Without therapy, I'd have been hard-pressed to see them - and there was then the danger of using Zen to cover everything over.
This is the important part. To study the self as Dogen puts it. Notice what it's like, how it happens, and what it's like when it is dropped.
Accept the self (also another important point). Accepting things as they come up, noticing them, not attaching to them, and eventually drop them. Usually takes more than week though
It sounds like something we do, but it's really not like that. It's more of a discovery.
It's a constant practice. Delving into what exactly "this" is, or what "we" are. We is actually "no we", but that's kind of hard to know at first.
Someone said something once that kind of stuck with me "When we start to open up or "wake up" to the moment more, we start to do "what we want to do." More.
Example: I want to take a walk. I take a walk. No pondering about this or that, just enjoying the walk. Or whatever.
It's all
practice. Look at that word "practice". What should you keep? What should you use? And what can you drop? You know the saying: "It takes practice" right?
Let's compare it to a pianist, or other musician. First they start out with the basics, learning notes and theory. They start to press the fingers on the keys etc.. As time goes by their repertoire increases, as does their skill. Eventually, playing is second nature. When performing a grand piece, there is the moment where they forget them self in the music, but don't miss a beat. Eventually, they know so much about piano, that some could say they are a "master" pianist.
It could be seen the same way for those who practice Zen, life, this. But to start out one must learn the basics and expand their repertoire in everyday life.
Myself. I'm about to give my first recital for Mary had a little lamb
Gassho
W