My fellow Unitarian Universalists and spirituality seekers, as I was preparing for this past Sunday’s reflection, it occurred to me that it had been two years since I last spoke on the Zen of OZ and as a devoted Wizard of OZ fan -- the compulsion to return to this subject matter overwhelmed me. Some of you may recall that previously I spoke to “Having a Heart” as demonstrated by the Tin Man and “Possessing Courage” as exemplified by the Cowardly Lion.
Today I close out this Zen of OZ series with some philology that I found present in Baum’s book as expressed primarily by the Scarecrow in his search for wisdom or as he put it “to obtain some brains.” For someone who insists he doesn’t have a brain, the Scarecrow gives an awful lot of thought to what he would think about if he had one. “I’d think of things I never thunk before and then I’d sit and think some more.” The very fact that the Scarecrow craves wisdom means he already has brain smarts.
Let us begin by briefly considering the meaning of Wisdom and of Zen.
Wisdom, as defined by Webster’s New World Dictionary, - It is the quality of observing the soundest course of action, based on intelligence, knowledge, experience, understanding, and good judgment.
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.
It seems to me that the OZ books and MGM movie based on two of the books overflow with Zen wisdom. I saw the Wizard and Glinda, the good witch, as Zen Masters setting Dorothy on the Yellow Brick Road of experience where ultimately, Dorothy does obtain an experience of “awakening”. She finds her true self, a higher consciousness, and wisdom.
Now with regards to the quest for wisdom, one of the first characters that Dorothy meets on her journey to find her way home out of the Land of OZ is the Scarecrow hanging on a pole in a cornfield. When Scarecrow finds out that Dorothy is on her way to see the Wizard of OZ to find out how to she can get home, he asks if he can accompany Dorothy so that he could ask the Wizard for some brains; being that his head was full of straw. Now if I was Dorothy, I probably would have thought – “this is a no brainer” – and replied no but Dorothy being the compassionate one, immediately answered yes.
The Scarecrow then immediately displays some “brain smarts” and points out the road for them to travel. Here we see and continue to see something very revealing. When the Scarecrow is preoccupied with obtaining intelligence, it escapes him but when he lets go of this preoccupation with obtaining brains, he becomes a rather quick problem solver.
Lao-Tzu, a Zen philosopher and poet, wrote” “Freedom from desire, you realize the mystery.” When the Scarecrow accepts the here and now – letting his thoughts flow freely, every obstacle, he encounters becomes an opportunity in disguise. Do we have another Zen Master in the making?
Let’s consider some examples:
· Dorothy can’t figure out how to get the Scarecrow down from his pole. Here, I and maybe you would have the tendency to over-analyze the situation – wondering how the Scarecrow could be lifted up off the pole, was there a way to chop the pole down or cut the clothing hold him there? But the Scarecrow just spontaneously proposes: “If you just bend the nail in the back down, maybe I’ll slip off.”
· When the talking apples refuse to drop down their apples for eating, I might have tried to figure out how to climb the tree or find a type of ladder to reach the apples. But the Scarecrow uses reverse psychology to provoke the trees to throw their apples at him and Dorothy.
· When the Doorman to the Emerald City demanded proof that Glinda had sent her to see the Wizard, the Scarecrow impulsively points to the evidence of her wearing the ruby slippers.
· When Dorothy and her friends were trying to figure out how to infiltrate the castle of the Wicked Witch, it was the Scarecrow who proposed dressing in the guards’ uniforms.
· When the Wicked Witch’s guards accosted them with spears, it was the Scarecrow who instinctively grasps the Tin Man’s axe to cut the rope to a huge chandelier overhead causing it to fall on the guards.
These examples suggests that Nature’s intelligence flows freely and effortlessly when we are in harmony with the creative intelligence of the cosmos, when we know our true Self, we can harness the pure potential of the universe. A means to know our true Self is to free ourselves from over-analyzing, and to free ourselves from our insecurities and worries – when was worrying and obsessing over something ever productive?
We need to free ourselves from our guilt trips, compulsions and need for approval. In carrying around such baggage, we waste energy. If we are stuck in the middle of a cornfield with crows pecking at us, we need to let go. Free that energy, re-channel it, and allow it to manifest itself in more meaningful ways. Accept things as they are – here and now. Our true self is our radiant inner being, our spirit, our higher consciousness, our soul or psyche.
Now I acknowledge that I may have drifted from a pure Zen to a Taoism philosophy here but I believe that both are beneficial considerations to our physical and spiritual well-being.
Taoism focuses on channeling the spontaneous creative force of the universe. Tao does everything by doing nothing. If we align ourselves with it – our talents will flow more easily, effortlessly – and we will realize an unleashing of our abundant ingenuity and creative powers. By keeping our attention on the here and now, everything we wish for - will spontaneously flow from the Tao within us. Remember the Scarecrow, when he accepts the here and now, he lets go and does not over-analyze; every obstacle he encounters becomes an opportunity in disguise.
Cautionary note: Some of you may remember when the Scarecrow got his honorary degree of Th.D. (Doctor of Thinkology) from the Wizard; he self-consciously recites what he thinks to be the theorem for a triangle having two equal sides: “The sum of the square root of any two sides of the triangle is equal to the square root of the remaining side.*” But the Scarecrow is just plain wrong. Trying to impress others, he becomes someone without a brain doing an awful lot of talking. By self-consciously trying to use his brain, the Scarecrow puts himself out of sync with Taoism and prevents his natural creative power from flowing easily and effortlessly.
When the Wizard bestows the TH.D, degree on the Scarecrow, his comments remind all of us that: experience is a primary element in acquiring wisdom, and the longer you are on the earth the more opportunities you have for acquiring it. Wisdom does not come directly from book knowledge or facts stored in the brain. It is not acquired from another person. We must learn to engage with life wholeheartedly to reap the benefits of our experience.
Cultivating awareness of our actions, awareness of our thoughts, and awareness of our feelings allows expansion beyond the confines of the judgments, categorizing, and opinion making. This awareness activates the intuitive capabilities of the brain, and develops a matrix of understanding and wisdom that underlies all experience.
Returning to our Zen Masters, it was the Wizard who demonstrated that he lacked the power to impart wisdom and that it was only achievable by setting Dorothy and her friends on a journey through OZ so they might gain the experience needed for them to assimilate wisdom on their own. Then there were Glinda’s words of wisdom to Dorothy on how to achieve her goal [to get home]: “You always had the power within you [to go back home]. You just had to experience it for yourself.”
And what about our friend the Scarecrow? It appears that he did become a Zen Master in that he was recognized that due to the virtue of his recently acquired superior wisdom, he would now rule OZ.
In conclusion:
Wisdom is the guardian of our choices. It helps us to discern the right path at the right moment. It gives us clarity of thought and deeper understanding. We use our best judgment, resisting the pull of impulse and desire. Wisdom gives us the maturity and patience to make sustainable decisions. We seek knowledge, enter reflection and open ourselves to inspiration. We consider carefully, and then act confidently. Through experience, wisdom takes us beyond thought to a deeper knowing. Wisdom grounds us in grace. It is integral to our fourth principle to affirm and promote a free and responsible search for truth and meaning.
Hopefully, I have again illustrated a little of the Zen and Tao philosophy that is contained in the story of the Wizard of OZ. May your journey down the Yellow Brick Road make your life glorious and joyful in every way. Let us be thankful for the gifts of Love, Courage, and Wisdom for this allows us to spread our wings. “May it be so.”
Presented: First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia on May 29,2011
