BOOK OF EQUANIMITY - Case 35

[Tiwala]

Practice is enlightenment; practice never ends. It can't.

I don't believe in the sort of enlightenment that solves all of one's problems. Meaning that there is some point along a linear timeline that one is considered "enlightened" and then everything becomes "better" afterward. I think part of that drew me to practice. I wanted to find a way out of anxiety on some level.. uncertainty.

But things aren't fixed.

Could you imagine that?

If one had the answer to all things in life, then that would not be living.. Fixed, static answers only apply to dead things, things that don't change. Contrastingly, life is vibrant, changing, and by its very nature, things are not what we may expect if we have a fixed idea of them... which is what lends itself to dukkha.

So that being said, I believe there is enlightenment, that does make everything ok even if it's not what we expect. In a deep, deep level we are ok with things as they are because we no longer have to fit them into our limited shape of what ok is. Instead we "shikantaza-ize" them. lol We drop our judgements, grasping, greedy, ignorant, angry mind, and just let them be... allow them to be us.

But the practice never ends because the conditions of our life always change, so we always have to keep sweeping as Taigu would say.

Now that being said, my practice is shit. I look at the picture of Sawaki roshi's sewing, or how Jundo or Taigu present the dharma, how they practice, and my practice is nothing compared to that.

So I sit.

Thoughts of enlightenment or delusion, drop, sit.

Zazen feels great; drop it, sit.

Zazen feels like crap; drop it, sit.

Just sit.

But not just sitting, isolated.. giving to charity, volunteering, atoning, chanting, sitting... all just sitting in a sense.

Living life from a perspective of open responsiveness instead of closed off resentment, wishing things were the way I wanted them. And a lot of times I feel that heartache; it reminds me of how attached I am to my imagined ideals.

So again I practice. Coming back again and again to now, dropping it all.. coming back.

Gassho,

Risho

Thank you for this post

Gassho, Ben

[Jundo]

Practice is enlightenment; practice never ends. It can't.

I don't believe in the sort of enlightenment that solves all of one's problems. Meaning that there is some point along a linear timeline that one is considered "enlightened" and then everything becomes "better" afterward. I think part of that drew me to practice. I wanted to find a way out of anxiety on some level.. uncertainty.

But things aren't fixed.

Could you imagine that?

If one had the answer to all things in life, then that would not be living.. Fixed, static answers only apply to dead things, things that don't change. Contrastingly, life is vibrant, changing, and by its very nature, things are not what we may expect if we have a fixed idea of them... which is what lends itself to dukkha.

So that being said, I believe there is enlightenment, that does make everything ok even if it's not what we expect. In a deep, deep level we are ok with things as they are because we no longer have to fit them into our limited shape of what ok is. Instead we "shikantaza-ize" them. lol We drop our judgements, grasping, greedy, ignorant, angry mind, and just let them be... allow them to be us.

But the practice never ends because the conditions of our life always change, so we always have to keep sweeping as Taigu would say.

Now that being said, my practice is shit. I look at the picture of Sawaki roshi's sewing, or how Jundo or Taigu present the dharma, how they practice, and my practice is nothing compared to that.

So I sit.

Thoughts of enlightenment or delusion, drop, sit.

Zazen feels great; drop it, sit.

Zazen feels like crap; drop it, sit.

Just sit.

But not just sitting, isolated.. giving to charity, volunteering, atoning, chanting, sitting... all just sitting in a sense.

Living life from a perspective of open responsiveness instead of closed off resentment, wishing things were the way I wanted them. And a lot of times I feel that heartache; it reminds me of how attached I am to my imagined ideals.

So again I practice. Coming back again and again to now, dropping it all.. coming back.

Gassho,

Risho

[Ishin]

Funny, I was just contemplating this question yesterday, wondering how I really understood it and here it is. For me enlightenment is a little enlightenment, and the Big E enlightenment. When we sit dropping all thoughts, all notions of good/bad this is enlightenment. Shikantanza itself when doing IS enlightenment. The moments when we sit are like experiencing the enlightened state in that moment. Satori and kensho are little glimpses of what enlightenment can be like, similar to when we learn a new word, it doesn't really mean we have mastered the whole language. The Big E , is no different than what we experience as Shikantanza except that all we do has become practice. We have taken the "enlightenment" off the cushion, so to speak, and have incorporated that into our lives fully. Sitting as enlightenment, working as enlightenment, dealing with loss. etc., fully in harmony with all that is, the self merges with the infinite.

