The Zen Master's Dance - 20 - King of Samadhis (Top of p. 75 to Middle of p. 78)

[Jundo]

Dear All,

We are at the top of page 75 (from right before the Dr. Hee-jin Kim quote) to the middle of page 78 (ending with the paragraph about gold statues).

In this section, we will look at Dogen's writing style and two aspects of his teachings.

First, the use of the "over the top" superlative in Dogen's writing style. He was not subtle, even though conveying very beautiful and subtle teachings. Dogen meant that Zazen is the universe and the kitchen sink, the cat's meow, and he pulled no punches in the images with which he said so.

Second, our path from beginning to end is already Buddha, already enlightenment, and nothing can change that fact ... yet realizing that fact changes everything.

Third, Zazen transcends all dichotomies.

Just a reminder that the point of these exercises is to get a bit of a feel for Dogen, and to get into his head, by mimicking his writing style a bit. (It is actually a way to get a handle on Dogen that I don't think I have seen taught elsewhere, but I feel really works with a writer with such a unique manner of expression.)

Here are some simple exercises to get a feel for this:

Exercise 1 - Add three truly wonderful and grandiose descriptions of Zazen, be creative. The superlatives do not need to be strictly about Buddhism (e.g., "To knock a homerun out of the Buddha's ball park is to be sitting in the lotus posture"):

To transcend all realms of the universe at once, to live a greatly honored life within the house of the Buddhas and Ancestors, is to be sitting in the lotus posture. To tread over the heads of followers of wrong paths and the legions pursuing evil ways, to become a true person in the inner sanctum of the Buddhas and Ancestors, this is sitting in the lotus posture. To transcend the extremes of the highest supremacy of the Buddhas and Ancestors is just this one truth. To [SUPERLATIVE 1] is to be sitting in the lotus posture. To [SUPERLATIVE 2], to [SUPERLATIVE 3] is to be sitting in the lotus posture. Thus, this is the only practice that the Buddhas and Ancestors practice, and there is no other thing to do.

Exercise 2 - Give an example of a action or task we must accomplish, yet phrase it so that all is always already Buddha (so nothing really to accomplish). For example:

- Mowing the lawn is Buddha, every blade of grass is Buddha, thus there is nothing to cut to trim down Buddha. Nevertheless, we keep mowing.

- The infield and outfield is Buddha, every base, bat and ball is Buddha, thus there is no "home base" to reach to get to Buddha. Nevertheless, we keep playing ball.

Make your own.

Exercise 3 - Add a dichotomy and an unanswerable philosophical question or dilemma to the following of your own choosing, e.g., "Is Zazen black or white? Is it finite or infinite?"

We inquire and explore whether, in the moment of our sitting, all realms are vertical. Or are they horizontal? In the moment of our sitting, what is this sitting itself? Is it a somersault? Is it a state of vigorous and lively activity? Is it thinking? Is it not thinking? Is it making something? Is it not making something? Are we sitting inside of sitting? Is it sitting inside of bodymind? Are we sitting having dropped away “inside of sitting,” “inside of bodymind,” and so on? Is it [Dichotomy 1]? Is it [philosophical dilemma]? We should inquire and explore thousands, tens of thousands, of points such as these.

Remember, post you own (no grades, everybody does great!) before reading what others have done.

Gassho, Jundo
STLah

[Geika]

To transcend all realms of the universe at once, to live a greatly honored life within the house of the Buddhas and Ancestors, is to be sitting in the lotus posture. To tread over the heads of followers of wrong paths and the legions pursuing evil ways, to become a true person in the inner sanctum of the Buddhas and Ancestors, this is sitting in the lotus posture. To transcend the extremes of the highest supremacy of the Buddhas and Ancestors is just this one truth. To compose Beethoven's Ninth Symphony is to be sitting in the lotus posture. To have carried the One Ring to Mordor, to complete the ritual of Kolinahr is to be sitting in the lotus posture. Thus, this is the only practice that the Buddhas and Ancestors practice, and there is no other thing to do.

