A REALLY silly question

When we're 'just sitting' and experiencing life as it is, aren't we doing exactly the same as all the 'non-human' things in nature? What's the difference between a man (or woman) sitting and a tree swaying in the wind or a cat sitting in its branches? It's great, I love it, but it just seems so simple that I must be doing it wrong - its what I've always done to de-stress lol. And if it it really is that simple, why are there so many books on Zazen? Couldn't it be summed up as 'Just be'?

I really feel like I've connected with Treeleaf. Hard to explain. But I think Zazen (and maybe Buddhism in general) has a different language for what seems to be a perfectly natural state. I'm a combination of elements that have always been around, when this combination expires (in death) then the elements will still be around in a different state, and in the meantime I can rest easy experiencing being this particular combination. And really everything is just a combination of elements (like multiple waves from one ocean), which means that we're all the same stuff that forgets, so we get trapped in identities.

Am I thinking too much? lol. I know the answer to any question is 'just sit', but if it's that simple why does Amazon have a whole section devoted to just sitting?

Sorry, just thinking aloud here. This is why I needed a sangha lol.

Gassho.

Ian

Thankyou Worsmith, I might not be able to help but here it is:

What is diificult is NOT to create extra difficulty, you are dead right, trees, stones, pebbles, shit... do practice straightforwardly. We, as humans, with the bagage of I, the strorytelling and narratives, the beauty and the shit, identify with a core which has no existence, no essence. Ego does not exist.What takes practice for us is to give up, to get rid of, to drop those precious things we cling to.

Just be is a nice concept, a seductive package for a New Age trip.

It is so simple that it is almost out of reach.The tibetan guys have a king of pointer to it: it is self hidden because it is in full view.

So forget just be, go for be not, be dancing.

I would like to add the following before my Bro Jundo writes eloquently about IT: awakening is NOT a state ( the most common misunderstanding) it is an activity, a doing of undoing, a subtle art form, heart form, body-mind form that does effectively take quite a while to get a glimpse of.



gassho


Taigu

That makes a lot of sense, Taigu, thank you. Make me think that Zazen is a bit like getting undressed to reveal no self beneath the clothes :-)

Gassho.

Ian

Yeah, pretty much what you said.

gassho


Taigu

Thank you Taigu for that. "Awakening is not a state, it is an activity."
I need that in on the wall of my cube.

Duane

Hi Ian,

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Wordsmith

I'm a combination of elements that have always been around, when this combination expires (in death) then the elements will still be around in a different state, and in the meantime I can rest easy experiencing being this particular combination. And really everything is just a combination of elements (like multiple waves from one ocean), which means that we're all the same stuff that forgets, so we get trapped in identities.

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Very nice how you've expressed it!
I think you would really enjoy Thich Nhat Hanh's approach in his book "No Death, No Fear". I love it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Thich Nhat Hanh

The cloud does not come from nothing; there has been only a change in form. It is not a birth of something out of nothing.
Sooner or later the cloud will change into rain or snow or ice. If you look deeply into the rain, you can see the cloud. The cloud is not lost; it is transformed into rain, and the rain is transformed into grass and the grass into cows and then to milk and then into the ice cream you eat. Today if you eat an ice cream, give yourself time to look at the ice cream and say: “Hello, cloud! I recognize you.” By doing that, you have insight and understanding into the real nature of the ice cream and the cloud. You can also see the ocean, the river, the heat, the sun, the grass and the cow in the ice cream.
Looking deeply, you do not see a real date of birth and you do not see a real date of death for the cloud. All that happens is that the cloud transforms into rain or snow. There is no real death because there is always a continuation. A cloud continues the ocean, the river and the heat of the sun, and the rain continues the cloud.
[ ... ]
If we are afraid of death it is because we have not understood that things do not really die. People say that the Buddha is dead, but it is not true. The Buddha is still alive. If we look around us we can see the Buddha in many forms. The Buddha is in you because you have been able to look deeply and see that things are not really born and that they do not die. We can say that you are a new form of the Buddha, a continuation of the Buddha. Do not underestimate yourself. Look around you a little bit and you will see continuations of the Buddha everywhere.

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Gassho,

Timo

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Taigu

... awakening is NOT a state ( the most common misunderstanding) it is an activity, a doing of undoing, a subtle art form, heart form, body-mind form that does effectively take quite a while to get a glimpse of.

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Very nicely put Taigu, thank you. :)

Gassho
Michael

This just reminded me of this old sit-a-long from a few years ago ...

Quote:

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Old Master Stone

We welcome back a very special guest teacher today …
… a true rock star, one of the original ‘Rolling Stones’
(and before anyone asks … No, I am not ‘stoned’)

As the sound is not very clear at points, here’s a list of some of my questions to Master Stone …

- What is your goal in life, as a stone?

- Do you need to achieve some goals, and realize some dreams, in order to feel good and a success about your stoney self? Will you feel inadequate, a mediocre mineral, if you do not reach your goals and dreams?

- What could make you more who you want to be, a more perfect stone? A stonier stone?
- Do you feel that you are a lesser stone, and less a stone, than the bigger and more imposing stones in the garden?

- You are missing a few chips that have been knocked off you. Are you sad about their loss, do you long for their return?

- I see that you have ants and a beetle crawling over you. Do you resent them for doing that?
- What would you like to change, if you could, about your rocky life?

- Even stones wear away with time. Do you worry about that?
- Where do you think stones, and the whole earth, came from before there were any ‘stones’? Where do you think stones go when stones die, besides “dust to dust”? And do the answers to those questions effect how you sit as a stone right now?

At the end, Master Stone suggested we drop all the questions … and just sit like stones sit …


Read more: http://blog.beliefnet.com/treeleafze...#ixzz2DRJaA7Ym

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=iX6NLNzicWs

Superb! Many thanks, Jundo. Very wise guys, those stones :)

Gassho,

Ian

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jundo

This just reminded me of this old sit-a-long from a few years ago ...



http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=iX6NLNzicWs

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Thank you for the book recommendation - I've added it to my list and look forward to it :)

Gassho,

ian

Quote:

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Originally Posted by LimoLama

Hi Ian,



Very nice how you've expressed it!
I think you would really enjoy Thich Nhat Hanh's approach in his book "No Death, No Fear". I love it.




Gassho,

Timo

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