So, today, let's begin “Zazen for Beginners.” Because we’re always beginners.
We’ll talk the basics of “Just Sitting” Shikantaza Zazen. There’s a bit more to “Just Sitting” than “just sitting around.“
In a series of talks over the coming days, I will discuss this and that about “Just Sitting,” which has much to do with dropping thoughts of “this” and “that" and all the other clutter that tangles our heads. We’ll talk about where you can expect to “go” in your practice, and what you can expect to attain, which has a lot to do with dropping the constant hunger to "get" and "attain."
Don’t think, however, that not thinking of “attaining” means that something special is not attained thereby.
And freeing our self of all need to get somewhere can be truly the key to finally getting somewhere!
(Zen folks tend to say seemingly crazy and contradictory stuff like that sometimes. It is what all those wild Koans are about).
These talks are meant for beginners in “Just Sitting” Shikantaza Zazen and newcomers to Treeleaf Sangha. Shikantaza is our central practice at Treeleaf. But I hope that both new folks and old timers will watch. We are all, of course, ever beginning now and now and now, with “Beginner’s Mind.“
Let’s start by seeing the mind as like a noisy kitchen blender ... filled with all kinds of rattlin’ stuff.
Let it settle!
Remember: recording ends soon after the beginning bells; a sitting time of 15 to 35 minutes is recommended.
(Using headphones? Do note that there is loud noise at times in this video!)
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