- Swimming is Buddha, every stroke through the water is Buddha, thus there is nothing that can drown the Buddha. Nevertheless, we keep swimming; keeping our head above water.

We inquire and explore whether, in the moment of our sitting, all realms are vertical. Or are they horizontal? In the moment of our sitting, what is this sitting itself? Is it a somersault? Is it a state of vigorous and lively activity? Is it thinking? Is it not thinking? Is it making something? Is it not making something? Are we sitting inside of sitting? Is it sitting inside of bodymind? Are we sitting having dropped away “inside of sitting,” “inside of bodymind,” and so on? Is it physical or intangible? Is it within or outside of linear time? We should inquire and explore thousands, tens of thousands, of points such as these.

Gassho
Sat, lah

[Jundo]

Geika's got it!

Isn't this fun.

Gassho, J

STLah

[Geika]

This one was pretty fun. I had to sit and think about it for a while... and got stuck listening to Beethoven's ninth.

Gassho
Sat, lah

[Tairin]

Exercise 1 -
To transcend all realms of the universe at once, to live a greatly honored life within the house of the Buddhas and Ancestors, is to be sitting in the lotus posture. To tread over the heads of followers of wrong paths and the legions pursuing evil ways, to become a true person in the inner sanctum of the Buddhas and Ancestors, this is sitting in the lotus posture. To transcend the extremes of the highest supremacy of the Buddhas and Ancestors is just this one truth. To complete an epic quest is to be sitting in the lotus posture. To stand on the peak of the highest mountain, to dive to the deepest part of the sea is to be sitting in the lotus posture. Thus, this is the only practice that the Buddhas and Ancestors practice, and there is no other thing to do.

Exercise 2
Playing guitar is Buddha, every note, every chord, every solo, every rest is Buddha, thus there is no music to play. Nevertheless we keep playing guitar.

Exercise 3
We inquire and explore whether, in the moment of our sitting, all realms are vertical. Or are they horizontal? In the moment of our sitting, what is this sitting itself? Is it a somersault? Is it a state of vigorous and lively activity? Is it thinking? Is it not thinking? Is it making something? Is it not making something? Are we sitting inside of sitting? Is it sitting inside of bodymind? Are we sitting having dropped away “inside of sitting,” “inside of bodymind,” and so on? Is it noisy or quiet? Is it an expression of free will or is it illusion? We should inquire and explore thousands, tens of thousands, of points such as these.



Tairin
Sat today and lah

[Jundo]

Lovely, Tairin, whether or not a product of your free will!

Gassho, J

STLah

[Onkai]

Exercise 1
To transcend all realms of the universe at once, to live a greatly honored life within the house of the Buddhas and Ancestors, is to be sitting in the lotus posture. To tread over the heads of followers of wrong paths and the legions pursuing evil ways, to become a true person in the inner sanctum of the Buddhas and Ancestors, this is sitting in the lotus posture. To transcend the extremes of the highest supremacy of the Buddhas and Ancestors is just this one truth. To succeed is to be sitting in the lotus posture. To overcome all obstacles, to transcend human limitations is to be sitting in the lotus posture. Thus, this is the only practice that the Buddhas and Ancestors practice, and there is no other thing to do.

Exercise 2
Putting away clothes is Buddha, every shirt and sock is Buddha, the drawers and closet are Buddha. Thus there are no clothes to put away, and nowhere to put them. Still, we put clothes away.

Exercise 3
We inquire and explore whether, in the moment of our sitting, all realms are vertical. Or are they horizontal? In the moment of our sitting, what is this sitting itself? Is it a somersault? Is it a state of vigorous and lively activity? Is it thinking? Is it not thinking? Is it making something? Is it not making something? Are we sitting inside of sitting? Is it sitting inside of bodymind? Are we sitting having dropped away “inside of sitting,” “inside of bodymind,” and so on? Is it existing or not existing? Is it responsible? We should inquire and explore thousands, tens of thousands, of points such as these.

