Zazen mind in everyday activities

[Tomás ESP]

I have started reading "How to Cook Your Life, From the Zen Kitchen to Enlightenment". Having finished the introduction, I found a very interesting passage that I think deserves some discussion (written by the translator, not by Dogen or Uchiyama Roshi):

"It goes without saying that the central practice of a person practicing Buddhism is zazen. However, the reader should not get the idea that here I am comparing zazen with the rest of our day-to-day activities. To do so would be to fall into the trap that many practitioners fall into of clinging to the idea that practicing zazen is most important; therefore, one should practice it twenty-four hours a day. The error here is in taking literally the idea of zazen being the most important activity in our life as opposed to all our other activities.

On the other hand, there is another trap that people can and often do fall into, and that is the one of thinking that we must practice zazen in all of our day-to-day activities. The obvious next step in this way of thinking is to equate all of one's activities with zazen. That is, everything one does is zazen-eating, sleeping, drinking, being. The practical problem in this way of thinking is that all too often people simply wind up doing less and less zazen, deluding themselves into believing that since all their activities are zazen there is no need to sit and face the wall and do zazen.

To restate the problem, taking the idea of zazen as the central practice in a relative or comparative sense leads to an egoistical extreme eventually inviting suicide. On the other hand, taking the idea of zazen in a "broader" context leads to a kind of simplistic eclecticism having nothing to do with zazen. In other words, to state that zazen has a definite and particular form, and to cling to that position leads to one kind of trouble, while stating that zazen has no particular form sends one off in another confused direction. There is no logical solution to this problem. And it is this illogical paradox with which a true practitioner of Zen must "sit", both literally and spiritually"

So, what do you think? I have experienced both traps in my life, and I bet many of you too

Gassho, Tomás
Sat
Sorry for running long

[Jundo]

Lovely.

Balance and moderation, a time for all things ... a time to sit, a time not to sit Zazen. A time to sit Zazen long, a time to sit Zazen short, a time to miss a sitting because life happened. A time to wash the dishes or cut the grass with "Zazen mind," a time just to wash the dishes or cut the grass listening to tunes or a podcast (but be careful with that mower! ) A time just to sit on the sofa eating chips and watching a stupid show on Netflix, not being "Zen" at all. A time to head to the Zen Center for a week of Sesshin.

A time for all, no aspect to be neglected.

(I tend to believe that even the Buddha and Dogen must have needed a day off sometimes! But then they also knew the importance of the days on!)

That said, the things that there should be NO time for in Zen Buddhism?

A time to kill someone in anger, a time to fall into excess desire, a time to become a prisoner of jealousy or bigotry or pride or unjustified fear (even then, we might sometimes fall into such emotions of excess desire, anger, jealousy and division, addictions, excessive sadness or fear and such, and they may have their time to

... but it is not a time where we wish to remain.)

Gassho, J

STLah

Sorry to run long

[bayamo]

Lovely.

Balance and moderation, a time for all things ... a time to sit, a time not to sit Zazen. A time to sit Zazen long, a time to sit Zazen short, a time to miss a sitting because life happened. A time to wash the dishes or cut the grass with "Zazen mind," a time just to wash the dishes or cut the grass listening to tunes or a podcast (but be careful with that mower! ) A time just to sit on the sofa eating chips and watching a stupid show on Netflix, not being "Zen" at all. A time to head to the Zen Center for a week of Sesshin.

A time for all, no aspect to be neglected. (I tend to believe that even the Buddha and Dogen must have needed a day off sometimes! But then they also knew the importance of the days on!)

That said, the things that there should be NO time for in Zen Buddhism?

A time to kill someone in anger, a time to fall into excess desire, a time to become a prisoner of jealousy or bigotry or pride or unjustified fear (even then, we might sometimes fall into such emotions of excess desire, anger, jealousy and division, addictions, excessive sadness or fear and such, and they may have their time to

... but it is not a time where we wish to remain.)

Gassho, J

STLah

Sorry to run long

i was hoping to see "turn, turn, turn" in between all those "a time for..."

#sattoday

[Jundo]

Great song ... Wisdom ... originally from Ecclesiastes ...

[aprapti]

Nina Simone and Judy Collins: turn, turn..

a trip on memory lane.. i was 17 in 1966 and i loved Nina Simone (still do).

thank you, Jundo sensei!

aprapti

sat

[Rich]

I really loved judi collins. Maybe thats why I married a judi lol. But my favorite version is the byrds

Sat/lah


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[Doshin]

I really loved judi collins. Maybe thats why I married a judi lol. But my favorite version is the byrds

Sat/lah


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Yeah…I go along with that.

Doshin
St

[Daiman]

Lovely.

Balance and moderation, a time for all things ... a time to sit, a time not to sit Zazen. A time to sit Zazen long, a time to sit Zazen short, a time to miss a sitting because life happened. A time to wash the dishes or cut the grass with "Zazen mind," a time just to wash the dishes or cut the grass listening to tunes or a podcast (but be careful with that mower! ) A time just to sit on the sofa eating chips and watching a stupid show on Netflix, not being "Zen" at all. A time to head to the Zen Center for a week of Sesshin.

A time for all, no aspect to be neglected.

(I tend to believe that even the Buddha and Dogen must have needed a day off sometimes! But then they also knew the importance of the days on!)

That said, the things that there should be NO time for in Zen Buddhism?

A time to kill someone in anger, a time to fall into excess desire, a time to become a prisoner of jealousy or bigotry or pride or unjustified fear (even then, we might sometimes fall into such emotions of excess desire, anger, jealousy and division, addictions, excessive sadness or fear and such, and they may have their time to

... but it is not a time where we wish to remain.)

Gassho, J

STLah

Sorry to run long

Yes! And when there is a time to bring our zen practice to all that we do, we do all of it 100% without trying to have another experience other than the one we are already having. I have to catch myself on this all of the time. This would be correct use of zazen on and off of the cushion. I would say some of the greatest teachings I have received is in the "small" things. For example being the one responsible for cleaning the incense burner and making sure the ash is patted down just right so that when the officiant puts a stick of incense in, it neither falls over nor breaks. When I had done this improperly, the teacher would flash me a glance to let me know that my mindlessness in my duties had been discovered. We cannot always get away with hiding our missteps, so we do our best to keep our zazen mind alive in everything we do.

Gassho,

Wondo

Sat Today

[Tokan]

Chop wood, carry water, sit

Tokan (satlah)