Zen Funks

**Jundo** · 02-24-2020, 11:52 PM

Ah, where honeymoon becomes marriage.

In funk out funk, chore no chore, sit for a time ... at the center beyond funk no funk, chore no chore.

Life is up and life is down, Zen is up and Zen is down. There is a still still center at the heart of every up and down.

Others will have some practical advice too, but don't expect a love affair each day.

The revolution never comes, the revolution is right here!

Gassho, J

STLah

**Jundo** · 02-25-2020, 12:08 AM

PS - You know what is really really boring sometimes? Monastic life. Talk about same old same old!

The big excitement is that there are different ceremonies on certain days, but even those are basically kind of the same. I just posted the schedule at a Soto-shu monastery for a friend, and you can get a taste ...

— May 1 —
Section 1: Closing Overnight Quarters
Section 2: Compiling Register of Monastic Seniority

— May 2 —
Section 1: Procedure for Appointing Head Seat
Preparations
Rector’s Announcing Mallet
Stewards’ Courtesy Words to Head Seat
Head Seat’s Courtesy Words to Abbot
Head Seat Goes to Place
Rector Makes Announcement
Diagram of Monastery-Entering Ceremony of Appointing Head Seat
Writing Various Diagrams for Arranging Places

Talk about a snooze fest! I can imagine the monk's afterwards kibitzing, "Oh don't you think the "Rector's Announcing Mallet" was particularly brash this year!?"

It is a kind of sensory deprivation tank, in which one tosses oneself into the daily dance.

I once helped a Zen group at a maximum security prison in Florida. I told the inmates in the Zazen group that prison life is actually a lot like monastery life (without the violence and drugs and all that, of course). The walls, rules, routine are the same, so Zen allows one to be free by knocking down the walls found between one's ears.

So, Zen is sometimes boring. REALLY boring. Bro. Brad had an excellent essay about that once ...

If you really take a look at your ordinary boring life, you'll discover something truly wonderful. Our regular old pointless lives are incredibly joyful -- amazingly, astoundingly, relentlessly, mercilessly joyful.

You don't need to do a damned thing to experience such joy either. People think they need big experiences, interesting experiences. And it's true that gigantic, traumatic experiences sometimes bring people, for a fleeting moment, into a kind of enlightened state. That's why such experiences are so desired.

But it wears off fast and you're right back out there looking for the next thrill. You don't need to take drugs, blow up buildings, win the Indy 500 or walk on the moon.

You don't need to go hang-gliding over the Himalayas, you don't need to screw your luscious and oh-so-willing secretary or party all night with the beautiful people.

You don't need visions of merging with the totality of the Universe.

Just be what you are, where you are. Clean the toilet. Walk the dog. Do your work. That's the most magical thing there is.

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http://www.mindpowernews.com/BoringZen.htm

Gassho, J

STLah

**Shinshi** · 02-25-2020, 12:09 AM

For me sitting is a lot like running. There are days when the run is just effortless. Like you are flying over the ground and you could run forever. An unstoppable machine.

And there are days when it complete drudgery. Where you just don't want to leave the house. I had a day like that yesterday.

There are days where you feet won't move and it is just so much work. Everything hurts and you just can't get going.

And all kinds of days in between.

In the end, you just lace up your shoes and head out the door. The run will be what it needs to be in the moment. But you got to keep running.

Gassho, Shinshi

SaT-LaH

**Jundo** · 02-25-2020, 12:15 AM

Brad's Essay is so good, I will repost here ...

============

Zen is Boring
By Brad Warner

Let's face it. Zen is boring. You couldn't find a duller, more tedious practice than Zazen. The philosophy is dry and unexciting. It's amazing to me anyone reads this page at all. Don't you people know you could be playing Tetris, right now? That there are a million free porno sites out there? Get a life, why don't you?!

Joshu Sasaki, a Zen teacher from the Rinzai Sect, once said that Buddhist teachers always try to make students long for the Buddha World, but that if the students knew how really dry and tasteless the Buddha World actually was, they'd never want to go.

He's right. Look at Zen teachers. Not a one of them has any sense of fashion. They sit around staring at blank walls. Ask them about levitation, they won't tell you. Ask them about life after death, they change the subject. Ask them about miracles and they start spouting nonsense about carrying buckets of water and chopping up fire wood. They go to bed early and wake up early. Zen is a philosophy for nerds.

Boredom is important. Most of your life is dull, tasteless and boring. If you practice Zazen, you learn a lot about boredom. I remember the first time I sat Zazen, I was real excited. I figured I'd be seeing visions of four armed Krishnas descending from the Heavens, or I'd be fading into The Void just like the old Beatles song, or reach Nirvana (whatever that was) or some great wonderful thing.

