Within this moment, this temporal
existence does not change, does not move, and is
always independent from other existences. In the next moment
another existence arises; we may change to something
else. Strictly speaking, there is no connection between I
myself yesterday and I myself in this moment; there is no
connection whatsoever. Dogen-zenji said, "Charcoal does
not become ashes." Ashes are ashes; they do not belong to
charcoal. They have their own past and future. They are an
independent existence because they are a flashing into the
vast phenomenal world. And charcoal and red-hot fire are
quite different existences. Black charcoal is also a flashing
into the vast phenomenal world. Where there is black charcoal
there is not red-hot charcoal. So black charcoal is
independent of red-hot charcoal; ashes are independent of
firewood; each existence is independent.
Today I am sitting in Los Altos. Tomorrow morning I
shall be in San Francisco. There is no connection between
the "I " in Los Altos and the "I " in San Francisco. They are
quite different beings. Here we have the freedom of existence.
And there is no quality connecting you and me; when
I say "you," there is no "I" ; when I say "I, " there is no
"you." You are independent, and I am independent; each
exists in a different moment. But this does not mean we are
quite different beings. We are actually one and the same
being. We are the same, and yet different. It is very paradoxical,
but actually it is so. Because we are independent
beings, each one of us is a complete flashing into the vast
phenomenal world. When I am sitting, there is no other
person, but this does not mean I ignore you, I am completely
one with every existence in the phenomenal world. So when
I sit, you sit; everything sits with me. That is our zazen.
When you sit, everything sits with you. And everything
makes up the quality of your being.
***
So when you practice zazen, there is no idea of time or
space. You may say, "We started sitting at a quarter to six
in this room." Thus you have some idea of time (a quarter
to six), and some idea of space (in this room). Actually
what you are doing, however, is just sitting and being aware
of the universal activity. That is all. 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.
from ZMBM
http://www.arvindguptatoys.com/arvindgupta/zenmind.pdf