The Zen Master's Dance - 8 - Fukan Zazengi (Middle of p. 37 to Middle of p. 38)

[Jundo]

We continue from middle of page 37, "Give up even the aim of becoming a Buddha," stopping right before "The Mechanics of Sitting" on page 38.

Questions ...

How would giving up the aim of becoming a Buddha embody a taste of Buddha?

Can you describe some goal you are aiming for in life now but have not yet achieved, or frustration in life when a goal was not obtained? Describe your feeling of aiming now for something you are working toward, or disappointment about a past goal not achieved.

Now, describe it again with a description embodying "nothing to attain, nothing to become."

Both ways can be true ways to experience goals at once.

Please respond before reading other folks' responses.

Gassho, J

STLah

[Koriki]

How would giving up the aim of becoming a Buddha embody a taste of Buddha?

The energy limiting illness that I struggle with daily has been, at times, like being stuck in quicksand. The more I struggle with my circumstances, the more I sink. If I get upset about what I am no longer able to do, it uses up my precious energy and I feel much worse. Whereas the more I can accept that this is the way it is, then I tend to have energy for better things and feel less like I'm missing out on something. Empty and be full.

Gassho,
Koriki
s@lah

[Hosui]

Right now I’m on vacation in the UK’s Lake District with my wife and mother-in-law. We’re all sat separately in our shared lakeside apartment, reading. The tall window in front of my seat gives onto a view of Skiddaw, a (Googled) 931-meter high peak, currently scarfed in early evening cloud. It wasn’t enshrouded when I sat down to write, and I daresay it’ll probably clear to reveal the bald sconce of the summit later. As my understanding of emptiness deepens, my grip on life’s aims weakens, leaving only my response to the conditions of this life, the compassionate wisps of cloud around a mountain top. The universe is complete as it is, so my hope of continuing to study the Avatamsaka scripture this holiday week may come to naught, given how I don’t want to alienate my companions — they’re teasing me already, as are the crows outside. There is no permanent person here, nobody to know anything, nothing to attain, nothing to become; here one minute, gone the next.

Gassho
sat/lah

[Jundo]

It sounds as if you have already arrived at Skiddaw peak.

image.png

Gassho, J
stlah

[Heikyo]

As I get older I am less inclined to set life goals for myself anymore. I guess at the moment my goal (like a lot of others my age) is to make sure that I have enough money to be comfortable when I become tired of my job and retire. As a school teacher, my job is stressful and exhausting, which makes this goal seem all the more unachievable. How much longer could I really do this? Taking zazen off the cushion allows me to drop the pressure to achieve this goal by allowing me to accept the exhaustion at the end of the day, accept the job for what it is, accept the challenging behaviour of students, and enjoy the now. This is not resignation, or a feeling of ‘giving up’ - it is just accepting things for what they are and understanding that my frustrations and challenges are part of the whole, and nothing to be afraid of.

Gassho
Heikyo
Sat today, LAH

[Jundo]

a_monk_teaches_buddhist_morality_to_students_at_a_primary_school_in_battambang_province_on_august_24._supplied.jpg

[Hokuu]

I'm in the middle of fixing my weight and health in general.
In the last 4 months, I lost 13 kg, although there is still some work to be done - cutting first and slowly lean bulking later. It feels highly frustrating at times. Motivation drops all the time. There are so many tasty, fatty, and sweet foods around The hardest time, though, is not when I lack motivation; it's when I start doubting whether I need the goal in the first place - in the end, one can be overweight and happy.

Although I strive for my goals, I'm open to believing that there is nothing to achieve. My goals might make me healthier and improve the quality of life, but the only day is today.
It's irrelevant whether I'm happy in a year; the true question is whether I'm happy today. I try to be content with what I have. And yet, I do work on being happy and healthy in a year.

Gassho
Hokuu
satlah

[Jundo]

Hokuu, the middle way, between image.png and . image.png ...

Gassho, J
stlah

[Bob-Midwest]

Decades ago I attended a dharma talk in Chicago promising to help me overcome my anger. I still have anger after countless hours of sitting, waking meditations, retreats, various practices, readings, etc.
Would I like to be free of anger? Yes.
Do I feel a failure, disappointed in dharma? Yes and no.
I am much more aware of anger and can refuse expression at times, which I had not realized earlier was an option.
But maybe more importantly, I am less hard on myself about anger. It’s not longer so much about me and I don’t feel less “spiritual” because I get mad.
In fact, I no longer sit on the cushion with any of the earlier goals. This same inner drive is there, but I have absolutely no idea now why I sit or even why we are here. And peacefully I don’t care.

sat, lah
bob

[Jundo]

