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

[Jundo]

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

[Prashanth]

Gassho.

Removing all divisiveness and concepts about the world and coming to the wholeness? That is a task for a lifetime.

Firstly, I guess "knowing" we are buddha is different from "being" that buddha or even coming close to it. The bridge between is practice.
Even a rough stone needs work before it can be called a diamond.

Secondly, practice helps in channeling our energies towards the right direction. And that helps us to make the practice meaningful to move towards the "being".

Gassho.
Prashanth

sat today.

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[Jundo]

Gassho.

Removing all divisiveness and concepts about the world and coming to the wholeness? That is a task for a lifetime.

Firstly, I guess "knowing" we are buddha is different from "being" that buddha or even coming close to it. The bridge between is practice.
Even a rough diamond needs work before it can be called a diamond.

Secondly, practice helps in channeling our energies towards the right direction. And that helps us to make the practice meaningful to move towards the "being".

Gassho.
Prashanth

sat today.

Perhaps Dogen would be a bit otherwise, for we are already the wholeness and merely need to act like it. Of course, we fail and fail again.

We are already a Buddha, already a diamond, even when in the rough or covered with mud. The rough and mud is the diamond, the act of polishing is the diamond ... everything is the diamond ... thus we polish, polish, polish.

There is no being or non-being to move toward or away from ... thus we do our best to move with grace.

Gassho, J

STLah

[Prashanth]

Perhaps Dogen would be a bit otherwise, for we are already the wholeness and merely need to act like it. Of course, we fail and fail again.

We are already a Buddha, already a diamond, even when in the rough or covered with mud. The rough and mud is the diamond, the act of polishing is the diamond ... everything is the diamond ... thus we polish, polish, polish.

There is no being or non-being to move toward or away from ... thus we do our best to move with grace.

Gassho, J

STLah

Gassho.
Thank you, Jundo Sensei.
I will study this angle further. [emoji120]

Prashanth

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[Amelia]

The mirror does not need to be polished, it is already a mirror through and through, but it will not polish itself.

Gassho
Sat, lah

[Bion]

The mirror does not need to be polished, it is already a mirror through and through, but it will not polish itself.

Gassho
Sat, lah

And also, polishing does not make the mirror a mirror, it just helps it fulfill its purpose. [emoji1]

[emoji1374] SatToday

[Bion]

“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. In that sense, when we “practice” we don’t train for buddhahood, or some other future outcome, but we rather manifest, embody, use buddhahood - we keep the hand accustomed to the scalpel, keep the scalpel sharp, re-learn the law. As long as we function based on senses, we remain vulnerable to delusion, and thus we need to continuously polish the mirror of the mind, so that what it reflects is as true as can be, and we see clearly our true nature.

[emoji1374] SatToday

[Zenkon]

We need to practice to remain sharp and focused on the reality of life and not distracted by life's delusions.

Gassho

Dick

sat/lah

[Risho]

I think that we can only act in the world as a Buddha if we were already fundamentally it. But just because we are already it, or it is us does not mean we will act that way; it is up to us. And just because we may act properly in one scenario doesn’t mean we have “it” figured out. Life is dynamic, and we have to actually live like a Buddha which may differ based on the situation.

This I feel is true freedom; I think although we have “freedom”, I don’t think we are all free. What is controlling me? What assumptions do I make about myself and others that may not reflect reality? I think that is precisely what the precepts are about; living by the precepts takes discipline but that is true freedom, bringing the Buddha to life… dusting off ourselves to let our real selves shine through

gassho

Risho
-stlah

[Nengyoku]

I think that metaphor of the wind does the best justice of this, on many levels. The old "If the wind is everywhere, why do you fan yourself?"

The air around us is always moving, flowing, denser gases settling lower while lighter ones move to float above. But we do not always feel that change. A gentle breeze can be lost upon an unceasing observer.

Buddha nature pervades everything around us, but too distracted by earthly happenings we may miss this. We might miss the slight reactions of another person that reveal their inner nature, or the chance encounters that reveal the lack of distinction between things.

We sit, despite already being totally whole, so that we can still our own unceasing observers, in order the notice even the gentlest of breezes.

Gassho,
William
Sat

[Tairin]

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?

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




Tairin
Sat today and lah

[Showan]

The sutras and shastras report that Gotama the Buddha continued to practice every day after his complete, perfect enlightenment, so why wouldn't we?


Sat today

[aprapti]

as Dogens contemporary meister Eckhart would say: "ohne warum ". without why. I just sit.



aprapti

sat

[Stewart]

Why do we practice if we are already Buddhas?

My short answer is that the Buddha, Bodhidharma and the rest practiced throughout their lives and I’m no better than them so why shouldn’t I do the same?

My more reflective answer is that enlightenment is a verb and so is practice, so they go together. Not practicing is trying to be a static noun, which is unnatural and delusional.

Stewart
Sat

[Onkai]

The truth is all around us and within us, but we still need to practice in order to see it and experience it because without practice we see everything through the prisms of categories, distinctions, and our likes and dislikes. When we can drop the mental chatter and the dividing of things and our prejudices, we can experience wholeness and oneness, or so I'm told. I have found a certain peace and equanimity and the workings of my discursive mind (ego? Not a term used much here) It's a relief to drop it all and just be, adding nothing.

Gassho,
Onkai
Sat/lah