Hello, dear Sangha, teachers. I am the author of the Zen Buddhism youtube channel of the Soto-Shu tradition in Russia. I have been working on it for four years. Many participants are interested in practicing it. I have compiled a recommendation text. I would like to ask you if my advice is correct. Perhaps there is something that needs to be corrected or added. I would greatly appreciate your feedback.
Gassho
The Text
"There is always a question, how to integrate the practice into your life?
As in any other business, here you need consistency, gradualness, calculation of personal abilities (moral and physical). The path of Buddhadharma, in addition to formal practice (zazen), involves the development of awareness in action, speech in everyday life. With a hitch, no one will be able to be conscious all day long, simply because the resource of attention, like any other resource, has its limit. This is only possible for great practitioners and realized Buddhas.
If we aim to integrate the practice of Buddhadharma into our lives, we start with small steps. I would like to offer you some recommendations.
We begin our formal practice, zazen, with small sessions of 5-10 minutes. In the morning. We repeat the same practice in the evening before going to bed. We learn to follow our breathing or count from 1 to 10. We are not touching the object-free practice of "shikantaza" with a six-meter stick yet. The first week is spent in this mode, if 10 minutes of practice is enough, we fix it with another week, if possible, add 5 minutes from above to the session. Gradually, after a certain period of time, we will be able to let go of the count or monitor our breathing, which means letting go of the object itself, and simply noting the occurrence of spontaneous thoughts and emotions without getting caught up in them or clinging to them. We will not expect to enter any states, dhyanas, or satori.
We start practicing mindfulness in our daily activities with ONE short task (washing dishes, brushing teeth, climbing/descending stairs, etc.). During this task, we do not get distracted and fully focus on the task at hand. If a thought arises, we acknowledge it and let it go. If we become preoccupied with thoughts or emotions, we notice it and return to the task at hand. For the first few weeks, or even a month or more, we maintain the ONE ACTION mode until we become accustomed to performing the task without distractions. Then we add another one.
We start practicing mindfulness in our speech with a certain act of communication, such as greeting or saying goodbye. When we say "good morning," we sincerely wish our neighbors well-being and happiness. Similarly, when we say "goodbye" or "have a nice day," we are expressing our heartfelt desire for the person's well-being. We strive to listen to our interlocutors as attentively as possible, without being distracted by our smartphones or other idle activities that can be postponed. We gradually monitor our speech so that it does not cause discord, attempts to hurt, or gossip. We also monitor our tone of speech."
Gassho
The Text
"There is always a question, how to integrate the practice into your life?
As in any other business, here you need consistency, gradualness, calculation of personal abilities (moral and physical). The path of Buddhadharma, in addition to formal practice (zazen), involves the development of awareness in action, speech in everyday life. With a hitch, no one will be able to be conscious all day long, simply because the resource of attention, like any other resource, has its limit. This is only possible for great practitioners and realized Buddhas.
If we aim to integrate the practice of Buddhadharma into our lives, we start with small steps. I would like to offer you some recommendations.
We begin our formal practice, zazen, with small sessions of 5-10 minutes. In the morning. We repeat the same practice in the evening before going to bed. We learn to follow our breathing or count from 1 to 10. We are not touching the object-free practice of "shikantaza" with a six-meter stick yet. The first week is spent in this mode, if 10 minutes of practice is enough, we fix it with another week, if possible, add 5 minutes from above to the session. Gradually, after a certain period of time, we will be able to let go of the count or monitor our breathing, which means letting go of the object itself, and simply noting the occurrence of spontaneous thoughts and emotions without getting caught up in them or clinging to them. We will not expect to enter any states, dhyanas, or satori.
We start practicing mindfulness in our daily activities with ONE short task (washing dishes, brushing teeth, climbing/descending stairs, etc.). During this task, we do not get distracted and fully focus on the task at hand. If a thought arises, we acknowledge it and let it go. If we become preoccupied with thoughts or emotions, we notice it and return to the task at hand. For the first few weeks, or even a month or more, we maintain the ONE ACTION mode until we become accustomed to performing the task without distractions. Then we add another one.
We start practicing mindfulness in our speech with a certain act of communication, such as greeting or saying goodbye. When we say "good morning," we sincerely wish our neighbors well-being and happiness. Similarly, when we say "goodbye" or "have a nice day," we are expressing our heartfelt desire for the person's well-being. We strive to listen to our interlocutors as attentively as possible, without being distracted by our smartphones or other idle activities that can be postponed. We gradually monitor our speech so that it does not cause discord, attempts to hurt, or gossip. We also monitor our tone of speech."
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