I do wonder about enlightenment in the sense of what happens when we die, is there really an end to rebirth, is there rebirth, what is the state of consciousness in death, etc. But maybe I will adopt Gudo Wafu Nishijima Roshi's thought that maybe humans being simply cannot understand such things.

Gassho
C

[Joyo]

When I am chopping wood and carrying water ... I will want to just chop wood and carry water - whether in the sun, rain, or snow. =)

Gassho
Shingen

I agree, and couldn't say it any more clear or simple than this. To chop wood and carry water, free of the mental theater, that, to me, is enlightenment.


Gassho,
Joyo

[Joyo]

Practice is enlightenment; practice never ends. It can't.

I don't believe in the sort of enlightenment that solves all of one's problems. Meaning that there is some point along a linear timeline that one is considered "enlightened" and then everything becomes "better" afterward. I think part of that drew me to practice. I wanted to find a way out of anxiety on some level.. uncertainty.

But things aren't fixed.

Could you imagine that?

If one had the answer to all things in life, then that would not be living.. Fixed, static answers only apply to dead things, things that don't change. Contrastingly, life is vibrant, changing, and by its very nature, things are not what we may expect if we have a fixed idea of them... which is what lends itself to dukkha.

So that being said, I believe there is enlightenment, that does make everything ok even if it's not what we expect. In a deep, deep level we are ok with things as they are because we no longer have to fit them into our limited shape of what ok is. Instead we "shikantaza-ize" them. lol We drop our judgements, grasping, greedy, ignorant, angry mind, and just let them be... allow them to be us.

But the practice never ends because the conditions of our life always change, so we always have to keep sweeping as Taigu would say.

Now that being said, my practice is shit. I look at the picture of Sawaki roshi's sewing, or how Jundo or Taigu present the dharma, how they practice, and my practice is nothing compared to that.

So I sit.

Thoughts of enlightenment or delusion, drop, sit.

Zazen feels great; drop it, sit.

Zazen feels like crap; drop it, sit.

Just sit.

But not just sitting, isolated.. giving to charity, volunteering, atoning, chanting, sitting... all just sitting in a sense.

Living life from a perspective of open responsiveness instead of closed off resentment, wishing things were the way I wanted them. And a lot of times I feel that heartache; it reminds me of how attached I am to my imagined ideals.

So again I practice. Coming back again and again to now, dropping it all.. coming back.

Gassho,

Risho

Hmmmm, I think you understand enlightenment, and this practice pretty well. I learned a lot from this post, thank you.

Gassho,
Joyo

[Shugen]

Gassho,



Shugen

[JTRyan]

Practice is enlightenment; practice never ends. It can't.

I don't believe in the sort of enlightenment that solves all of one's problems. Meaning that there is some point along a linear timeline that one is considered "enlightened" and then everything becomes "better" afterward. I think part of that drew me to practice. I wanted to find a way out of anxiety on some level.. uncertainty.

But things aren't fixed.

Could you imagine that?

If one had the answer to all things in life, then that would not be living.. Fixed, static answers only apply to dead things, things that don't change. Contrastingly, life is vibrant, changing, and by its very nature, things are not what we may expect if we have a fixed idea of them... which is what lends itself to dukkha.

So that being said, I believe there is enlightenment, that does make everything ok even if it's not what we expect. In a deep, deep level we are ok with things as they are because we no longer have to fit them into our limited shape of what ok is. Instead we "shikantaza-ize" them. lol We drop our judgements, grasping, greedy, ignorant, angry mind, and just let them be... allow them to be us.

But the practice never ends because the conditions of our life always change, so we always have to keep sweeping as Taigu would say.

Now that being said, my practice is shit. I look at the picture of Sawaki roshi's sewing, or how Jundo or Taigu present the dharma, how they practice, and my practice is nothing compared to that.

So I sit.

Thoughts of enlightenment or delusion, drop, sit.

Zazen feels great; drop it, sit.

Zazen feels like crap; drop it, sit.

Just sit.

But not just sitting, isolated.. giving to charity, volunteering, atoning, chanting, sitting... all just sitting in a sense.

Living life from a perspective of open responsiveness instead of closed off resentment, wishing things were the way I wanted them. And a lot of times I feel that heartache; it reminds me of how attached I am to my imagined ideals.

So again I practice. Coming back again and again to now, dropping it all.. coming back.

