In The Blue Cliff Record, an ancient collection of zen interactions called ‘koans’, Ummon states,
“Every day is a good day.”
Every day is a good day. That is a helpful thing to know. But how is it true? And why is it helpful? Let’s take a look.
Am I missing this day?
The reason I call attention to this koan is because, as scientists and professors, we are normally very concentrated and very busy. We often rush through a day, careening from task to task until suddenly we find ourselves arriving at midnight, typing away at a manuscript, wondering what is on the list for tomorrow.
What was on ‘the list’ for today? Did it include being aware of being here, even if only for a few of the day’s moments? Did it remind us to take full advantage of this improbable chance of being a sentient life form, of this incredible stroke of luck we share in being able to consciously appreciate the world of which we are seamlessly a part?
Probably not. That never seems to make the list. But no matter what our tasks for the day are, and what unpleasant conditions arise, this ability to be aware of each moment is a positive truth for us that we so often overlook.
Therefore, one way to consider Ummon’s Every Day Is A Good Day is to recognize what luck it is each moment to have the opportunity to appreciate life with our own awareness. Don’t miss the occasion!
How can I think of a bad day as good?
When I first read this koan of Ummon, my mother was dying a long and painful death from cancer. Sitting by her side, I could not at first appreciate Every Day Is A Good Day. I was wrapped up in the thought that this particular day seemed like a bad one.
But I knew a koan wouldn’t last in the culture for so long if it didn’t have something to teach me in this moment. So I worked on it.
Is a day ever good? Is it ever bad? Why is it bad, and not good? Does it matter?
It’s not always clear what good and bad is, or whether something that happens to us is a good thing or a bad thing. The story of Mr. Sei’s Horse is a great reminder of this confusion in our interpretation of life and its events.
You might consider it a great day if you win an award you desired. But a colleague who coveted that award would think the day was terrible, since the honors went to you and not to her. Fundamentally, it is not the day’s fault as to who got the award. It’s only our personal interpretations of the day that are to blame for any label we put upon it.
Our mood, level of discomfort, and degree of dissatisfaction contribute to our delusion that a day might be a bad one. In reality, the quality of the day is unaffected by our various thoughts about it.
Hence, Ummon’s statement can also be interpreted as a hopeful realization: the day itself is neither good nor bad. It is simply this day. There’s no need to define it any further. Call it good if you want to.
Put good and bad aside: what should I do with this day?
I am one of those who feels Ummon’s teaching is about more than simply saying to yourself, “I ought to appreciate this day, whatever it brings.” That’s a good start and useful to each of us, but his message might be deeper.
Perhaps Ummon’s subtext is something like this: You only have this moment: who knows about the past and future? Will you spend your time deciding whether it is ‘good’ or ‘bad’, or will you do something more useful?
Our lives, as varied and rich as they appear to our psyche, are really just this moment. The past is inaccessible and the future is beyond our reach, although we trust it will come along soon. But when the ‘future’ arrives, Ta-dah! —it’s just this moment. Again and again, this moment keeps arising and it is the only time we have to work with.
So how should I use this moment? One option would be to indulge in my normal, highly-conditioned response. I could wrap myself in thought and define what the moment is, then get annoyed if it is ‘bad’ and elated if it is ‘good’. I might even worry about what the next moment will bring, on and on, until the day is done.
An alternative, however, is to drop the whole good/bad thing and accept the moment exactly as it is. Don’t try to define it, don’t even think about it unless the tool of thought is needed. Just use the moment well, and if possible, for the benefit of others.
Every Day Is A Good Day would then have a positive functional consequence: each moment of each day can be used for doing something helpful for the world, most specifically in the choice of one’s own actions. I think Ummon would like that.
What else is there?
One of the wise and clear explanations of Ummon’s koan is as follows.
Every day is a good day because there is no alternative.
It is the perspective described by Pema Chödrön and others as “the wisdom of no escape”.
This moment is what you get. It’s the only thing you get. There is no point in seeking something outside of it, and no point in wishing it to be other than what it is. There is no escape from this moment. Why not settle in and face it well?
Recognizing the truth of ‘no escape’ is a wonderfully freeing realization for many of us. Think of all the things we don’t have to worry about in this moment! Think of all the energy we save when we stop wishing that this moment was something different. Think about the relaxing clarity that comes when we put aside all that dissatisfaction with the moment and look at This, our life, with true appreciation.
There is no escape from the incredible now. Ummon is correct, Every Day Is A Good Day.
