Koan Practice

[Jundo]

Re: Koan Practice

Sawaki Roshi said: "When somebody asks me what zazen is good for, I say that zazen isn’t good for anything at all. And then some say that in that case they’d rather stop doing zazen. But what’s running around satisfying your desires good for? What is gambling good for? And dancing? What is it good for to get worked up over winning or losing in baseball? It’s all good for absolutely nothing! That’s why nothing is as sensible as sitting silently in zazen."

Thank you for presenting so insightfully the lovely contraditions of this No-Way Way!

Also, thank you for presenting the full quote, in context, by Kodo Sawaki. People often just quote the first "Zazen isn't good for anything" line, and miss the whole dance!

useless to whom, e.g. Our ego?

Well spoken.

Gassho, Jundo

[Omoi Otoshi]

Koan Practice

What is the meaning of life?
What is the meaning of Zazen?

We can't expect to understand either before experiencing them ourselves. So we have to experience life before we can start to understand its meaning. And we have to experience Zazen before finding any usefulness in it.

Genjo Koan:
“If a bird or a fish tries to reach the end of its element before moving in it, this bird or this fish will not find its way or its place.”

If we try to find out the meaning of Zazen before just sitting, then we won't find our way. And if we try to find out the meaning of life before living, then we won't find our place in the whole picture.

When we truly live our lives and truly sit Zazen, only then I believe we can truly understand our existance, Buddha nature.

I believe Sawaki Roshi was a very wise man.