The Way of Everyday Life

_{The effortless nature of being requires effort on our part.}

_{It’s been a while since I’ve written to you. I have spent a couple of months away from group practice. It has been a time of reflection and rediscovery. Delving deeply into the roots of Zen practice there was something I knew before, something I’ve rediscovered, a freshness in zazen; beginner’s mind.}

There is a way.  It’s not accidental and it doesn’t just happen to you. Zen is a practice. It requires discipline, determination, a long-view and usually has incremental progress. Zen practice has an ancient methodology that brings a result when followed. Along the way there are moments of great realization, but they rarely occur on their own without the foundation of practice and these realizations must be cultivated and cared for.

Indeed, Zen is a practice, it is a path and it requires our engaged attention and active participation. To clarify “The Great Matter” requires great effort before apparent ease.

In Zen practice we begin to understand that we possess a wisdom; it’s an intuitive, direct experience of our life. Our founding teacher Taizan Maezumi called this “things as it is” and this view requires our cultivation. It lies beyond the usual distortions of discursive thinking. It is not some-thing to be searched for and attained but rather it is uncovered by stripping away, and then realized as always present.

With sincere practice and humility we begin to experience the clarity of seeing beyond the delusion of a separate self and experiencing our lives as interdependent; a dynamic potential in which everything is in a constant state of flux and transformation. It is a direct experience. This is the fundamental reality we point toward in Zen practice. Simply stated, it is the wisdom that the enlightened and the unenlightened, the ordinary and the extraordinary are one.

What I am referring to is recognition of the prajna of thusness; Prajna-‘the wisdom of things as they burgeon forth of themselves‘, and Thus-ness-‘the state of being as it is‘. This reality cannot be grasped through words or writings, only pointed at. It is a deeply personal satori, we see the clarity of the here and now in our daily lives when it is not mired in our notions or delusions, attachments or aversions.

Wu-wei is a living action. Effortlessness aligned with the natural flow. It is living without unnecessary effort in the recognition that everything, all dharmas, brings themselves forth always in balance. It is our personal responsibility to actualize this, to internalize it and to live this enlightenment in our daily lives. It requires dedication to the way and laying a solid foundation through zazen.

Practicing zazen we do not entertain mundane delusions and thoughts. In zazen we realize no separation, we take repose in naturalness of mind and we remain vigilant in our awareness. With dedication and practice we become stable in equanimity and as a result zazen/just sitting occurs. “Mind and body drop away” as Dogen states. The dissolution of self. As such, we cease to approach the dharmas (stop seeking/grasping) and are approached by them (awareness) and we awaken to the true nature of ourselves and the world. This cannot be given. It is solely through one’s own practice/realization that we shed our dualistic delusions and begin to experience the reality of the here and now as living zen. It’s not sticky, we need to continue practicing.

Zazen creates and supports our ability to live with compassion and wisdom. The hallmarks of this become apparent in our daily thoughts, words and actions. To actualize this truth we must practice with great determination. We must inquire deeply into the dharma and engage with the mind of great doubt, this way our habitual thinking and behaviors are revealed and then consciously, actively we can change them. We grow with joyful mind, which blossoms with care, compassion, understanding and the wisdom of the ten thousand things.

What results are moments of effortless being.

Zen is not something we do. Zen is not in addition to our lives.

It is the way of everyday life.

Practice well!

Deep Peace and Great Love, Issan

Schedule 8/18-24

Wednesday: Zazen and Dokusan at the Teahouse with Issan

Noah’s Poem

rain pitter-patters upon waking

today I will see family

ambivalence 

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cousin shrieks fill rental house

talking stick and coin toss

we are all learning discernment

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mind filled with practices

where do I place attention now

or now or now