Zazen for Beginners Series: THREAD for QUESTIONS, COMMENTS

[Seishin]

Jundo Roshi

Tomorrow marks a year from when I applied and was accepted to join this wonderful Sangha. I have just gone through the Beginners lessons again for probably the fourth or fifth time today to see if I have actually learnt anything in the last year. Thought I would take the opportunity to thank you for your teaching and guidance. And to thank those Sangha members who have also provided guidance, support and friendship on my journey along this long trodden path.

I realize I still have much to learn and to some degree am still the miserable, short tempered, often angry, SOB I've always been, between bouts of normality and friendliness, acting the fool to the amusement of others but finally recognizing these failings.

I have sat daily since being accepted here, missing only one day (Sept 19 last year which felt very strange and does even now) and this practice has become an integral part of my life. Still not sure about committing 100% and undertaking Jukai but am happy where I am right now, moment by moment.

Thought this was appropriate....................

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiN54y8zf_VAhWIBcAKHUKFDHwQ3ywIKjAA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DAWtCittJyr0&usg=AFQjCNGUvvYKhAxmysX5mPTAAVnscg1_6w

Deep bows my esteemed Roshi. Safe journey home.

STMIZ lah

[Iammichael]

Hi Jundo, Thanks you for these talks. Number 7 was specially important for me. I have been sitting zazen for ten years and your explanation of how thoughts become light, thinking/no thinking is encouraging to me. This is sometimes my experience. Thank you, Michael

[Margherita]

Thanks for your answer. I would like to clarify that of course safety comes first, to injure someone (or worst) is my fear since I started this job. So I try my best not to do something stupid (and I've seen lots of unbelievable behaviours on the road), I just thought that to not lose myself into my own tangled thoughts would have been a good thing. I will follow your advice though, Jundo.

Gassho,
Mags
Sat today

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[Jundo]

Hello everybody,
I have a question regarding video number 13.
"Insta-Zazen" it's a thing I've been trying to do (it came out quite naturally really, even before watching Jundo's video), with some success in certain occasions and no success at all at other times. It won't work too well if I'm nervous or angry. But I discovered that being a bus driver I sit for long hours, so I try to concentrate on the breathing and then expand my concentration all around me, focusing on the driving of course. I find myself to be more attentive and if tangled thoughts arrive I try to let them go. Of course I won't drive crossed legged (but the thought made me laugh) and I won't do any Mudra with my hands, they can stay on the steering wheel!
My question for you more experienced people is: do you think it is safe to do so?

Thanks,
Mags

Sounds lovely but, whatever you do, road safety comes first. Keep your eyes on the road, watch the other cars, drive safely. I don't mix my Zazen with heavy machinery!

Maybe you could limit the practice to the time passengers are loading and getting off only? Door open, mind open. Door closed, back to the road. Passenger yells at you or is drunk ... mind VERY open.

Gassho, J

SatTodayLAH

[Kyousui]

I like to do "car zen" on long drives too, first it helps me focus on my driving (which is where my focus should be). Sending Metta to the other drivers also helps with my mindfullness.

Sat2day

[Margherita]

Hello everybody,
I have a question regarding video number 13.
"Insta-Zazen" it's a thing I've been trying to do (it came out quite naturally really, even before watching Jundo's video), with some success in certain occasions and no success at all at other times. It won't work too well if I'm nervous or angry. But I discovered that being a bus driver I sit for long hours, so I try to concentrate on the breathing and then expand my concentration all around me, focusing on the driving of course. I find myself to be more attentive and if tangled thoughts arrive I try to let them go. Of course I won't drive crossed legged (but the thought made me laugh) and I won't do any Mudra with my hands, they can stay on the steering wheel!
My question for you more experienced people is: do you think it is safe to do so?

Thanks,
Mags

[Shinshou]

In video four, you say shikantaza is the simplest form of meditation. I agree that it is simple, but is it the easiest? It seems to me that due to the nature of the mind, it's easier to have a focus, a goal. Perhaps an open awareness non-duality is the eventual end – or beginning – of all meditation, but beginning with the end seems like a very difficult endeavor, like a beginning runner starting training for a marathon by running 26 miles.

Sat today

[Tai Shi]

A very, very important warning, and word to the wise!

For my medications--I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN COMPLIANT with excellent doctors over the full duration of my treatment for pain! A person must never, ever try to treat themselves with any medication of any kind! I am under the care of two excellent doctors for opiates an ALL MY MEDICATIONS, so never, ever take ANY drug without full cooperation with excellent doctors! I have severe arthritis of the spine, called Ankylosing Spondylitis, and I have experienced pain levels of 8, 9, and 10. These doctors began treating me three years back, and have followed my case to the letter as I have been fully compliant! My doctors and I have been able to bring opiates down by 3/4 less, and now I am treated with two non-opiate medications. When I say we will bring down another notch, this means I will be on 4/5 less the amount I was on at one time, and the hope is that with safe medications we can come to nearly none. I have used ALL types of meditations, and mind body exercises with the help of a great psychologist. Shikantaza has helped me gain a wonderful outlook on my life, so with ALL tools and under the care of wonderful professionals I live with pain levels of 4, 5, and 6. NEVER EVER EXPERIMENT WITH SELF CARE! THIS IS AGAINST OUR PRECEPTS in our Zen practice.

Tai Shi
std
Gassho
Deep Bows

[Tai Shi]

Hi ALL, Yes I am not my pain, and even on two non-narcotics, and at the real minimum, might go one more notch down, which I think I can handle, and really joyous that my mind is now so clear, and my wife says I'm somewhat better so keep working on the psychology of my situation, yes I AM NOT MY PAIN, and I use it as a tool in practice, to just forget sensations, great.

