Good Morning Everyone,
Lately, I am sleeping later than usual. This is a good thing as I seem to require less nap time in the afternoon as a result. While naps are wonderful, an hour or two is a bit over the top. So, I turned off my alarm a week or two ago and let my body do its own thing. It appears that it wakes me up about an hour later each morning than my alarm would. Time to reset my alarm to accord with my body.
Zazenkai on Saturday went well. Rev. Zento, Rev. Kajo, and I sat at the beginning, although we got a late start my car is still not repaired). Rev. Kajo wasn't able to continue as she had much discomfort (she is undergoing physical therapy for this just now). So, it was Zento and myself the remainder of the day. We sat for seven periods and left after chanting the Heart Sutra and the Shigu Seigan Mon (4 Great Vows). We had no one visit with us and no one took a handout. So we were left to practice pure Zen.
Each and every time I sit outside on the street like that I am reminded of the Buddha doing the same. Buddha and his followers have practiced in this manner for more than two and a half millenia now. It requires nothing special but a cushion and a willingness to be present out in the open. It is this 'out in the open' that provides the difference. There is no cover, no temple walls, no sacred references or symbols other than the vast sky, trees, birds. passersby, or the breeze as it pushes leaves across the sidewalk. There is just the universe as it is with the practitioner awake in it.
Last night as I sat in my Zendo staring at the wall, my experience was fundamentally different. Zendo practice is far more intimate. There is no place to look, but at yourself. Street Zen enables us to see that the Universe and the Self are really not separate, whereas, in Zendo practice, the universe stops at the wall unless we use our imagination. But being present is not imaginary, so we are left with serene reflection of a most intimate sort.
Neither are above the other, but I suggest both are complimentary. We can live our lives under the impression that Zazen is all we need. Wrapped in the cocoon of Zendo intimacy it is easy to insulate ourselves from Buddhahood which is being one with the universe and not just ourselves.
I would ask that each of you who practice to take your practice outside at least once a week. I would enjoy reading about your experience.
May you each be a blessing in the universe.
Rev. Dr. So Daiho Hilbert-roshi
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