"
Within every moment of thought you should see yourself that your
fundamental nature is pure. You should cultivate for yourself, pratice for
yourself, and accomplish for yourself the enlightenment of buddhahood."
--Huineng
[1]
Attempting to sit in front of a blank wall and only be aware is a surprisingly difficult thing to do. Just setting down everything that normally occupies our attention is hard enough. Meditation is a process of noticing when we pick it back up and start to identify with our projects, desires and thoughts, and letting go again. We realize: “Oh, I wasn’t paying attention and I am trying to meditate.” This moment of noticing that the mind is absent is perfect meditation; it is perfectly in the present. With practice, our own particular obstacles to concentration become familiar and then gradually become irrelevant or insubstantial. As the reflex to follow thoughts becomes more conscious, awareness can stay rooted in the experience of the present, regardless of any thoughts and sensations that appear.
What is most important is just sitting still with willingness and intention to practice. Zazen does not have to feel like anything in particular. Many people assume meditation is calm and quiet, and that something is wrong if meditation does not feel just so. We cannot always see what our practice is, or what is changing within us. Transformation can happen even when the mind feels very busy. Zazen is a discipline of training that doesn’t depend on anything as transient as a quiet state of mind or peaceful conditions. In zazen, we meet whatever the moment brings, accepting it and allowing it to pass on.
Dogen’s Fukanzazengi says “don’t try to think or not to think.” This means not being stuck in either the mind that is thinking or the mind that stops thinking. Regardless of the state of mind one is experiencing, the advise in Zen is to let it go, to allow it to rise and fall without trying to prolong it or push it away. It is natural for thoughts to continually arise and fall, but this does not get in the way of meditation, dealing with this is meditation. The problem is when we add commentary or judgment to the natural thought, beginning a continuing chain of thought, fueled by intention. The mind can get lost very quickly this way. Deliberate, intentional thought is very important to have access to, because we could not function without it, but it is not always necessary. Zazen provides a space where the intentional thoughts are not needed. With time, a thought can simply appear, and nothing else needs to happen – the reflex to follow it with another related thought is calmed, and the mind of meditation just watches as the thought subsides. Practicing letting go in meditation makes it easier to allow harmful or unnecessary thoughts to subside in daily life -- it isn’t so crucial to get involved in an argument, or explain our excuse for a mishap.
Posture
---Legs
---Torso
---Hands and head
Breath
Bowing
>Mind
Where
When