Post by OTB on Jan 27, 2008 21:05:39 GMT -5
In an effort to change my life for the better, I'm going to read, post, and talk about Zen and things similar. These two writings by two Zen teachers are a good read....and introduction to zen practice. I have not studied under any teacher, but have done my own study and practice. Hopefully we can have discussions about teachers that you like and teachings that help you. They may also help us also. Centering is a good thing in our lives....I need centering these days more than ever.
Shunryu Suzuki
Beginner's Mind
People say that practicing Zen is difficult, but there is a misunderstanding as to why. It is not difficult because it is hard to sit in the cross-legged position, or to attain enlightenment. It is difficult because it is hard to keep our mind pure and our practice pure in its fundamental sense. The Zen school developed in many ways after it was established in China, but at the same time, it became more and more impure. But I do not want to talk about Chinese Zen or the history of Zen. I am interested in helping you keep your practice from becoming impure.
In Japan we have the phrase shoshin , which means "beginner's mind." The goal of practice is always to keep our beginner's mind. Suppose you recite the Prajna Paramita Sutra only once. It might be a very good recitation. But what would happen to you if you recited it twice, three times, four times, or more? You might easily lose your original attitude towards it. The same thing will happen in your other Zen practices. For a while you will keep your beginner's mind, but if you continue to practice one, two, three years or more, although you may improve some, you are liable to lose the limitless meaning of original mind.
For Zen students the most important thing is not to be dualistic. 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.
If you discriminate too much, you limit yourself. If you are too demanding or too greedy, your mind is not rich and self-sufficient. If we lose our original self-sufficient mind, we will lose all precepts. When your mind becomes demanding, when you long for something, you will end up violating your own precepts: not to tell lies, not to steal, not to kill, not to be immoral, and so forth. If you keep your original mind, the precepts will keep themselves.
In the beginner's mind there is no thought, "I have attained something." All self-centered thoughts limit our vast mind. When we have no thought of achievement, no thought of self, we are true beginners. Then we can really learn something. The beginner's mind is the mind of compassion. When our mind is compassionate, it is boundless. Dogen-zenji, the founder of our school, always emphasized how important it is to resume our boundless original mind. Then we are always true to ourselves, in sympathy with all beings, and can actually practice.
So the most difficult thing is always to keep your beginner's mind. There is no need to have a deep understanding of Zen. Even though you read much Zen literature, you must read each sentence with a fresh mind. You should not say, "I know what Zen is," or "I have attained enlightenment." This is also the real secret of the arts: always be a beginner. Be very very careful about this point. If you start to practice zazen, you will begin to appreciate your beginner's mind. It is the secret of Zen practice.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Taizan Maezumi
ON PENETRATING OPENNESS
Regarding openness: We have the famous expression "forget the self. " You might not feel there is much similarity between openness and forgetting the self, but it seems to me that they are almost two sides of one coin. When you are really open unconditionally, at such a moment, you
are forgetting the self. If you have something to hang on to, that much you are not open completely. You have something which could be called "the self."
When we are really open, forgetting the self, there is no division between inside and outside. That is what openness is, no division between yourself and externals. In such a way, we can appreciate life in its fullness. Such fullness, Dogen Zenji calls "full functioning."
This openness is, I think, one of the wonderful characteristics of the American temperament. So the point is, how can we be unconditionally open? We always talk about openness, but what kind of openness are we talking about? It is the same with forgetting the self. It is easy to talk about, but how much do we fully forget ourselves? When we do, that is the state of samadhi.
Furthermore, thorough openness itself is the best Wisdom. When you are really open, you are able to be 'one' with another person. It does not matter if the person is a close friend or even a stranger. So how much can we really be open? How completely can we forget ourselves? That is the difficulty. We can explain shikan-taza as openness. Just sit, and when you really just sit, that is the condition of openness. Then, being totally open, your self identifies with the whole space and time. Dogen Zenji says, "On this body, putting the Buddha Seal." That Buddha Seal is that openness. No conditioning. No division between yourself and the object. When you really do that, you become "the Buddha Seal itself, the whole space becomes subtly itself." So how to be open, and if we are that much open, what else do we need?
