The Zen Master's Dance - 11 - Fukan Zazengi (bottom of p. 45 to p. 49 End of Chapter)

[Jundo]

Well, we come to the Fukanzazengi Big Zen Zinger of a Finish!

I would like to point out how many elements of trust, "method acting," felt embodiment, that there are in this section. One does not merely sit, waiting for something to happen because one is sitting there, in a certain posture.

Rather, one must sit with certain feelings, confidence, assumptions and attitudes about sitting, such as:

- To practice (Zazen) wholeheartedly is itself attaining the truth ...

- To sit is itself the 'Buddha Seal' of the Buddhas and Ancestors ...

- There is no other place to go to find it by wandering around ...

Why do you think such a trust in like truths and "method acting" is important in Zazen? Do you do so when you sit?

Gassho, J

STLah

[Showan]

About method acting:
Long before I began sitting seriously, I came across a passage in a book that stuck with me which said that becoming a Buddha was not like becoming a doctor, it was like becoming a thief. (I think this was a paraphrase of Sawaki Kodo but I'm not certain). To become a thief, all you have to do is steal something; regardless of if you're caught or not, you become a thief at the very moment of performing the action of a thief. In the same way, you become a Buddha at the very moment of performing the action of a Buddha, sitting wholeheartedly, letting thoughts arise and pass away without judgement or attachment. Sometimes I like to remind myself, just as the bells ring, that I am about to perform the action of a Buddha.

Gassho,
Showan/Max Andrew
Sat today/lent a hand

[Hokin]

Why do you think such trust in such truths and "method acting" is important in Zazen? Do you do so when you sit?

Yes, Showan...that goes very much to the point for me too.
The thing is that Dogen's (and Jundo's) way of Shikantaza is pretty much the Three Treasures in One Single Act of Wisdom and Compassion sitting on the zafu in this very moment. Samsara and Nirvana disappear and only THIS remains. But of course: practice includes everything so there are any kind of feelings and thoughts coming and going...and hate and fear and confusion and pride and depression and Samsara and Nirvana...and 'I got it' and 'I got it not' and so on...but once we really embrace practice in a truly wholehearted, almost -dare I say- 'devotional' way, everything changes. And it changes not because now we don't have thoughts and feelings, whether those are pleasant or painful, but because when sitting is 'devotional' (without falling into extremes, mind you!) then Sitting Itself is the Buddha Seal of Buddhas and Ancestors. Sitting Itself is the Buddha Seal of Buddhas and Ancestors when every thought and feeling is simply dealt with with some sort of deeply rooted freedom, wonder and awe! And when we can't feel that same devotion, when we can't put all our heart into sitting....then...let us just observe that in a devotional, heartfet way in turn...and that's that.


Gassho.
Hokin.
SAT&LAH.

[Onkai]

I think the trust and the "method acting" helps to find a balanced position and to stop the habitual storylines I usually identify with. Facing a blank wall, just facing a blank wall, but really being there, with thoughts and emotions rising and falling - because of the "method" acting those aren't me right now, though I'm aware of them. Just sitting like a Buddha, truly becoming aware of this particular instant.

Gassho,
Onkai
Sat/lah

[Tobiishi]

The searching and questing efforts of zazen-done-wrong (wink wink) are like carrying a fog machine around and wondering why I can't see the scenery. Drop the fog, and the scenery becomes revealed. But there's a second part- just seeing the scenery is part, but to get the whole I must believe that the scenery comes from my mind, I could have perceived it even with the fog. It is me, and everything. That kind of perception requires starting with trust, not a demand for evidence. Probably the evidence I eventually see comes from mind, too. My monkey-mind doesn't do any of this very well! But it sounds good on paper.


Tobiishi stlah

[Naiko]

I reread this section when I was rather tired, and I misread “…as if all the Buddhas and Ancestors were sitting as our sitting. The sitter should trust in their bones…” as, “The sitter should sit in their bones..” And, I thought, “Yes!”
I frequently remind myself that zazen is a reenactment ritual. That is the method acting that helps me connect to that lineage of sitters and makes it sacred. This is difficult to explain — It kind of takes the pressure off making it about me, or worrying if I’m doing it right (‘lil ole deluded me? How can I sit as a Buddha?”). It’s not *my* zazen. It’s zazen.
Gassho,
Naiko
st lah

[Jundo]

“The sitter should sit in their bones..” And, I thought, “Yes!”