Gassho,
Onkai
Sat lah

[Jundo]

[Tomás ESP]

Exercise 1:

To transcend all realms of the universe at once, to live a greatly honored life within the house of the Buddhas and Ancestors, is to be sitting in the lotus posture. To tread over the heads of followers of wrong paths and the legions pursuing evil ways, to become a true person in the inner sanctum of the Buddhas and Ancestors, this is sitting in the lotus posture. To transcend the extremes of the highest supremacy of the Buddhas and Ancestors is just this one truth. To be there for others in dire need is to be sitting in the lotus posture. To jump towards the sky, to do a summersault over the clouds is to be sitting in the lotus posture. Thus, this is the only practice that the Buddhas and Ancestors practice, and there is no other thing to do.

Exercise 2:

Walking is Buddha, left foot on the ground is Buddha, lifting the right foot is Buddha, going somewhere is Buddha. Though there is no destination, we keep walking, as Buddha.

Exercise 3:

We inquire and explore whether, in the moment of our sitting, all realms are vertical. Or are they horizontal? In the moment of our sitting, what is this sitting itself? Is it a somersault? Is it a state of vigorous and lively activity? Is it thinking? Is it not thinking? Is it making something? Is it not making something? Are we sitting inside of sitting? Is it sitting inside of bodymind? Are we sitting having dropped away “inside of sitting,” “inside of bodymind,” and so on? Is it salty or sweet? Is it one mind or many? We should inquire and explore thousands, tens of thousands, of points such as these.

I enjoyed the reading so far, hope we continue at some point in the future, thank you Jundo

Gassho, Tomás
Sat&LaH

[Jundo]

[Chikyou]

Exercise 1 - Add three truly wonderful and grandiose descriptions of Zazen, be creative. The superlatives do not need to be strictly about Buddhism (e.g., "To knock a homerun out of the Buddha's ball park is to be sitting in the lotus posture"):

To transcend all realms of the universe at once, to live a greatly honored life within the house of the Buddhas and Ancestors, is to be sitting in the lotus posture. To tread over the heads of followers of wrong paths and the legions pursuing evil ways, to become a true person in the inner sanctum of the Buddhas and Ancestors, this is sitting in the lotus posture. To transcend the extremes of the highest supremacy of the Buddhas and Ancestors is just this one truth. To walk on the moon is to be sitting in the lotus posture. To view the farest reaches of the vast universe with perfect clarity (shout-out to James Webb!), to traverse the deepest depths of the ocean is to be sitting in the lotus posture. Thus, this is the only practice that the Buddhas and Ancestors practice, and there is no other thing to do.

Exercise 2 - Give an example of a action or task we must accomplish, yet phrase it so that all is always already Buddha (so nothing really to accomplish). For example:

- Mowing the lawn is Buddha, every blade of grass is Buddha, thus there is nothing to cut to trim down Buddha. Nevertheless, we keep mowing.

- The infield and outfield is Buddha, every base, bat and ball is Buddha, thus there is no "home base" to reach to get to Buddha. Nevertheless, we keep playing ball.

Make your own.

Driving to work is Buddha, every mile is Buddha. Thus there is no where to drive to reach Buddha. Nevertheless, we keep driving.

Exercise 3 - Add a dichotomy and an unanswerable philosophical question or dilemma to the following of your own choosing, e.g., "Is Zazen black or white? Is it finite or infinite?"

We inquire and explore whether, in the moment of our sitting, all realms are vertical. Or are they horizontal? In the moment of our sitting, what is this sitting itself? Is it a somersault? Is it a state of vigorous and lively activity? Is it thinking? Is it not thinking? Is it making something? Is it not making something? Are we sitting inside of sitting? Is it sitting inside of bodymind? Are we sitting having dropped away “inside of sitting,” “inside of bodymind,” and so on? Is it here or there? Is it right or wrong? We should inquire and explore thousands, tens of thousands, of points such as these.


Gassho,
SatToday,
Kelly