But the clock just ticked away, my legs started aching, and stupid thoughts kept drifting by. Maybe I wasn't doing it right, I thought. But no, year after year it was the same. Boring, boring, boring. After almost 20 years it's still boring as Hell.

People hate their ordinary lives. We want something better. This, our day to day life of drudgery and work, is boring, dull and ordinary, we think. But someday, someday...

There's an episode of The Monkees where Mike Nesmith says that when he was in high school he used to walk out on the school's empty stage with a guitar in his hands thinking "Someday, someday." Then he said that now (now being 1967, at the height of the Monkees fame) he walks out on stage in front of thousands of fans and thinks "Someday, someday."

That's the way life is. It's never going to be perfect. Whatever "someday" you imagine, it will ever come. Never. No matter what it is. No matter how well you build your fantasy or how carefully you follow all the steps necessary to achieve it. Even if it comes true exactly the way you planned, you'll end up just like Mike Nesmith. Someday, someday... I guarantee you.

Your life will change. That's for sure. But it won't get any better and it won't get any worse. How can you compare now to the past? What do you know about the past? You don't have a clue! You have no idea at all what yesterday was really like, let alone last week or ten years ago. The future? Forget about it...

People long for big thrills. Peak experiences. Some people come to Zen expecting that Enlightenment will be the Ultimate Peak Experience. The Mother of All Peak Experiences. But real enlightenment is the most ordinary of the ordinary.

Once I had an amazing vision. I saw myself transported through time and space. Millions, no, billions, trillions, Godzillions of years passed. Not figuratively, but literally. Whizzed by. I found myself at the very rim of time and space, a vast giant being composed of the living minds and bodies of every thing that ever was. It was an incredibly moving experience. Exhilarating. I was high for weeks. Finally I told Nishijima Sensei about it. He said it was nonsense. Just my imagination. I can't tell you how that made me feel. Imagination? This was as real an experience as any I've ever had. I just about cried. Later on that day I was eating a tangerine. I noticed how incredibly lovely a thing it was. So delicate. So amazingly orange. So very tasty. So I told Nishijima about that. That experience, he said, was enlightenment.

You need a teacher like that. The world needs lots more teachers like that. Countless teachers would have interpreted my experience as a merging of my Atman with God, as a portent of great and wonderful things, would have praised my spiritual growth and given me pointers on how to go even further. And I would have been suckered right in to that, let me tell you! Woulda fallen for it hook line and sinker, boy howdy. If a teacher doesn't shatter your illusions he's doing you no favors at all.

Boredom is what you need. Merging with the Mind of God at the Edge of the Universe, that's excitement. That's what we're all into this Zen thing for, right? Eating tangerines? Come on, dude! What could be more boring than eating a tangerine?

Some years ago some psychologists did a study in which they sat some Buddhists monks and some regular folks in a room and wired them up to EEG machines to record their brain activity. They told everyone to relax, then introduced a repetitive stimulus, a loudly ticking clock, into the room. The normal folks' EEG showed that their brains stopped reacting the stimulus after a few seconds. But the Buddhists just kept on mentally registering the tick every time it happened. Psychologists and journalists never quite know how to interpret that finding, though it's often cited. It's a simple matter. Buddhists pay attention to their lives. Ordinary folks figure they have better things to think about.

If you really take a look at your ordinary boring life, you'll discover something truly wonderful. Our regular old pointless lives are incredibly joyful -- amazingly, astoundingly, relentlessly, mercilessly joyful.

You don't need to do a damned thing to experience such joy either. People think they need big experiences, interesting experiences. And it's true that gigantic, traumatic experiences sometimes bring people, for a fleeting moment, into a kind of enlightened state. That's why such experiences are so desired.

But it wears off fast and you're right back out there looking for the next thrill. You don't need to take drugs, blow up buildings, win the Indy 500 or walk on the moon.

You don't need to go hang-gliding over the Himalayas, you don't need to screw your luscious and oh-so-willing secretary or party all night with the beautiful people.

You don't need visions of merging with the totality of the Universe.

Just be what you are, where you are. Clean the toilet. Walk the dog. Do your work. That's the most magical thing there is.

If you really want to merge with God, that's the way to do it. This moment. You sitting there with your hand in your underwear and potato chip crumbs on your chin, scrolling down your computer screen thinking "This guy's out of his mind."

This very moment is Enlightenment. This moment has never come before and once it's gone, it's gone forever. You are this moment. This moment is you. This very moment is you merging with the total Universe, with God Himself.

The life you're living right now has joys even God will never know.

**Tairin** · 02-25-2020, 01:32 AM

Great article by Brad. Thanks for posting it.

