Zen mind. Beginner's mind. -
Jhana -> Chan -> Zen
Simplicity and an open mind are the essence.
Our "original mind" includes everything within itself. It is always rich and sufficient within itself. You should not lose your self-sufficient state of mind. This does not mean a closed mind, but actually an empty mind and a ready mind. If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything; it is open to everything. In the beginner's mind, there are many possibilities; in the expert's mind, there are few.
Right practice:
Right posture:
There is no two and no one.
A Zen master would say, "Kill the Buddha!" Kill the Buddha if the Buddha exists somewhere else. Kill the Buddha, because you should resume your own Buddha nature.
Right breathing:
Breaths are just like the swinging door. Ebb and flow of the waves. You observe but cannot control it.
This moment the swinging door is opening in one direction, and the next moment, the swinging door will be opening in the opposite direction. Moment after moment each one of us repeats this activity. Here there is no idea of time or space. Time and space are one. You may say, "I must do something this afternoon," but actually there is no "this afternoon." We do things one after the other. That is all. There is no such time as "this afternoon" or "one o'clock" or "two o'clock." At one o'clock you will eat your lunch. To eat lunch is itself one o'clock. You will be somewhere, but that place cannot be separated from one o'clock. For someone who actually appreciates our life, they are the same. But when we become tired of our life we may say, "I shouldn't have come to this place. It may have been much better to have gone to some other place for lunch. This place is not so good." In your mind you create an idea of place separate from an actual time.
Tozan, a famous Zen master, said, "The blue mountain
is the father of the white cloud. The white cloud is the son
of the blue mountain. All day long they depend on each
other, without being dependent on each other. The white
cloud is always the white cloud. The blue mountain is always the blue mountain." This is a pure, clear interpretation of life. There may be many things like the white cloud and blue mountain: man and woman, teacher and disciple.
They depend on each other. But the white cloud should not
be bothered by the blue mountain. The blue mountain
should not be bothered by the white cloud. They are quite
independent yet dependent. This is how we live, and
how we practice zazen.
"To give jour sheep or cow a
large, spacious meadow is the way to control him."
Do you understand the difference between the two minds: the mind which includes everything, and the mind which is related to something? Actually they are the same thing, but the understanding is different, and your attitude towards your life will be different according to which understanding you have.
Even though waves arise, the essence of your mind is pure; it is just like clear water with a few waves. Actually water always has waves. Waves are the practice of the water. To speak of waves apart from water or water apart from waves is a delusion. Water and waves are one. Big mind and small mind are one. When you understand your mind in this way, you have some security in your feeling. As your mind does not expect anything from outside, it is always filled. A mind with waves in it is not a disturbed mind, but actually an amplified one. Whatever you experience is an expression of big mind.
We say, "Pulling out the weeds we give nourishment to the plant." We pull the weeds and bury them near the plant to give it nourishment. So even though you have some difficulty in your practice, even though you have some waves while you are sitting, those waves themselves will help you. So you should not be bothered by your mind. You should rather be grateful for the weeds, because eventually, they will enrich your practice.
Marrow of the Zen:
In our scriptures (Samyuktagama Sutra, volume 33), it is said that there are four kinds of horses: excellent ones, good ones, poor ones, and bad ones. The best horse will run slow and fast, right and left, at the driver's will, before it sees the shadow of the whip; the second best will run as well as the first one does, just before the whip reaches its skin; the third one will run when it feels pain on its body; the fourth will run after the pain penetrates to the marrow of its bones. You can imagine how difficult it is for the fourth one to learn how to run!
When you are determined to practice zazen with the great mind of Buddha, you will find the worst horse is the most valuable one. In your very imperfections you will find the basis for your firm, way-seeking mind. Those who can sit perfectly physically usually take more time to obtain the true way of Zen, the actual feeling of Zen, the marrow of Zen.
We say, "A good father is not a good father." Do you understand? One who thinks he is a good father is not a good father; one who thinks he is a good husband is not a good husband. One who thinks he is one of the worst husbands may be a good one if he is always trying to be a good husband with a single-hearted effort. If you find it impossible to sit because of some pain or some physical difficulty, then you should sit anyway, using a thick cushion or a chair. Even though you are the worst horse you will get to the marrow of Zen.
When you are sitting in the middle of your own problem, which is more real to you: your problem or you yourself? The awareness that you are here, right now, is the ultimate fact. This is the point you will realize by zazen practice. In continuous practice, under a succession of agreeable and disagreeable situations, you will realize the marrow of Zen and acquire its true strength.
