Right Practice
Posture
Body and mind are not two and not one
they are both two and one
Our life is plural and singular
we are both dependent and independent
We die and we do not die
Zazen is the direct expression of our true nature
To take (zazen) posture is to have the right state of mind
There is no need to obtain some special state of mind
Kill the Buddha if the Buddha exists somewhere else
We exist for the sake of ourselves
Sit up straight
supporting the sky with your head
Pull your chin in
Press your diaphragm down towards your hara
Hands form the "cosmic mudra"
Stand with heels fist's width apart
Big toes in line with the centers of your breasts
Strong abdomen
Left hand against your chest
Thumb pointing downward
fingers circling your thumb
and right hand over it
forearms parallel to the floor
a big round temple pillar in your grasp
When body and mind are in order
everything else will exist in the right place
in the right way
You are the "boss"
When the boss is sleeping, everyone is sleeping
When the boss does something right
everyone will do everything right
and at the right time
This is the secret of Buddhism
Breathing
In zazen our mind always follows our breathing
Inhale to the inner world
Exhale to the outer world
There is actually just one whole world
When your mind follows this movement
there is nothing
no "I", no world, no mind nor body
just a swinging door
In zazen there is no idea of time or space
Time and space are one
We do things one after another
That is all
We should live in this moment
Good and bad are only in your mind
Just do something as it comes
Do something!
Each one of us is in the midst of myriad worlds
We are in the center of the world always
moment after moment
Dependent and independent
"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 dependant on each other
The white cloud is always the white cloud
The blue mountain is always the blue mountain"
Control
Whatever we see is changing
Losing its balance
Everything looks beautiful
because it is out of balance
but its background is always in perfect harmony
Without the background of Buddha nature
everything appears to be in the form of suffering
Seeing it, you realize that
suffering itself is how we live
and how we extend our life
Even though you try to put people under some control
it is impossible
The best way to control people is to encourage them to be mischevious
First let them do what they want and watch them
Watch them, just to watch them
without trying to control them
The same works for you yourself as well
If you want to obtain perfect calmness in your zazen,
you should not be bothered by the various images you find in your mind
Let them come, and let them go
The true purpose of Zen is to see things as they are,
to observe things as they are,
and to let everything go as it goes
Dogen said that time goes from present to past
This is not true in our logical mind, but it is in the actual experience
of making past time present
Time constantly goes from past to present
and from present to future
It is also true that time goes from future to present and from present to past
Perfect freedom is not found without some rules
It is to acquire that perfect freedom that we practice zazen
Mind Waves
When you are practicing zazen
do not try to stop your thinking
Let it stop by itself
When thoughts arise, it appears as if something comes from outside your mind
but actually it is only the waves of your mind
and if you are not bothered by the waves
gradually they will become calmer and calmer
The mind includes everything
Nothing comes from outside your mind
when you think something comes from outside
it means only that something appears in your mind
That everything is included within your mind is the essence of mind
To experience this is to have religious feeling
You yourself make the waves in your mind
If you leave your mind as it is, it will become calm
This mind is called big mind
If your mind is not related to anything else (outside)
then there is no dualistic understanding in the activity of your mind
Big mind experiences everything within itself
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
Water always has waves
Waves are the practice of the water
Water and waves are one
Big mind and small mind are one
For us there is no fear in losing this mind
There is nowhere to come or go
There is no fear of death
no suffering from old age or sickness
Because we enjoy all aspects of life as an unfolding of big mind
we do not care for excessive joy
It is with the imperturbable composure of big mind that we practice zazen
Mind Weeds
Be grateful for the weeds you have in your mind
"Pulling the weeds we give nourishment to the plant"
We bury them near the plant to give it nourishment
You should not be bothered by your mind
Even though you have some waves while you are sitting
those waves themselves will help you
Any effort we make is not good for our practice because
it creates waves in our mind
It is impossible to attain absolute calmness of our mind
without any effort
We must make some effort
but we must forget ourselves in the effort we make
It is necessary for us to encourage ourselves
and to make an effort up to the last moment,
when all effort dissappears
Keep your mind on your breathing
until you are not aware of your breathing
At first the effort you make is quite rough and impure
When, through practice, your effort becomes pure,
your body and mind become pure
Once you understand your innate power
to purify yourself and your surroundings
you can act properly
and you will learn from those around you
and you will become friendly with others
This is the merit of Zen practice
The Marrow of Zen
There are four kinds of horses
excellent ones, good ones, poor ones, and bad ones
The best obeys before it sees the shadow of the whip
The second best does before the whip reaches its skin
The third does when it feels pain
The fourth does after the pain penetrates to the marrow of its bones
Sometimes the best horse may be the worst horse
and the worst horse can be the best one
Those who find great difficulty in practicing Zen
will find more meaning in it
It is easier for those who have difficulty in sitting
to arouse the way-seeking mind
than for those who can sit easily
Dogen-zenji said, "Shosaku jushaku" which means
"to succeed wrong with wrong"
According to Dogen
one continuous mistake
can also be Zen
A Zen master's life could be said to be
so many years of shoshaku jushaku
this means so many years of single-minded effort
Suppose your children are suffering from a hopeless disease
and because of your mental agony you cannot rest
the best way to relieve your mental suffering
is to sit zazen
even in such a confused state of mind and bad posture
If you have no experience of sitting
in this kind of difficult situation
you are not a Zen student
In the zazen posture which you have acquired by long, hard practice
your mind and body have great power
to accept things as they are
whether they are agreeable or disagreeable
When you are sitting in the middle of your own problem
which is more real to you:
your problem or your self?
