizard of OZ, himself, that satisfies me. Instead of focusing on the Why, for which we may find never find a satisfactory answer and to be beset with melancholy, it might be better to focus on the Zen Five Steps of Healing:

1) Acceptance – it has happened and may happen again. Just this past week, a couple more tragic events took place in Wisconsin and Canada.
2) Presence – being aware of the time in which we are living. It is a very troublesome time of wars, global warming concerns, economic problems, political disputes, etc. More than ever we must be vigilant while still nourishing our emotional well being.
3) Action – overcoming the emotional numbness & initiating an action plan. Considering what we can do to protect ourselves and what changes can be instrumental in effecting a mitigation of these tragedies.
4) Forgiveness- taking care not to be overcome with hate, resentment, bitterness. Herein, I often reflect on how our brothers and sisters in a nearby Amish community were so forgiving when they were brutally assaulted.
5) Integration – allow the crisis to generate a sense of new meanings, to rebuild confidence, and develop acceptance and resilience.

Negotiating these five steps is very difficult and personally I am stuck on step 3 Action and step 4 Forgiveness.

Here I am reminded of some words of wisdom from Randy Pausch, a very inspiring Professor of Computer Sciences, who just recently died. When faced with a brick wall that has you stuck, don’t try crashing it down “head on” where you will never succeed – but seek out ways around the wall. It may be challenging but therein lays success.

May all that is Holy guide us through these difficult times and challenges.