No dualism:
We say our practice should be without gaining ideas, without any expectations, even of enlightenment. This does not mean, however, just to sit without any purpose. This practice free from gaining ideas is based on the Prajna Paramita Sutra. However, if you are not careful the sutra itself will give you a gaining idea. It says, "Form is emptiness and emptiness is form." But if you attach to that statement, you are liable to be involved in dualistic ideas: here is you, form, and here is emptiness, which you are trying to realize through your form. So "form is emptiness, and emptiness is form" is still dualistic. But fortunately, our teaching goes on to say, "Form is form and emptiness is emptiness." Here there is no dualism.
When you find it difficult to stop your mind while you are sitting and when you are still trying to stop your mind, this is the stage of "form is emptiness and emptiness is form." But while you are practicing in this dualistic way, more and more you will have oneness with your goal. And when your practice becomes effortless, you can stop your mind. This is the stage of "form is form and emptiness is emptiness."
Bowing:
When you become one with Buddha, one with everything that exists, you find the true meaning of being. When you forget all your dualistic ideas, everything becomes your teacher, and everything can be the object of worship.
When everything exists within your big mind, all dualistic relationships drop away. In your big mind, everything has the same value. Every-
thing is Buddha himself. You see something or hear a sound, and there you have everything just as it is. In your practice you should accept everything as it is, giving to each thing the same respect given to a Buddha. Here there is Buddhahood. Then Buddha bows to Buddha, and you bow to yourself. This is the true bow.
"When I have this sword there is no Buddha and no Patriarchs." He meant that when we have the sword of big mind, there is no dualistic world. The only thing which exists is this spirit. This kind of imperturbable spirit was always present in Rikyu's tea ceremony. He never did anything in just a dualistic way; he was ready to die in each moment. In ceremony after ceremony, he died, and he renewed himself. This is the spirit of the tea ceremony. This is how we bow.
When my teacher was seventy, he said, "When I was young I was like a tiger, but now I am like a cat!" He was very pleased to be like a cat.
The result is not the point; it is the effort to improve ourselves that is valuable. There is no end to this practice.
Each bow expresses one of the four Buddhist vows. These vows are: "Although sentient beings are innumerable, we vow to save them. Although our evil desires are limitless, we vow to be rid of them. Although the teaching is limitless, we vow to learn it all. Although Buddhism is unattainable, we vow to attain it." If it is unattainable, how can we attain it? But we should! That is Buddhism.
After you have practiced for a while, you will realize that it is not possible to make rapid, extraordinary progress. Even though you try very hard, the progress you make is always little by little. It is not like going out in a shower in which you know when you get wet. In a fog, you do not know you are getting wet, but as you keep walking you get wet little by little. If your mind has ideas of progress, you may say, "Oh, this pace is terrible!" But actually it is not. When you get wet in a fog it is very difficult to dry yourself. So there is no need to worry about progress. It is like studying a foreign language; you cannot do it all of a sudden, but by repeating it over and over you will master it. This is the Soto way of practice. We can say either that we make progress little by little, or that we do not even expect to make progress. Just to be sincere and make our full effort in each moment is enough. There is no Nirvana outside our practice.
Nothing special:
As long as we are alive, we are always doing something. But as long as you think, "I am doing this," or "I have to do this," or "I must attain something special," you are actually not doing anything. When you give up, when you no longer want something, or when you do not try to do anything special, then you do something. When there is no gaining idea in what you do, then you do something. In zazen what you are doing is not for the sake of anything. You may feel as if you are doing something special, but actually it is only the expression of your true nature; it is the activity that appeases your inmost desire. But as long as you think you are practicing zazen for the sake of something, that is not true practice.
As a Chinese poem says, "I went and I returned. It was nothing special. Rozan famous for its misty mountains; Sekko for its water." People think it must be wonderful to see the famous range of mountains covered by mists, and the water said to cover all the earth. But if you go there you will just see water and mountains. Nothing special.
The most important thing is to forget all gaining ideas, all dualistic ideas. In other words, just practice zazen in a certain posture. Do not think about anything. Just remain on your cushion without expecting anything.
Then eventually you will resume your own true nature. That is to say, your own true nature resumes itself.
Right Attitude:
Single-minded way:
If you want to express yourself, your true nature, there should be some natural and appropriate way of expression. Even swaying right and left as you sit down or get up from zazen is an expression of yourself. It is not preparation for practice, or relaxation after practice; it is part of the practice. So we should not do it as if it were preparing for something else. This should be true in your everyday life. To cook, or to fix some food, is not preparation, according to Dogen; it is practice. To cook is not just to prepare food for someone or for yourself; it is to express your sincerity. So when you cook you should express yourself in your activity in the kitchen. You should allow yourself plenty of time; you should work on it with nothing in your mind, and without expecting anything. You should just cook!
