Organ Mountain Zen



Friday, January 28, 2011

Study

With palms together,


Good Morning Everyone,





Master Dogen taught that to study the Way is to study the self. This study is the act of burning away the construction we call self, allowing the pieces to fall away, and supporting what remains as that which was not born and that which will not die: our true nature. This is the universality of everything, the Great Breath, not one, not two, just this.



How do we “get there”? Simple, we get out of our own way. We realize we are already there, that there is no there, and that the desire to get there, the imagining of a there in the first place, is all part of the delusion.



We practice stillness. This is the practice of just coming and going, the practice of breathing in and breathing out, the practice of practice itself: zanmai o zanmai. The Samadhi that is the king of Samadhi.



Does raw land allow our plants to grow or do we need to till and otherwise care for the field? Do we need to weed and water? Do we need to fertilize? For our crop to be plentiful and strong, we need to do these things. Just so, Zen. We cannot expect to open the self to allow our True Nature to emerge without study. Right understanding requires a plow, hands, fertilizer, water, sun, and a willingness to set about the work itself.



Today at Clear Mind Zen Temple: Contemplative Yoga at 3:00, Zen Group at 4:00, and Zazen at 5:30. Please consider joining us!



Be well.

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