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Zen's Path: Embrace Impermanence Together
AI Suggested Keywords:
Practice-Period_Talks
This talk explores the nature of Zen practice, contrasting personal well-being with the broader concept of non-being, and emphasizes continuous, non-discriminatory practice. It suggests the importance of living mindfully and fully in each moment, unencumbered by distinctions of self and experiences, following the teachings of Suzuki Roshi and the Bodhisattva's path. The speaker stresses the idea that true engagement with practice is crucial and identifies the essence of practice as being aware of and embodying impermanence and interconnectedness both in everyday life and over the 90-day practice period.
- Suzuki Roshi's Teachings: Discourses on the necessity of continuous practice where each moment is practiced "through and through," relevant to understanding the core of Zen practice.
- The Three Seals: Key principles in Buddhist philosophy, including impermanence, no-self, and nirvana, which serve as fundamental tenets for understanding the nature of existence and practice.
- Shana Vassa's Reference to the Sublime Truth of the Buddhas: Alludes to core Buddhist teachings which guide the practitioner's understanding of transcendent truths.
- Dogen's Concept of the "Grasping Discriminating Mind": Highlights the Zen approach of overcoming mental categorization to attain a purer, more centered state of being.
AI Suggested Title: Zen's Path: Embrace Impermanence Together
What are we doing here? Seriously. What are we doing here? What are you doing here? This life of gathering in and rolling out. Each moment being born and dying. What are we practicing? some idea we may have of practice, what Shana Vassa referred to as the sublime truth of the Buddhas.
[01:15]
What's really going on for us? We may say that there are two general views to practice. And if we're honest, most of us have some combination of the two. And the first is, what will we get out of doing this? Three months of peaceful abiding. Three months of unrelenting schedule.
[02:46]
Three months of being confronted with our views and habits and preferences. Three months of the possibility of an engagement in a blissful, formless samadhi. So most of us do this for something to gain some peace to gain some peace a small bit of understanding Maybe a way to bring some peace or comfort to someone we love in our life.
[03:54]
Maybe to get a bit of respite from the chaos and a life that's uncontrollable, completely out of our control. A chance to make everything better. Actually, we'd like everything to be wonderful. And this practice is a kind of, we may call it a well-being practice. Engaging in developing our own well-being and, as we're able, the well-being of others. But as we practice for a while, we may find that the margins on our hope and wishes for our individual practice may begin to change.
[05:30]
Rather than practicing on our terms, we may begin to consider the possibility of practicing on Buddhism's terms. We are our own well-being and even the well-being of others is not the primary concern. primary concern, we may call this a kind of non-being practice, not a well-being practice.
[06:45]
The teacher went before the assembly and said, what's the most painful thing in this world? Somebody came up and said, hell is the most painful thing in this world. The teacher said, no. to engage in the way and not fully through and through practice this great matter is the most painful thing in this world. Any kind of separation from who we truly are is the most painful thing.
[08:06]
Breaking a leg does not come close. And that can be very painful. Suzuki Roshi once said to us, the secret of practice, he said something like, the secret of practice is to practice each moment through and through. Continuous practice is this through and through practice.
[09:27]
It doesn't leave anything out. It covers well-being practice and non-being practice. We may say it's ruthless in its inability to compromise. wanting no less than everything. I have two companions.
[10:38]
Pretty constant companions. One of them is pain. And when I'm awake I can often work with and manage the pain. But it wakes me at night, even with some wonderful pill that Dr. McLean has given me. The pill doesn't work for another 30 to 45 minutes. I can't avoid the pain. I have another companion. Joy. Simply being alive with you in this moment.
[11:51]
The joy I feel on my breath in this body, in this room. I can't avoid it. I don't want to avoid either And I don't pick one or the other. And I don't pick one or the other. But my life is not identified with or located in either the joy or the pain. I once asked Suzuki Roshi how he was feeling. And he was not well. He said, I'm fine, it's just my throat.
[13:05]
And when he was clearly suffering with the cancer, that killed him. And I asked him, how are you feeling? And he said, I feel like there's a small, terrible animal inside eating me. And Suzuki Roshi was not perfect. Suzuki Roshi was not perfect. I talk to you about him like he was perfect. In my heart he is perfect. But I know he was not completely perfect. But he is about as good as I have ever seen. And he didn't live in his difficulty, and he didn't live in his soft, kind, wide mind.
[14:29]
I can't tell you where he lived, but it's my feeling where he lived. He didn't live anywhere. Der Bodhisattva als derjenige, diejenige, der keine Vorstellung wählt. Bodhisattva's practice is to see each being, each arising as impermanent. Practicing the three seals on each appearance.
[15:34]
Seal of impermanence. Seeing each arising, each being is impermanent, constantly changing. Second seal, no self, another. Seeing each being is no being at all. And then the third seal is nirvana. This world completely appearing and disappearing in each moment.
[16:42]
And thus not being caught by anything. While at the same time making use of and taking care of everything. So continuous practice is continually engaging in this life in each moment with Suzuki Roshi's secret. It means for 90 days over and over again studying the way with the hands in Shashu.
[18:01]
Studying the way by placing the mind in the feet. I've talked about this practice of being mindful of each step. And also being aware of the mind that arises on each step. I talk about this because I'm trying to do this. This is not some idea of Buddhist practice. This is a way we can make this 90 days real in our life. This is for weeks real in our life. as we can a half or just this day in our life.
[19:12]
This is continually tuning the body with the body, tuning the mind with the body, shaping space with the body. Not creating a gap between the self and the self. The gap which is the most painful thing in this world. The grasping, as Dogen said, the grasping discriminating mind loses it.
[20:54]
The determined pure heart attains it. The determined pure heart attains it. Please join me and help me to practice this timeless way. Thank you very much.
[21:30]
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