Whatever you do, it should be an expression of the same deep activity. We should appreciate what we are doing. There is no preparation for something else.
The Bodhisattva's way is called "the single-minded way," or "one railway track thousands of miles long." The railway track is always the same. If it were to become wider or narrower, it would be disastrous. Wherever you go, the railway track is always the same. That is the Bodhisattva's way. So even if the sun were to rise from the west, the Bodhisattva has only one way. His way is in each moment to express his nature and his sincerity. We say railway track, but actually there is no such thing. Sincerity itself is the railway track. The sights we see from the train will change, but we are always running on the same track. And there is no beginning or end to the track: beginningless and endless track. There is no starting point nor goal, nothing to attain. Just to run on the track is our way. This is the nature of our Zen practice.
"Our discussion is over. Let's have a cup of tea!"...That is a very good answer, isn't it? It is the same for my talk—when my talk is over, your listening is over. There is no need to remember what I say; there is no need to understand what I say. You understand; you have full understanding within yourself. There is no problem.
Repetition:
If an artist becomes too idealistic, he will commit suicide, because between his ideal and his actual ability there is a great gap. Because there is no bridge long enough to go across the gap, he will begin to despair. That is the usual spiritual way. But our spiritual way is not so idealistic. In some sense we should be idealistic; at least we should be interested in making bread which tastes and looks good! Actual practice is repeating over and over again until you find out how to become bread. There is no secret in our way. Just to practice zazen and put ourselves into the oven is our way.
Zen is not excitement:
It is necessary for us to keep the constant way. Zen is not some kind of excitement, but concentration on our usual everyday routine. If you become too busy and too excited, your mind becomes rough and ragged. This is not good. If possible, try to be always calm and joyful and keep yourself from excitement.
Right effort:
"If your practice is good, you may become proud of it. What you do is good, but something more is added to it. Pride is extra. Right effort is to get rid of something extra."
By purity we do not mean to polish something, trying to make some impure thing pure. By purity we just mean things as they are. When something is added, that is impure. When something becomes dualistic, that is not pure. If you think you will get something from practicing zazen, already you are involved in impure practice. It is all right to say there is practice, and there is enlightenment, but we should not be caught by the statement. You should not be tainted by it. When you practice zazen, just practice zazen. If enlightenment comes, it just comes. We should not attach to the attainment. The true quality of zazen is always there, even if you are not aware of it, so forget all about what you think you may have gained from it. Just do it. The quality of zazen will express itself; then you will have it.
We say, "To hear the sound of one hand clapping." Usually the sound of clapping is made with two hands, and we think that clapping with one hand makes no sound at all. But actually, one hand is sound. Even though you do not hear it, there is sound. If you clap with two hands, you can hear the sound. But if sound did not already exist before you clapped, you could not make the sound. Before you make it there is sound. Because there is sound, you can make it, and you can hear it. Sound is everywhere. If you just practice it, there is sound. Do not try to listen to it. If you do not listen to it, the sound is all over. Because you try to hear it, sometimes there is sound, and sometimes there is no sound.
No trace:
"When you do something,you should burn yourself completely, like a good bonfire, leaving no trace of yourself."
Giving:
"'To give is non-attachment, that is; just not to attach to anything is to give."
Mistakes in practice:
"It is when your practice is rather greedy that you become discouraged with it. So you should be grateful that you have a sign or warning signal to show you the weak point in jour practice."
Right understanding:
''If you are trying to attain enlightenment, you are creating and being driven by karma, and you are wasting your time on your black cushion."
Naturalness: "Moment after moment, everyone comes out from nothingness. This is the true joy of life."
Emptiness: "When you study Buddhism you should have a general house cleaning of your mind."
We say true existence comes from emptiness and goes back again into emptiness. What appears from emptiness is true existence. We have to go through the gate of emptiness.
As long as we have some definite idea about or some hope in the future, we cannot really be serious with the moment that exists right now. You may say, "I can do it tomorrow, or next year," believing that something that exists today will exist tomorrow. Even though you are not trying so hard, you expect that some promising thing will come, as long as you follow a certain way. But there is no certain way that exists permanently. There is no way set up for us. Moment after moment we have to find our own way. Some idea of perfection, or some perfect way that is set up by someone else, is not the true way for us.
When you understand one thing through and through, you understand everything. When you try to understand everything, you will not understand anything. The best way is to understand yourself, and then you will understand everything.
Readiness/Mindfulness: "It is the readiness of the mind that is wisdom."