Now about timers, I've never used one in personal sitting, and I use some of our chants and bowing, but at first I checked and watched the clock, Truly even with my Treeleaf, almost three years, total I've been sitting 6 years. So watching the clocked has dropped away, and now naturally, 30 to 40 minutes seems so short a time as i emerge from sitting naturally. I often sit with Priests, great practice, and I sit alone or with a friend with a timer. Still sitting seems so short, and yet I know that those with a family must practice with 15 minutes here and there. At first my sitting was exactly this, 15 minutes, or even 10. So really do not worry about distractions, and with time and practice, timers might drop away and 15 minutes might feel just right. Be patient with yourselves, and keep sitting.

Tai Shi
std
Gassho

[Oukan]

Thank you Jundo,

I watched these last year but I think that after you reorganized them and changed the format a little they are much easier to follow. Time to watch again.

Gassho

Oukan.

[Onkai]

Thank you, Jundo, for this series of talks. I just went through them, I think for the second time, although I didn't remember some of them at all. They are encouraging.

Gassho,
Onkai
SatToday

[RobotUnicorn]

That's really interesting, thank you Jundo and James for a really interesting discussion.

And yes, that's a really good point, Jundo, about not always chasing after feeling peaceful. That's a trap I fall into often, and then a whole slew of judgements against myself rise up when I can't quite see the peace behind the turmoil, either on or off the cushion (or seiza bench, in my case). Ah well, all the more reason to continue practicing!

Gassho,
Georgina

SatToday

[Anka]

Hi Jundo,

Thank you for those fantastic points.

Reality really is an interesting subject because in truth we have no idea if we are experiencing life as it truly is or if our minds warp the true sense data.

All decisions can be seen as both wise/warm and ignorant/cold based off the past experiences and mindset of the person analysing the decision.

Sat Today
James F

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[Jundo]

Hi Georgina,

In my understanding of mirror mind, it's that place inside your zazen when you are just part of life, without thoughts governing you and you just flow with what is. Yes, it's a peace that transcends it all. It's a wholeness that melts you with the universe. It's where you just reflect life without opinions and judgment. It lasts just an instant but we don't get lost in it. It's what is.

And about gassho, it's pretty much like namasté in yoga. It's a greeting, a reverence, a salute, a symbol of union, peace and wish that all boundaries are lost. To me (can't talk for anyone else) is a sacred mudra (hand posture) that reminds me that we are one.

Gassho,

Kyonin
SatToday

What Kyonin said.

Gassho, palms together, two hands coming together as one.

I believe that mirror mind often brings to heart "peace that transcends all understanding" that's "there all along, but somehow it's not so easy to tap into." Yes. I simply remind folks to remember that the "clarity of the mirror" in our Shikantaza way is present seen or unseen, even if the mirror is completely obscured by the dusts of our human excess desires, anger and divided thinking, judgments and runaway emotions.

It is vital that we do not always demand to "feel peaceful" in this Way, and learn to trust in the "Peace and Clarity" that is present both when feeling peaceful and clear --and-- even when feeling upset or confused, as humans sometimes do. It is hard to explain, but it is something like the Sun which shines even when the skies are clear, open and boundless, and even on the cloudiest or stormiest days (still shining seen or not, clouds or no clouds). We learn to trust, and subtly sense, that the sun and clear boundlessness are yet present even when we are feeling obscured by the darkest clouds. We learn not to become lost in the clouds, and perhaps can find the light which illuminates even the clouds. Don't always demand clear skies!

Hi Anka,

The explanation of mirror mind that I have heard and trust from experience is as follows.

When something happens (a noise, a taste, a feeling) our minds have been trained to instantly apply either "I like" or "I dislike". These notions effect how we experience the feelings or thoughts. Mirror mind generated from our practice allows us to experience what our senses are picking up without bias of like or dislike. As a result we see, hear, and feel what is truly there. As a result our judgement is not clouded and we can act according to these stimulants from a base of understanding and compassion.

Sat today

(Is Anka your name? Would you mind to sign a human name to your posts? Helps us keep things human around here. )

Some Buddhist Teachers do say such things, but I do not believe it is quite so simple that "we see, hear, and feel what is truly there. As a result our judgement is not clouded and we can act according to these stimulants from a base of understanding and compassion." First, I believe that the processing of sense data by the human mind is so complicated, and so "reprocessed" to create the world we experience in the mind, that I hesitate to use the phrase "what is truly there." (If you were seeing truly unprocessed sense data, it might appear as completely uninterpreted blotches and unintelligible noise, for example, much like a newborn baby might experience. I don't believe that we are trying to experience that). Let us just say that what we experience is life less burdened and imprisoned by judgments and reactions to what appears in life.

Also, I am not a Buddhist teacher that believes that the result of "mirror mind" necessarily means that we will act with Wisdom and Compassion. Frankly, I believe that a sociopath who acts without empathy for the emotions and humanity of others might also be operating from a kind of cool "mirror mind" free of judgement. Certainly, I do not believe that experiencing the clarity and freedom of "mirror mind" will necessarily mean that our actions from there will always be wise and warm. We have to be sure to nurture Wisdom and Compassion in our Practice, through learning to live in such way, so that such is an aspect of "mirror mind" and all the rest of our Practice. The Precepts help us here.

Gassho, Jundo

SatToday

[Anka]

The explanation of mirror mind that I have heard and trust from experience is as follows.

When something happens (a noise, a taste, a feeling) our minds have been trained to instantly apply either "I like" or "I dislike". These notions effect how we experience the feelings or thoughts. Mirror mind generated from our practice allows us to experience what our senses are picking up without bias of like or dislike. As a result we see, hear, and feel what is truly there. As a result our judgement is not clouded and we can act according to these stimulants from a base of understanding and compassion.

Sat today

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