Practice

[Tom A.]

In this divisive era of Facebook bickering and anger, I prefer the Zen approach with the onus on “practice” instead of all that bickering and anger, as defined as:

“To learn the teachings, and to engage in actions to embody and master those teachings, including especially the sitting of Zazen, and to put all into practice in life.”

I sit in Zazen, then I get up, take this into the world as a genuine practice and act in a gentle, caring way towards everything and everyone.

There is one insight I have learned from sitting and it is that I have views, opinions, feelings and thoughts, some of them overwhelming sometimes and I want to convey to others that those views, opinions, feelings and thoughts don’t necessarily matter when it comes to practice HERE AND NOW if I’m not gentle, peaceful and caring towards everything and everyone and even then, very few of them matter or are even believed by me or let alone, have a basis in reality, as comedian Marc Moran jokes “all of us at any one time are only really sure about, maybe, five things at most”

Gassho,
Tom
Sat/Lah

[Jundo]

( ... of course, only works until we all start bickering about what "Practice" is! Tee-hee )

Gassho, J

STLah

[Tairin]

Thank you for your insight Tom. I agree with the onus on practice - Sitting Zazen and following the Precepts to the best our abilities - over intellectual noodling and debate.


Tairin
Sat today and lah

[Tom A.]

( ... of course, only works until we all start bickering about what "Practice" is! Tee-hee )

Gassho, J

STLah

How many bodhisattva’s can dance on a the tip of a pin? This is not a Koan, the answer is 108,000 and I will fight anyone that disagrees!

Seriously, I’m now convinced that Buddhism in its many forms (when done right and the right form of right can be endlessly debated) is a religion of action, not passive speculation like so many make it out to be. It took me a looooong time to realize that and took even longer to stop trying to fix what wasn’t broken and instead trust the wholeness and “becoming nagas/serpents, shedding our hardened skins so we can endlessly play in an open field of being“ as Tim Burkett put it on FB this morning.

Gassho,
Tom
Sat/Lah

[Seikan]

Seriously, I’m now convinced that Buddhism in its many forms (when done right and the right form of right can be endlessly debated) is a religion of action, not passive speculation like so many make it out to be.

Agreed. I fell into the latter camp for years when I was younger (80% philosophizing and maybe 20% practice at best), but I have done a 180 turn over the years. Formal study still holds an important place as part of my practice, but my focus is more on "actionable non-action" in daily life (Zazen, following the precepts, creative/artistic practices, etc.)

Gassho,
Rob

-stlah-


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[Tom A.]

One thing almost turned me off of Soto Zen practice and I think it’s important to address: There is an air of “my practice is better than yours” superiority that a beginner notices when she starts to listen to the teacher first talk about Shikantaza practice. I know I did. I thought it was dogma. This is not intended but comes across for some confusing reasons:

Shikantaza takes trust/faith in something that at first seems too simple. "Fake it till you make it" by trusting the world is "One bright pearl" etc... Yeah right, thats too simple.

It doesn’t matter to anyone who practices what, as long as it’s understood that in Soto Zen, Shikantaza contains all of life, including other religious practices but to say other practices can be brought to Shikantaza and somehow improve Shikantaza is to misunderstand what Shikantaza is.

It’s not that Shikantaza is better than other practices and other practices don’t matter, it’s that all things are held within Shikantaza. The same notion that everything is held within practice is probably true of Dzogchen, Advaita Vedanta or Non-Dual awareness. Is shikantaza better? No but its simpler.

The difference is that we trust that Shikantaza is the front gate, and in my personal experience the other goal based methods of seeing through the "self" are needlessly complicated and to me are more or less like banging my head on the outside wall to get in the kitchen, if the kitchen is just sitting with the radical equanimity that trusts all things are wholeness and competeness, beyond concepts, without a need to get anything etc..

Whole and complete, a Buddha, thus it is easy to say no to more greed, anger and ignorance and help out the world a little better, and isn’t that what Buddhism’s all about at the end of the day?

I hope I am right in this, and if I am it may save some people some frustration, sorry for more than three sentences, I think this misunderstanding is important to clear up

Gassho,
Tom
Sat/Lah

[Seikan]

I tend to agree that the Soto way (and even Zen, in general) can be a bit off-putting to newcomers depending on how they are first introduced to it. I felt a bit of that early on, yet there was always something about the radical simplicity/directness of Shikantaza that has pulled me back continuously. Luckily, Treeleaf is one of the most welcoming of all Sanghas that I have ever encountered.

Having studied and practiced in other forms of Buddhism, I do feel that ultimately, they all lead to the same mountain top. Each of us simply needs to take the most suitable path for our temperament/ability.

For example, the practices of counting breaths or "noting" thoughts/sensations as they arise always turned me off as it felt like I was only adding to the mental noise in my head, yet these can be very powerful forms of practice for many, and I respect that. Others may get more from devotional/loving kindness practices. It's no different from how some of us have different dietary needs in order to remain healthy. The challenge is often to find the right "diet" to being with.

Gassho,
Rob

-stlah-
& struggled to use only three sentences above...





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[gaurdianaq]

Seriously, I’m now convinced that Buddhism in its many forms (when done right and the right form of right can be endlessly debated) is a religion of action, not passive speculation like so many make it out to be. It took me a looooong time to realize that and took even longer to stop trying to fix what wasn’t broken and instead trust the wholeness and “becoming nagas/serpents, shedding our hardened skins so we can endlessly play in an open field of being“ as Tim Burkett put it on FB this morning.

