The Zen Master's Dance - 6 - Fukan Zazengi (p. 29 to middle of p. 32)

[DanM]

Some years ago I completely stopped playing guitar for a number of years. There was still a part of me that new how to play guitar, but I had completely lost sight of it. During the first Covid enforced lockdown I started playing again and i realised what I’d lost sight of. Without practice I wouldn’t have rediscovered that which was already there.

Gassho,
Dan
ST/LAH

[Kaishin]

Far behind and catching up... (Though nowhere to get to and no deadline to arrive)
----

A jewel in a coat
A fan in the air
Setting aside metaphors
I sit facing the wall
Joining all beings,
throughout space and time
Embodying richness,
And the cool breeze
-----

Just a clumsy verse that surfaced in my mind. Thought I'd share that instead of the kind of verbose blah blah explanation I'm prone to give

-stlah

[Risho]

Far behind and catching up... (Though nowhere to get to and no deadline to arrive)
----

A jewel in a coat
A fan in the air
Setting aside metaphors
I sit facing the wall
Joining all beings,
throughout space and time
Embodying richness,
And the cool breeze
-----

Just a clumsy verse that surfaced in my mind. Thought I'd share that instead of the kind of verbose blah blah explanation I'm prone to give

-stlah

I dig it!

gassho

Risho
-stlah

[Kokuu]

A jewel in a coat
A fan in the air
Setting aside metaphors
I sit facing the wall
Joining all beings,
throughout space and time
Embodying richness,
And the cool breeze

[Kaisui]

Here is my post before reading other people's posts...

++++++++
My understanding from the reading (and a recent Ango chat with Jundo) is that we should practice because, even though we are already Buddha,
- we are not manifesting Buddha unless we practice
- we do not see Buddha nature, beyond the delusion of separation, unless we practice

It sounds simple, but I am still grappling with this because I do not yet 'know' it for myself. Or, perhaps I have moments where I know it, but I do not yet know it in an overall way where I have a strongly developed sense of trust in the necessity of practice. I trust that practice helps us see through delusion, but I don't yet fully grasp the point of seeing through delusion, if we are already Buddha whether we see it or not.

At the same time, I do feel there is something in it, even if I don't get it yet, and I rely on this. Kind of like the fake it till you make it approach, only I'm not totally faking it.

Something that has helped me build trust in practicing Zazen is remembering that I have drifted away from it in the past because I wasn't sure of its value, and then for "some reason," I have come back. Even if I don't fully understand it, having come back twice now helps my resolve to remain, because I more strongly feel there is something to it.
++++++++

And now after reading the posts...

“Practice”, in this sense, is, I believe, actually equal to “execute” or fulfill. A lawyer is a lawyer whether in court or at home, the same as a surgeon is a surgeon whether holding a scalpel or a broom.

This was very helpful to me, thank you Bion. There is something in the difference between what we 'are' and what we are 'doing,' and our practice is a doing.

This reminds me of something I had written down for myself when reading Okumura's book on Dogen's Gengokoan (see also: http://www.thezensite.com/ZenTeachin...an_Okumara.htm). About total dynamic function, I wrote for myself that "we are what we are doing in this moment." Maybe I should think less of being already Buddha no matter what I do, but about being already Buddha immediately when I act as Buddha, knowing I can do this in any moment, as there is nothing needed to be done beforehand to act as Buddha (and thus be Buddha) in any moment, right now.

I am a guitarist. I play guitar.
I play guitar. I am a guitarist.

Yes, something like that Wonderful.

And I also dig the verse by Kaishin. Some nice posts in this thread; I have enjoyed this topic.

Gassho,
Charity
sat&lah

[Kokuu]

My understanding from the reading (and a recent Ango chat with Jundo) is that we should practice because, even though we are already Buddha,
- we are not manifesting Buddha unless we practice
- we do not see Buddha nature, beyond the delusion of separation, unless we practice

Beautifully succinct and to the point!

Gassho
Kokuu
-sattoday/lah-

[Anchi]

[Nengei]

Practice is the fulfillment of the buddha-function of the universe. Though I strive to practice without purpose or attainment, there ARE benefits to practice. I practice because I want to see the Buddha's truth in my life-practice. I practice because I have vowed to save all sentient beings.

Gassho,
Nengei
Sat today. LAH.

[Viveka]

We're such an integral part of this dance, it's so "close" and pervasive, that we don't easily perceive it. We see everything deludedly (if that's a word) through the filters of our conditioning and preferences. And so we practice, dropping resistance, and sometimes the whole thing (including the non-separate separation) falls into place, for a time, and we gradually "improve" our perception and understanding. A minimalist way of looking at it, but just my thought at this moment.

Gassho,
Viveka
st/lah

[Gregor]

We still "need" to practice despite possessing Buddha-nature because we are deluded and see things and others as seperate from ourselves. We seek and strive for things and wish things to be other than they are. A lot of this is purely evolutionary programing needed to make sure we survive in a harsh world.

Practice helps us drop all that ( at least for the time being) and see the deeper/truer reality and accept life as it is and feel the interconnection between all things and all beings.

Without the continous practice mentioned in the book those realizations can become fleeting and abandoned to more "pressing" matters.

Frequent Zazen helps to bring that balance off the cushion and into life with us day to day.

Gassho,
Greg
STLAH

[Tomás ESP]

There is a fundamental difference between being lost in a Dream and knowing that you are Dreaming. Even though in both cases you are still in the Dream, the first case generates much more suffering than the second one.

Gassho, Tomás
Sat

[Chikyou]

Calling All Buddhas,

We will read from the middle of page 29 (the section, "And So, 'The Way of Zazen Recommended for Everyone'") until the middle of page 32, stopping right BEFORE "We can still see the traces of the Buddha Sakyamuni")

Please summarize briefly, based on today's reading and your own understanding, why in heck, if we are "already Buddha" and "the Buddha's truth is already all around, complete, and all-pervading" we still need to practice?

Try to respond before reading what other folks have written in response.

Gassho, J

STLah

We practice so that we may experience and grow in the understanding of the universal truth that everything is Buddha. It's one thing to "know" something intellectually, but to really live it we need to experience it.

Gassho,
SatLah
-Kelly

[Showan]

Practice is what transforms intellectual, abstract knowledge into the deeper understanding of lived experience. Abstract knowledge without experience is also very unlikely to translate into a kinder, calmer, more compassionate way of life.
A quote from my favorite author, Ursula K. LeGuin, that I found relevant: "I made myself a vessel. I know its shape. But not the clay. Life danced me. I know the dances. But I don't know who the dancer is."

Showan
Lent a hand today (going to sit on my lunch break)