In the Prajna Paramita Sutra the most important point, of course, is the idea of emptiness. Before we understand the idea of emptiness, everything seems to exist substantially. But after we realize the emptiness of things, everything becomes real—not substantial. When we realize that everything we see is a part of emptiness, we can have no attachment to any existence; we realize that everything is just a tentative form and color. Thus we realize the true meaning of each tentative existence. When we first hear that everything is a tentative existence, most of us are disappointed; but this disappointment comes from a wrong view of man and nature. It is because our way of observing things is deeply rooted in our self-centered ideas that we are disappointed when we find everything has only a tentative existence. But when we actually realize this truth, we will have no suffering.
To realize the truth is to live—to exist here and now. So it is not a matter of understanding or of practice. It is an ultimate fact. In this sutra Buddha is referring to the ultimate fact that we always face moment after moment.
Even before we practice it, enlightenment is there. But usually, we understand the practice of zazen and enlightenment as two different things: here is practice, like a pair of glasses, and when we use the practice, like puttingthe glasses on, we see enlightenment. This is the wrong understanding. The glasses themselves are enlightenment, and to put them on is also enlightenment. So whatever you do, or even though you do not do anything, enlightenment is there, always. This is Bodhidharma's understanding of enlightenment.
In the sutra it says, "There are no eyes, no ears, no nose, no tongue, no body or mind. . . ." This "no mind" is Zen mind, which includes everything.
Experience, not philosophy: "There is something blasphemous in talking about how Buddhism is perfect as a philosophy or teaching without knowing what it actually is."
Beyond consciousness: "To realize pure mind in your delusion is practice, If you try to expel the delusion it will only persist the more. Just say, 'Oh, this is just delusion,' and do not be bothered by it."
6 key concepts (Roshi Robert Waldinder)
Impermanence:
Though it might sound scary. It can be a relief that we tell so many stories about what we are, what we are supposed to do, what people are supposed to do, and what the world is supposed to be but we can just let go of it all.
Suffering:
Buddhism promises the end of suffering Zen says living with pain and making it bearable.
Mindfulness:
Being aware of the present moment and being at the receiving end of the moment without being the manager or controller of the moment, without any judgment.
Attachment
The more we insist on what the other person should be like, the more pain we bring to our life.
Loving-kindness
Beginner's Mind
Brings freshness and openness in relationships. "Okay, there is so much I do not know about this person, let me watch closely. Let me notice what I haven't seen before about this person. Let me find new ways to interact with this person."
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Living the ordinary life is more beautiful.
You know that you need anything but yourself. Your body to sit on, your lungs to breathe, and your mind to flow in its own, unique way.
The master asked," Did you have your meal ?"
The disciple answered, " Yes"
Master replied, " Then wash your dishes."
Unlike Buddhism, Zen has more focus on the personhood and ordinary.
"In zazen, leave your front door and your backdoor open. Let thoughts come and go. Don't just serve the tea."- Shunryu Suzuki
"The mind is like a clear mirror, reflecting everything, but not clinging to anything." - Ryokan Taigu.
"Zen is not some kind of excitement, but concentration on our usual everyday routine." - Suzuki
The river never flows. Bridges flow.
“We cannot expect any ecstasy greater than right here, right now-our everyday lives.” - Ocumura
Purposeless purpose.
Zen is the Buddhism that unloaded its burden of karma and reincarnation. Master Hakka was once asked what happens to a Zen master after he dies. He responded, " Why are you asking me?". Because you are a Zen master". "Yes, but not a dead one", he replied.
Zen masters also burned Buddha's idol to keep himself warm in the cold.
Zen even seems antireligious. " If you meet the Budha on the way, kill him."
Our thoughts interfere with our understanding and perception.
"To study Buddhism is to study yourself. To study yourself is to forget yourself. To forget yourself is to realize your intimacy with all things." - Hadouken
Meditation does not lead you to enlightenment but it makes you enlightenment-prone.
When I look inside and see that I am nothing that's wisdom. When I look outside and see that I am everything, that's love. Between these two my life flows. - NIsargadutta Maharaj
Wisdom and compassion: Om mani padme hum.
Zen teaches us to get some comfort in not knowing. if you are comfortable enough in not knowing, then you have the stability to be present with some curiosity and wonder.
Our desire to solve problems to be happy, and seek pleasure to be happy, we are stuck in our conceptual thinking. But when we solve one problem, the next pops up. Excitement is followed by weary.
Dojen Zenji( 13th century monk, founder of Soto in Japan):
His question was: If we all have Dharma-nature. We are already enlightened. What is the purpose of practice?
Zazen is simply sitting and expecting nothing.
It's a Zen mode, a monk mode in daily life.
Now is the time to zazen.
Practice is enlightenment. They are not separate.
The Buddha meditated for 6 years, and Bodhidharma meditated for 9 years. The practise of meditation is not a method for the attainment of realization. It is enlightenment itself.
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