Gassho,
Tom
Sat/Lah

I've recently come to a similar conclusion, not even just about Buddhism, but many other religious views/practices. At least when looked at in a certain way, been reading Tim Langdells Christ Way, Buddha Way and I've realized a lot of the teachings of Jesus can be viewed similarly if you don't try to put Jesus on some pedestal that makes him special/unique from every one else.

1. Shikantaza takes a tremendous amount of trust/faith to “fake it till you make it.“

One of the things that helped me with this, was the fact that it didn't feel like Soto Zen was making any grand promises. The more a religion/practice tries to promise me great results if I follow their way, the more I feel skeptical of it.


Evan,
Sat today, lah

[Tom A.]

I tend to agree that the Soto way (and even Zen, in general) can be a bit off-putting to newcomers depending on how they are first introduced to it. I felt a bit of that early on, yet there was always something about the radical simplicity/directness of Shikantaza that has pulled me back continuously. Luckily, Treeleaf is one of the most welcoming of all Sanghas that I have ever encountered.

Having studied and practiced in other forms of Buddhism, I do feel that ultimately, they all lead to the same mountain top. Each of us simply needs to take the most suitable path for our temperament/ability.

For example, the practices of counting breaths or "noting" thoughts/sensations as they arise always turned me off as it felt like I was only adding to the mental noise in my head, yet these can be very powerful forms of practice for many, and I respect that. Others may get more from devotional/loving kindness practices. It's no different from how some of us have different dietary needs in order to remain healthy. The challenge is often to find the right "diet" to being with.

Gassho,
Rob

-stlah-
& struggled to use only three sentences above...




Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

Maybe I'm not saying things right. Yes, we must choose our path and one path isn't better than another. My post was me making sense of what comes across as Soto Zen arrogance, when its nothing like that once Soto Zen Shikantaza is understood. Aspects of Soto Zen Shikantaza can benefit other meditation or spiritual practices, other practices can be praticed along side Soto Zen Shikantaza (despite what Dogen says in Bendowa). Anyone can practice however they want, obviously, but there is a line seperating what Soto Zen Shikantaza Zazen is and isn't, and I am of the mind that once you know what Soto Zen Shikantaza is, then there really is no problem or confusion. To me, Its more like why would someone other than Elf mix sugar with spaghetti once you know spaghetti tastes better without sugar?

Gassho,
Tom
Sat/Lah

[Risho]

anyone who adds sugar to marinara or pizza sauce is violating most of my precepts!!! lol

gassho

rish
-stlah

[Seikan]

...there is a line seperating what Soto Zen Shikantaza Zazen is and isn't, and I am of the mind that once you know what Soto Zen Shikantaza is, then there really is no problem or confusion.

Agreed. Once we have had a proper taste of Shikantaza, most intellectual misunderstandings about it begin to dissolve. How fast they dissolve is another matter altogether.

Gassho,
Rob

-stlah-


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[Jundo]

I think it is fine to have opinions as a Zen practitioner, to engage in some philosophizing, to have ideas to debate ... so long as one holds such opinions and ideas lightly, knows how to express them civilly and without anger or violence ... and also knows how to drop all opinions, philosophizing and debate on the sitting cushion.

I also think that Shikantaza is the best of all practices in the universe, bar none, and the only practice in this universe, bar none ... during the time of sitting, and for those for whom it is the right practice. While I think that many, many people can benefit from the insights of Shikantaza (maybe even most people in some way), I think it is not the right way for all people, and could be wrong for some people who will find their right way a different way.

Gassho, J

STLah

[Washin]

Thank you Tom. Well said

Gassho,
Washin
st-lah

[Tom A.]

I think it is fine to have opinions as a Zen practitioner, to engage in some philosophizing, to have ideas to debate ... so long as one holds such opinions and ideas lightly, knows how to express them civilly and without anger or violence ... and also knows how to drop all opinions, philosophizing and debate on the sitting cushion.

I also think that Shikantaza is the best of all practices in the universe, bar none, and the only practice in this universe, bar none ... during the time of sitting, and for those for whom it is the right practice. While I think that many, many people can benefit from the insights of Shikantaza (maybe even most people in some way), I think it is not the right way for all people, and could be wrong for some people who will find their right way a different way.

Gassho, J

STLah

Ah this greatly clarifies/obviates the point that I was struggling to make in response to squeamishness I had to the perceived arrogance of Shikantaza practitioners. I forget that we can have two opposing views at the same time. This is the final word and I will be quiet now for fear that I will say more than is needed again.

Gassho,
Tom
Sat/Lah

[A.J.]

I think it is fine to have opinions as a Zen practitioner, to engage in some philosophizing, to have ideas to debate ... so long as one holds such opinions and ideas lightly, knows how to express them civilly and without anger or violence ... and also knows how to drop all opinions, philosophizing and debate on the sitting cushion.

I also think that Shikantaza is the best of all practices in the universe, bar none, and the only practice in this universe, bar none ... during the time of sitting, and for those for whom it is the right practice. While I think that many, many people can benefit from the insights of Shikantaza (maybe even most people in some way), I think it is not the right way for all people, and could be wrong for some people who will find their right way a different way.

Gassho, J

STLah

This.

Well, I can go all the way with the first paragraph at least. Regarding the second, is it not possible for Zen people to become Shikantaza thumpers making it into the final word on everything in a way that betrays a lack of sincere inquiry through artificial finality in the same way that some Christians become Bible thumpers resorting to a standard text as the answer for everything rather than doing any free thinking themselves?

I don't know that you're doing this per se, yet this possibility provides one of my hesitations for taking up the kind of only-Shikantaza approach I see in some. In the meanwhile when I sit just-sitting I will do so without making so much of it.

Gassho,

Andrew,

Satlah