The Zen Master's Dance - 21 - King of Samadhis (Middle of p. 78 to Bottom of p. 80)

[Jundo]

Dear Bodyminds,

We continue from the middle of page 78 (after the paragraph about gold statues), to the end of p. 80 (just before "Clearly, for the last four or five hundred years ... ").

Some folks say that Zazen is primarily a physical, body practice, in which the mind is dropped away while allowing the body to "take over," whether in cleaning, gardening or, of course, sitting in the posture of Zazen.

Some folks say that Zazen is a mental practice of letting thoughts go without tangling with them, dropping judgements, sitting in equanimity.

I say (and I believe that Dogen would agree) that mind is body, body is mind, and that Zazen practice has aspects of both. This is true during seated Zazen, but also during "Zazen in motion" when we pour ourselves into a physical activity.

Question: Have you every had the experience of facing a problem in life but, in pouring yourself into some physical activity, sports activity, dance, cleaning, seated Zazen or the like, the problem and other thoughts/judgements/concerns seemed to drop away? Can you describe the experience briefly?

Next, some folks mistake the point of Zen practice as learning to do "one thing in one moment" for EVERY moment, always "being in the now, being in the moment." I think that is a bit of a misunderstanding, and not practical. While it is a wonderful, treasured skill to develop to be able to do that sometimes (e.g., when drinking tea, just drink tea; when playing with the kids, just be present playing with the kids) it is not necessary or realistic for busy, modern human beings all or even most of the time.

I prefer to emphasize being "at one with the moment" even if that moment is pure, terrible, busy busy chaos!

Do you see how that is different?

The example I sometimes give is when I rushed my daughter to the E.R., half unconscious, with a raging fever due to blood scepsis, the doctors telling me it would be touch and go through the night. Although she was fine in the end, that night was hell. Nonetheless, part of me (the fruit of this practice) was accepting and allowing of this chaotic, terrible hell in that moment. Even as I cried and feared for what might happen, I allowed my tears and fear.

Question: Can you describe what a moment in your life that is chaotic (it does not need to be terrible or "life and death," only "multi-tasking" busy, or pain in the neck bothersome, or some small life confusion or disaster) would be like if you "let the moment be the moment?"

Gassho, J

STLah

[Dogukan]

Question: Have you ever had the experience of facing a problem in life but, in pouring yourself into some physical activity, sports activity, dance, cleaning, seated Zazen or the like, the problem and other thoughts/judgements/concerns seemed to drop away? Can you describe the experience briefly?

I am too lazy to engage in physical activities like sports and dance, the ones necessary to survive are enough. For this reason, I usually prefer other activities that require minimal physical effort. Yet, walking often seems helpful to me through troubled times, without even intending to walk as a meditative activity. Especially the times when I feel as if I am smothered by the stress, a thirty-minute walk here and there can pacify its destructive strength to a certain extent. I don't live in the countryside, so trees and other nice natural beauties do not set the stage for my route. Although I walk among the buildings, busy streets, and the noise of the city, after a while, it might become something serene. My physical engagement with the environment I live in, though it does not feast my eyes, helps me to feel the actual human condition that I cannot be separated from. With every step, I realise that I may find some serenity, some calmness even amidst this crazy city.

Question: Can you describe what a moment in your life that is chaotic (it does not need to be terrible or "life and death," only "multi-tasking" busy, or pain in the neck bothersome, or some small life confusion or disaster) would be like if you "let the moment be the moment?"

I recently had an experience related to this question. For a while, I was worried about how I should lead my life. I felt pressure to make the rightest decision, to make the most logical choices. From judging the past to being excited by the anticipation of the future, I was thrown into a series of strong emotions. The multiplicity of possibilities and the uncertainty of the future constantly magnified the confusion that it created. Modern myths such as success, career, and quality education caused me to enter a mental preoccupation cycle that makes me feel tired all the time. It even affected my practice. Then, as a prodigal son of Dharma, I returned to the cushion and sat. I remembered Dogen-zenji's awkward claim that time is something that flows from the future to the past. And I acknowledged that whatever happened, happened and what will happen, has already happened too. Well, the moment is and has always been the moment, but what I did was just let my mind accept the moment as the moment by refraining from the dualistic fragmentation of time, even for a brief time.

Gassho, Doğukan
Sat.

[Tairin]

Question: Have you every had the experience of facing a problem in life but, in pouring yourself into some physical activity, sports activity, dance, cleaning, seated Zazen or the like, the problem and other thoughts/judgements/concerns seemed to drop away? Can you describe the experience briefly?
I often use guitar playing as a release from problems and stresses. For at least a little while I can get completely absorbed into playing music and enjoying that process. I almost always can finish feeling refreshed and ready to tackle some of life’s problems again.

Question: Can you describe what a moment in your life that is chaotic (it does not need to be terrible or "life and death," only "multi-tasking" busy, or pain in the neck bothersome, or some small life confusion or disaster) would be like if you "let the moment be the moment?"

We recently went through a very busy stretch at work. We are getting prepared to start an expensive multi year upgrade for some of our technology. There are a lot of moving parts, many development teams to engage, and a handful of vendors to coordinate. Oh did i mention that there are at least 2 regulatory items that need to be resolved by 2025 that will almost certainly impact the project. It is a lot to juggle and as one of the senior technical people on the team I am expected to carry a large load and act as a leader. On the other hand it is just work. In the moment there is just the work to be done. I can’t do everything and the project will not live or die based on my efforts alone so nothing to do but chip away at the work moment by moment.


Tairin
Sat today and lah

[Onkai]

Question: Have you every had the experience of facing a problem in life but, in pouring yourself into some physical activity, sports activity, dance, cleaning, seated Zazen or the like, the problem and other thoughts/judgements/concerns seemed to drop away? Can you describe the experience briefly?

Sometimes I have been really upset, anxious, even despairing, and a night's sleep made the troubles disappear and I felt whole and ready for reality.

Question: Can you describe what a moment in your life that is chaotic (it does not need to be terrible or "life and death," only "multi-tasking" busy, or pain in the neck bothersome, or some small life confusion or disaster) would be like if you "let the moment be the moment?"

Back pain preventing me from bowing at the waist or doing floor prostrations and making it difficult to stand up or sit down. Just letting the moment be the moment, I can gassho instead of bowing, and move carefully when sitting down or standing up. The back pain slows me down, but I don't have to fight it. Fortunately, the pain also passes.

[Geika]

Most recently I remember being totally with picking up the dog poop... and a little before that I remember being very in the moment while walking up the stairs with the laundry. It's like snapshots... but when they happen I don't really hold them I try to breathe into them and keep with it, because if you stop and think, "I'm doing it!" you are no longer doing it.

That is all that really comes to mind for me right now. As for the second question, what comes to mind is Christmas Day. As I have gotten older the celebration has become an interesting play of trying to be in the moment with my family while simultaneously juggling all the events that make the day special, like the cooking and keeping the house kind of tidy while it's all going down.

Gassho
Sat, lah

[Chikyou]

Challenging questions! For the first, I do feel this at times during Zazen! It doesn't trend to last, and the thoughts and feelings come back, but I'm learning to refocus again (and just this morning I realized that thoughts that do come up are flowing freely now, I'm not getting stuck on them; this isn't something I can intentionally do, it just had to happen naturally.)

For the second, my work is total chaos lately. I enjoy it, though some days (like yesterday) it becomes totally overwhelming. At times like that, the present moment is the only place I can be - no room in the brain for anything else.

Gassho,
SatLah
Kelly