Shunryu Suzuki Beginner's Mind
People say that practicing Zen is difficult, but there is a misunderstanding as to why. It is not difficult because it is hard to sit in the cross-legged position, or to attain enlightenment. It is difficult because it is hard to keep our mind pure and our practice pure in its fundamental sense. The Zen school developed in many ways after it was established in China, but at the same time, it became more and more impure. But I do not want to talk about Chinese Zen or the history of Zen. I am interested in helping you keep your practice from becoming impure.
In Japan we have the phrase shoshin , which means "beginner's mind." The goal of practice is always to keep our beginner's mind. Suppose you recite the Prajna Paramita Sutra only once. It might be a very good recitation. But what would happen to you if you recited it twice, three times, four times, or more? You might easily lose your original attitude towards it. The same thing will happen in your other Zen practices. For a while you will keep your beginner's mind, but if you continue to practice one, two, three years or more, although you may improve some, you are liable to lose the limitless meaning of original mind.
For Zen students the most important thing is not to be dualistic. 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.
If you discriminate too much, you limit yourself. If you are too demanding or too greedy, your mind is not rich and self-sufficient. If we lose our original self-sufficient mind, we will lose all precepts. When your mind becomes demanding, when you long for something, you will end up violating your own precepts: not to tell lies, not to steal, not to kill, not to be immoral, and so forth. If you keep your original mind, the precepts will keep themselves.
In the beginner's mind there is no thought, "I have attained something." All self-centered thoughts limit our vast mind. When we have no thought of achievement, no thought of self, we are true beginners. Then we can really learn something. The beginner's mind is the mind of compassion. When our mind is compassionate, it is boundless. Dogen-zenji, the founder of our school, always emphasized how important it is to resume our boundless original mind. Then we are always true to ourselves, in sympathy with all beings, and can actually practice.
So the most difficult thing is always to keep your beginner's mind. There is no need to have a deep understanding of Zen. Even though you read much Zen literature, you must read each sentence with a fresh mind. You should not say, "I know what Zen is," or "I have attained enlightenment." This is also the real secret of the arts: always be a beginner. Be very very careful about this point. If you start to practice zazen, you will begin to appreciate your beginner's mind. It is the secret of Zen practice.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Taizan MaezumiON PENETRATING OPENNESS
Regarding openness: We have the famous expression "forget the self. " You might not feel there is much similarity between openness and forgetting the self, but it seems to me that they are almost two sides of one coin. When you are really open unconditionally, at such a moment, you
are forgetting the self. If you have something to hang on to, that much you are not open completely. You have something which could be called "the self."
When we are really open, forgetting the self, there is no division between inside and outside. That is what openness is, no division between yourself and externals. In such a way, we can appreciate life in its fullness. Such fullness, Dogen Zenji calls "full functioning."
This openness is, I think, one of the wonderful characteristics of the American temperament. So the point is, how can we be unconditionally open? We always talk about openness, but what kind of openness are we talking about? It is the same with forgetting the self. It is easy to talk about, but how much do we fully forget ourselves? When we do, that is the state of samadhi.
Furthermore, thorough openness itself is the best Wisdom. When you are really open, you are able to be 'one' with another person. It does not matter if the person is a close friend or even a stranger. So how much can we really be open? How completely can we forget ourselves? That is the difficulty. We can explain shikan-taza as openness. Just sit, and when you really just sit, that is the condition of openness. Then, being totally open, your self identifies with the whole space and time. Dogen Zenji says, "On this body, putting the Buddha Seal." That Buddha Seal is that openness. No conditioning. No division between yourself and the object. When you really do that, you become "the Buddha Seal itself, the whole space becomes subtly itself." So how to be open, and if we are that much open, what else do we need?