Gassho,

Risho

Amazing. I'll admit to reading it twice and then thinking "I want to understand life as well as this!" But then I think "There's 'I' and 'want' again."

Long way to go yet.

Gassho
Joe

[Myoku]

Question: How do you think you will feel, and how will you know for sure when you have become, "Enlightened"? What do you imagine that will be like? How will you know when you have got it?

Thank you Jundo and everyone contributing,

I dont know what enlightenment ist. I used to read a couple of books on it. I found some phrases about it that made sense to my understanding. I asked a zen teacher and got a reply I found useful. I remember Dogen said something along the line that there is only enlightened activity. That s makes sense too. But I dont know what enlightenment is, and I'm happy to say I dont care. What matters to me, so it seems, is to walk on the path which cannot be attained, just going on day by day, moment by moment. Learning from you, the sangha and readying a book and watching what goes on throughout the day. Returning to what matters. Finding out what matters. I will most likely never know for sure anything, but getting used to that takes time. Its all good.
Gassho
Myoku

[Shinzan]

Making a cup of tea for Mara.

[moondance]

Does Enlightenment cure allergies? If it does, that would be really nice. In any case, looks like I still need to take my medication.

I think that Enlightenment is good to think about and imagine how it might be to feel it. I mean, I do meditate and practice, so I suppose there's a possibility that it might happen to me someday. It sounds like something cool to dream about on a warm summer day. On the other hand, it scares me. What would happen if I just fell away? Where would I go? If I fell away, would I then feel everything even more deeply, like other people's pain and suffering? If I fell away and became what really is, what everything really is, wouldn't I feel overwhelmed? Would I go crazy? If one sees things how they really are, where does Samsara go? How is it possible to be Enlightened and in the world at the same time? I don't think I'll ever get it. I just go from one end to the next.

Thanks to everyone on this thread!

Bowing (in my mind, cause I'm really typing),
Diana

[Jundo]

Does Enlightenment cure allergies? If it does, that would be really nice. In any case, looks like I still need to take my medication.

I think that Enlightenment is good to think about and imagine how it might be to feel it. I mean, I do meditate and practice, so I suppose there's a possibility that it might happen to me someday. It sounds like something cool to dream about on a warm summer day. On the other hand, it scares me. What would happen if I just fell away? Where would I go? If I fell away, would I then feel everything even more deeply, like other people's pain and suffering? If I fell away and became what really is, what everything really is, wouldn't I feel overwhelmed? Would I go crazy? If one sees things how they really are, where does Samsara go? How is it possible to be Enlightened and in the world at the same time? I don't think I'll ever get it. I just go from one end to the next.

Thanks to everyone on this thread!

Bowing (in my mind, cause I'm really typing),
Diana

Perhaps, searching for the nose that knows, you are missing the nose right on your own face?

What if one could sneeze one's sneeze, experiencing that each AH CHOOOO is whole and complete? What if one could experience that your allergy is Allergy Buddha, and the drip in your tissue is Kleenex Buddha Wiping Dripping Buddha, tossing Used Buddha in the Buddha Dust Bin?

Buddha takes her medicine and is cured, Buddha does not get cured ... the nose on Sun Face Buddha, Moon Face Buddha (see next Koan 36). Your sneeze is the whole universe sneezing ... the whole universe sneezing out you! Yippee!

We had a similar AH CHOOO moment recently.

http://www.treeleaf.org/forums/showthread.php?12012-Split-Thread-Buddha-s-Runny-Nose&p=122818&viewfull=1#post122818

And the old Koan ... when Diana gets an allergy, Bodhidharma sneezes!

Itchy nose remains itchy nose, but is Buddha's nose all along. It still itches and runs, yet now ... BuddhaaaaaaAHHHHCHOOOOOO!

Something like that.

Is that Enlightenment? Smellightenment? Who cares! Such a wonderful way to live ... to Sneeze Complete!

Gassho, J

[moondance]

Thank you Jundo.

I don't remember the last time I met a True Master.

With Bows,
Diana

[Jundo]

I don't think you need a True Master, but maybe a good allergist would help.

[moondance]

See, there you go again.

[Shogen]

Question: How do you think you will feel, and how will you know for sure when you have become, "Enlightened"? What do you imagine that will be like? How will you know when you have got it?

Gassho, J

Living this life, here and now, with all the trials and tribulations is "Enlightment." No imagination required just reality! Gassho Shogen