Yes! We are always sitting in the Ancestors' bones, and just need to trust to!

[aprapti]

yes i like that idea of zen as an enactment ritual, as Taigen Dan Leighton calls it. Maybe a little to popular, but: fake it until you make it



aprapti

sat

[Nengyoku]

When Shakyamuni attained enlightenment he saw that all of the world attained enlightenment simultaneously. When we feel in our bones that our sitting Zazen is the Buddha sitting Zazen, this becomes true again in the moment. This is why those first two points are so important.

- To practice (Zazen) wholeheartedly is itself attaining the truth ...

- To sit is itself the 'Buddha Seal' of the Buddhas and Ancestors ...

Without these two it is easy too see why so many profane the three treasures with thoughts of "How could sitting there doing nothing be attaining the way?"

- There is no other place to go to find it by wandering around ...

This point resolves all other doubts we may have. There is no special equipment or place to be for your Zazen to "work". You don't need a Zafu, or a mala, or a chant, or even a rakusu. You don't have to travel to some distant land to learn from an acclaimed master. These things are nice, and can serve as reminders of our commitment throughout the day, but are ultimately superfluous.
Everything you need to attain the way is already actualized within your own body. Any doubts to the contrary are your own delusion surfacing. Take refuge too in that realization: you are enough.

Gassho,
Nengyoku
Sat

[Kiri]

When I sit zazen, I invite the Buddha to sit with me. I offer my whole body to him and trust that it is him that is sitting, not me. And even though beings are numberless, I still vow to save them all because I trust that the whole universe is practicing with me.
Gassho, Kiri
Sat/Lah

[Koushi]

Why do you think such a trust in like truths and "method acting" is important in Zazen? Do you do so when you sit?

For a long time, I never felt like my Zazen was “good enough,” some days still, I feel like my Zazen isn’t “good enough.” Then I’m reminded of words like Sawaki Rōshi said:

Try practicing zazen believing you are Buddha and [you are practicing] Buddha’s activity. Zazen will naturally become shikantaza. Shikantaza equals Dharma. Zazen is playing Buddha—the Buddha practices Buddha activity. That’s what shikantaza is.

This way, it’s no longer “my” Zazen. It’s just Zazen. Not an action by me to be personally judged—but an embodiment itself. But since I’m a person that judges things, this “method acting” helps instill trust and faith in Zazen itself, especially when it’s proving particularly difficult.

Gassho,
Koushi
STLaH

[Jundo]

Oh, cool. I had forgotten that Sawaki Roshi quote ...

Try practicing zazen believing you are Buddha and [you are practicing] Buddha’s activity. Zazen will naturally become shikantaza. Shikantaza equals Dharma. Zazen is playing Buddha—the Buddha practices Buddha activity. That’s what shikantaza is.

Gassho, J

STLah

[Tairin]

Trust what?
Trust this process of Shikantaza?
Trust those that came before me?

What I do trust is my own experience and observations while sitting on the cushion. I can see all the thoughts, stories, desires, aversions that come up as I sit there. I can see how these thoughts cloud my perception like kruft building up on a window pane. I know these thoughts are ever present but it is while sitting quietly on the cushion that it is really apparent how they influence my behaviours and perceptions. Some thoughts are easy to put back down but others, like a delicious plate of cookies, are almost impossible to resist indulging in.


Tairin
Sat today and lah

[DanM]

Why do you think such a trust in like truths and "method acting" is important in Zazen? Do you do so when you sit?

When my mind starts clinging to certain thought patterns during zazen, I find that method acting like this helps to let go and allows them to pass. The idea that I am the whole universe when sitting sounded more than a little strange the first time I heard it, but it has definitely helped to blur the perceived distinction between my “self” and the “outside” world.

Gassho,
Dan
ST/LAH

[Eamonn]

I do trust that to sit is itself attainment of the truth. It's important to me sit with that trust because if I don't, I feel I'm missing out on the wonder and beauty of the Buddha's gift to us: the knowledge that we simply are whole [while still responsible for living better]

Gassho,
Eamonn

sitting sat today in the form of me