To be honest, and to answer Onka’s question. If I hadn’t been practicing for some time I’d be completely turned off by Warner’s article or think it was completely futzed up. But I’ve sat diligently without missing more than a small handful of days for the past 4+ years through the exhilaration and the boredom of this practice. I get it. When my motivation is low then I sit with low motivation but I sit. I learn a lot about myself when I do.

Onka, hopefully your funk doesn’t last long but while it’s here sit with it and learn from it.

Tairin
Sat today and lah

**Onka** · 02-25-2020, 02:03 AM

Thanks Jundo, Shinshi and Tairin
I'll have a good read of BW's later but you're right Jundo, the honeymoon is now a marriage. I'm committed but need to keep working on it and not take it for granted.
Shinshi, the running analogy resonates strongly. I'm not sure why I hadn't connected to that before. Doh!
Until I was about 30 and I could no longer ignore my spinal disabilities I would swim 2km every morning of the year and run 5km every night as well as do boxing and various martial arts (ignoring medical advice re: running and fighting).
You're right, sometimes it took effort just to get out of bed in winter to swim, effort to run in cold rain, and train when injured.
Zen isn't any different.
Gassho
Onka
Sat today/lent a hand

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**Jundo** · 02-25-2020, 01:58 PM

Originally posted by Tairin

To be honest, and to answer Onka’s question. If I hadn’t been practicing for some time I’d be completely turned off by Warner’s article or think it was completely futzed up.

Hi Tairin,

You comment is really interesting to me. l wonder if you might elaborate on what you mean and why you think so. lt is really interesting.

Gassho, Jundo

STLah

**Ippo** · 02-25-2020, 03:46 PM

Hey Onka,

For me it has waxed and waned over the years. I don't see them as 'peaks' or 'troughs' any more. Just like sitting is just sitting, our practice is just our practice.

Let go of any judgement, re-engage, sit again, then you will find your groove again. I think leaving the judgment behind on your practice is also a manifestation of Zazen in real life....

HOWEVER as I have learned when I was sick (very physically disabled) and now when I am lifting weights and developing better habits, the most important time to do something Is exactly when we don't want to do it! This in the context of Zazen practice. This builds a habit and ingrained affinity to any practice that runs deep inside our bones.

So, let go out 'how it was' embrace 'how it is' and who cares 'what it becomes'. Sitting is all you need (or lying). Use your ego to your advantage here to prompt yourself

.

I sit now mostly with no expectation and as it is. It's just what I do....... of course not always 100% of the time... but it's okay.

Also, Jundo and Brad Warner have mentioned this a lot as you know and they articulate with a kind of wisdom only Zen Masters can. Check this out Onka and anyone else struggling.

I hope this helps! Any questions, let me know

Nice words Tairin + Shinshi + Jundo

Gassho,

Ippo

Sat/Lah

P.S. Tairin, I am also interested in your thoughts

.

**Shoki** · 02-25-2020, 03:47 PM

Onka,
Whoa, you sound like me right now. The rush of Jukai, Ango, Rohatsu, rakusu has kind of worn off into dull state of zazen. I sit every day and I'm not really bored so much as restless and distracted. Feeling I have things to do with my day rather than this. I've had spinal pain and daily headaches and other aches and pains lately that are not fun. I've slacked off on other activities like reading and Heart Sutra before sitting. Its mid winter here and everything is cold, grey, dull and asleep. Just like my practice. I get the feeling that, starting tomorrow I'm going to turn this around. (Instead of right here and now).

And that thing Brad Warner said about the ticking clock. My creaky of house is full of bumps, clicks, bangs and other assorted noises designed to distract me. Best of all is the constant rhythmic clicking of the floor boards in the exact spot where I sit. Why does this house hate me? But that's another topic.

On the bright side, in my experience, this, like everything else this is temporary.

Gassho
STlah
James

**Kyotai** · 02-25-2020, 06:32 PM

I practice martial arts. Kickboxing starting 4 years ago and more recently Brazilian jiu-jitsu going on 1 year. It was so much fun at first, but I gotta admit.. getting myself to the dojo after a long day is hard when you could just relax, watch netflix and not get my butt kicked by much better practitioners..and you know what, sometimes I just stay home and do just that.

Sitting every day is essential and required when possible, even for 5 minutes..but dont judge too harshly. We come and we go in our hobbies and practices.

