Here is a possibly apocryphal story I picked up on a political blog. A student asks a Zen master what is man's inherent Buddha nature. The Zen master proceeds to take a piss.
The person who posted this koan meant it as a cynical commentary on human nature, but it rings true to me in a different way. Our Buddha nature is our natural state, where we function as is, as one with the natural world. (That's my take on it anyway.) Pissing has unpleasant connotations as a result of various factors such as societal norms, but pissing is the most natural thing in the world. A bear in the woods doesn't think twice about pissing. Of course, "acting like an animal," has a very negative connotation, but why should it? Not every animal behavior is bad. I think it is good to recognize that we are animals, and that we have a whole suite of behaviors that result from this. But why is that bad? The Buddhist philosophy is that we will not be rid of our basic animal nature[no negative connotation!], but we can participate with our eyes wide open. An awakened animal is a damn good thing!
Another, more metaphorical interpretation of this koan has to do with the fact that pissing is a way of ridding the body of toxins. Similarly, meditating is a way of ridding the body of mental detritus as a way of realizing our Buddha nature.
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