The awareness that you are here
right now
is the ultimate fact
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
To stop your mind does not mean
to stop your activities of mind
It means your mind pervades your whole body
with your full mind you form the mudra in your hands
"Form is emptiness and emptiness is form"
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 form" is still dualistic
Our teaching goes on to say
"Form is form and emptiness is emptiness"
Here there is no dualism
When your practice becomes effortless
you can stop your mind
This is the stage of "form is form and emptiness is emptiness"
To stop your mind does not mean
to stop the activities of mind
When you are not disturbed by some restricion in your posture
you have found the meaning of "emptiness is emptiness and form is form"
To find your own way under some restriction
is the way of practice
When the restrictions you have do not limit you
this is what we mean by practice
When you say, "Whatever I do is Buddha nature
so it doesn't matter what I do
and there is no need to practice Zazen"
That is already a dualistic understanding of our everyday life
If it really does not matter
there is no need for you to even say so
Of course whatever we do _is_ Zazen
but if so, there is no need to say it
At first it is very difficult to accept things as they are
When you can do everything
whether it is good or bad
without disturbance or without being annoyed by the feeling
that is actually what we mean by
"form is form and emptiness is emptiness"
There is no problem
One year of life is good
One hundred years of life is good
If you continue this practice
you will attain this stage
When you do something
just to do it should be your purpose
Form is form and you are you
and true emptiness will be realized
in your practice
Bowing
You should be prepared to bow
even in your last moment
Even though it is impossible to get rid of
our self centered desires
we have to do it
Our true nature wants us to
When you bow to Buddha
you should have no idea of Buddha
you just become one with Buddha
one with everything that exists
you find the true meaning of being
Sometimes a man bows to a woman
sometimes a woman bows to a man
Sometimes the disciple bows to the master
sometimes the master bows to the disciple
A master who cannot bow to his disciple
cannot bow to Buddha
In your big mind, everything is Buddha himself
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
Each bow expresses one of the four Buddhist vows:
"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"
To think "Because it is possible we will do it" is not Buddhism
But actually, whether or not it is possible is not the point
If it is our innmost desire to get rid of our self-centered ideas
we have to do it
Before you determine to do it you have difficulty
but once you start to do it you have none
Your effort appeases you innmost desire
there is no other way to attain calmness
It is not possible to make rapid, extraordinary progress
Even though you try very hard
the progress you make is always little by little
This is the Soto way of practice
Just to be sincere and make our full effort in each moment
is enough
There is no Nirvana outside our practice
Nothing special
If you continue this simple practice every day
you will obtain some wonderful power
Before you attain it it is something wonderful
after you attain it it is 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 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
A Chinese poem says
"I went and I returned
It was nothing special
Rozan fameous for its misty mountains
Sekko for its water"
Nothing special (to see)
You may say "universal nature" or "Buddha nature" or "enlightenment"
For the person who has it
it is nothing
and it is something
When Zen is not Zen nothing exists
Buddha says, "Everything has Buddha nature"
but Dogen reads it this way: "Everything _is_ Buddha nature"
When there is not Buddha nature
there is nothing at all
To be a human being is to be a Buddha
Buddha nature is our true human nature
Even though you do not do anything
you are actually doing something
You are expressing yourself
Your eyes will express
Your voice will express
Your demeanor will express
The most important thing is to
express your true nature in the simplest, most adequate way
and to appreciate it in the smallest existence
Forget all gaining ideas, all dualistic ideas
just practice Zazen in a certain posture
Do not think about anything
Eventually your own true nature
resumes itself