Decades ago I attended a dharma talk in Chicago promising to help me overcome my anger. I still have anger after countless hours of sitting, waking meditations, retreats, various practices, readings, etc.
Would I like to be free of anger? Yes.
Do I feel a failure, disappointed in dharma? Yes and no.
I am much more aware of anger and can refuse expression at times, which I had not realized earlier was an option.
But maybe more importantly, I am less hard on myself about anger. It’s not longer so much about me and I don’t feel less “spiritual” because I get mad.
In fact, I no longer sit on the cushion with any of the earlier goals. This same inner drive is there, but I have absolutely no idea now why I sit or even why we are here. And peacefully I don’t care.

sat, lah
bob

There is the face of the universe where there is no body to get angry, nobody and nothing to get angry at, thus no anger. How can Wholeness get mad at Wholeness? (Answer: Only by breaking into conflicting pieces.)

And yet, in this world of daily life, samsara, there is me and the guy or table who I bump into.

I am much more aware of anger and can refuse expression at times, which I had not realized earlier was an option.

Maybe yesterday's little dharma talk (and the silly movie I posted) which tell you have good it is that you can do that (from .

From the 60 minute mark ..
.

Gassho, J
stlah

[Bob-Midwest]

There is the face of the universe where there is no body to get angry, nobody and nothing to get angry at, thus no anger. How can Wholeness get mad at Wholeness? (Answer: Only by breaking into conflicting pieces.)

And yet, in this world of daily life, samsara, there is me and the guy or table who I bump into.

I am much more aware of anger and can refuse expression at times, which I had not realized earlier was an option.

Maybe yesterday's little dharma talk (and the silly movie I posted) which tell you have good it is that you can do that (from .

From the 60 minute mark ..
.

Gassho, J
stlah

Wow, uncanny timing for my post and this talk.
Spot on.
Two channel. Yes.

sat,lah
bob

[Furyu]

How would giving up the aim of becoming a Buddha embody a taste of Buddha?

As the Buddha has nothing to attain, giving up the aim of attaining anything, even enlightenment, brings us closer to Buddha’s state of mind. I think that’s why Master Dōgen suggests that sitting zazen IS sitting Buddha (not in those words).

Can you describe some goal you are aiming for in life now but have not yet achieved, or frustration in life when a goal was not obtained? Describe your feeling of aiming now for something you are working toward, or disappointment about a past goal not achieved.

I am very much a go-with-the-flow sort of person (which actually fits my dharma name quite well ). I tend to have flexible goals/preferences rather than firmly established goals. I suppose my main goal at the moment is retirement. There is an age gap between me and my spouse, who is retired, and we need to decide when the best moment would be for me to retire to maintain financial security, but not at the expense of us being able to enjoy our retirement together while we are both healthy and able. It’s one of those choices that ultimately one has to make not really knowing how things will turn out. The general feeling around this is some impatience, but also anxiety.

Now, describe it again with a description embodying "nothing to attain, nothing to become.

Choosing the right time is ultimately unknowable but life can be enjoyed every day in the moments together whether there is retirement or not, money or not. There is no need to project a future time of togetherness when that time is now and every moment. We’ve also both lived with much less before. We know that we can adjust to whatever we have or not. To quote (sort of) Jundo, if life will be X, than that is what it will be. Or it may throw us Y, and that is what it will be.

Gasshō
Fūryū
sat-lah

[Jundo]

image.png

[Houzan]

The gap between x and y is suffering. I can close the gap in two ways: I can suffer my way from x to y (at which point z will appear) or I can say that y=x.

I have an ambition of doing formal zen training and share the Dharma in Norway and beyond. Something I’m thinking about and long for on a daily basis.

Yet now is just now. A cloud drifts by. The wind rustles the leaves. The training and sharing is not separate from the now. The longing is Buddha.

https://youtu.be/SY4HI_vqf0c?si=-W_UA4M40BDZ8w_N

Gassho, Hōzan
satlah

[Chikyou]

My biggest/most consistent/most frustrating goal is maintaining a work - life balance and keeping up with my exercise goals. This is challenging because my work and commute keeps me out of the house for almost 12 hours a day and on top of that, my schedule frequently changes as I have to adjust to big projects and others’ schedules. I often find myself thinking I’ve found a solution, only to have something change and for me to have to change course again and try a different approach.

Through these ups and downs I’ve made zazen practice a bedrock of my day - I get out of bed, brush my teeth and sit zazen before I even get dressed in the morning. This way, I rarely skip it, even when I have to get up an hour or two earlier than I otherwise would. It’s made a big difference in how I move through the rest of my day! The chaos, after all, just is. If that day is chaos, than that’s what it is; tomorrow will be different, or it won’t be, but this day is this day.

Gassho,
SatLah,
Chikyō