Gassho Kyotai
Lah but did not yet sit

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**Onka** · 02-26-2020, 12:17 AM

Thanks for the further replies.
I really appreciate everyone sharing their experiences and suggestions.
I read comrade BW's essay and in all honesty it was possibly the best advertisement for Zen that there's ever been. It was one of Brad's excellent books that actually got me off my arse and onto my arse haha. What I mean is that the book I read pretty much paraphrased his essay and it was this that stopped me finding excuses and dipping a toe in here and there, and actually got me actually doing daily Zazen. And my experience to date has been exactly as described in the brochure which is exactly what I wanted - to learn to sit WITH life not try to escape it.
Further thoughts are welcome as we all learn from each other.
Gassho
Onka
stlah

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**Meian** · 02-26-2020, 01:26 AM

I used to get into that state sometimes, until I realized -- I am someone who has to change things up a bit periodically. As much as I thrive on routines and schedules -- I even turn change into a routine.

I tend to do things in a similar way most of the time, while still changing them up. I'll sit shikantaza, but then after a while I'll be silently cleaning instead (having to move). Or I need to go on my bike instead. Or I do longer or shorter zazen, or practice verses. I still do moments of shikantaza throughout the day (that's my nature), but I have come to realize that change is what I do. But always within boundaries. It's taken me a long time to realize that I do have boundaries, and it's because of the Precepts that I realized that I have boundaries and am able to remain within them -- willingly and because I promised that I would (Jukai!).

If I do one thing only, I get stagnant. I need to wander around and explore, and stop periodically and sit for a while. As everyone has said, and advises here often, it's all part of practice, and occasional change is part of life as well.

Shoki: "Why does this house hate me?" I guarantee you, my house hates me much more than your house hates you, it was built in 1947 and things like to break and crash when no one is anywhere near them!

Onka, Thank you for sharing your practice with us.

Deep Bows

meian
st lh

**TyZa** · 02-26-2020, 02:04 AM

Hi Onka,

What you are going through now sounds a lot like what I've been through. When I get interested or involved in something new, I typically immerse myself in the new thing until it burns me out. This happened recently when for over a year I became interested in powerlifting. I would spend 2-3 hours 6 days a week at the gym after work, track nutrition, study bio-mechanical leverages, watch videos on techniques, eating constantly, etc. I was burnt out early on but continued until I completed my competition (I did get 2nd place at least). After that, it was not something I could continue without making myself miserable and others around me miserable from my own self inflicted misery.

I joined Treeleaf in 2016, when I was struggling financially after I was laid off from work. I completely threw myself into Zen practice: sat every Zazenkai, koan study, reading any zen book I could get my hands on, sitting everyday, watching Treeleaf videos, trying to be mindful constantly, etc. Eventually, I burned myself out again and by the time I got a new job and my fiancee and I had to move to another city, my practice smoldered away.

I came back last year and determined not to get burned out. I want this practice to be something I work on for the rest of my life. What I've found works for me is (and if Jundo wants to hit me with the proverbial slipper for a bad example, please do so): I know the very minimum I need to do is sit zazen everyday (if possible), strive to be as compassionate as I can in a given moment, and be more mindful of my thoughts, words, and actions and their effects throughout the day. If I'm having a bad day, it's much easier to keep at it if I know I just need to do those three things. On days I feel more available, I'll read Sutra commentaries, Zen books, Zen podcasts when driving to and from work, sit Zazenkai, metta practice, looking for retreats in my area, etc. I don't know if that's the best thing to do, but I've found at least for me, this helps create a sustainable practice. Maybe with time, I can add more to my daily minimum. But for now, I adjust my practice with the ebb and flow of the tide. Throw in some other hobbies and interests, just approach them with compassion and mindfulness.

Again, this approach might not be optimal. I haven't even taken the Precepts yet (but I hope to get permission to do so here the next time around). You and I both seem to get really passionate about things (I'm currently vegan as well

), so I think it's important for people like us to avoid that burn out from our own passion. I hope this was at least slightly helpful comrade.

Gassho,
Tyler

ST/LAH

**Jundo** · 02-26-2020, 03:14 AM

One thing is that we Zen folks are kinda weird in that we believe in seeing all of life ...

... even the most mundane (taking out the trash, scratching our nose) and ups and downs of life as, each and all, sacred ... each a shining jewel of on the universe's net ... in its way. You and me are such jewels too, together with the majestic mountains, stars in the sky, rusty tin cans, toothaches, and the dog poop on our shoe (the snakes that Onka catches no less).

We don't particularly need angels with harps, fireworks and Buddhas in the Sky with Diamonds in order to witness and be this. Buddha is most ordinary ... but ... the most ordinary is Buddha, a bloody miracle, amazing life.

So, we are kinda wise-crazy this way, which is one reason that "boring" is simply a Bored Buddha for us.

Gassho, J

STLah

PS - It don't have to look like this all the time (maybe once in awhile

Right Kyonin?

) ... the rather cheesy special effects scene of Dogen's enlightenment from the movie ... but then, we are just kids sitting on the porch.

https://youtu.be/yNpUcb8iYeo

Zen Funks

Zen Funks

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