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Embracing Interconnectedness Through Zazen

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This talk explores the practice of Zazen and its role in realizing interconnectedness and the uniqueness of each moment. It emphasizes not discriminating between experiences and bringing equal attention to them as they arise, following teachings from Zen ancestors like Hung Chi and Dogen. Through mindfulness and meditation, practitioners are encouraged to cultivate a "field of realization" that perceives the world as interconnected rather than separate.

  • Hung Chi's Teaching: Referenced for the idea of "standing alone and unchanging" and not disdaining phenomena; emphasizes direct engagement with the present moment and phenomena without judgment or abstraction.

  • Walt Whitman's Poetry: Cited to illustrate Western counterparts to Buddhist thought, promoting the view that appearances are not mere echoes but reality itself, resonating with the concept of embracing all phenomena.

  • Dogen's Statement: Discussed in regard to realizing the interdependence of birth and death, proposing that the "true human body" is the constant flux of existence—echoing the notion of the interconnectedness of all experiences and life events.

  • Zazen Instructions: Highlighted as essential for introducing one's body to the "Buddha body," focusing on developing attention through awareness of breath, thereby nurturing a non-discriminating mind.

  • Buddhism's Core Ideas: The ideas of impermanence and interdependence are emphasized as foundational to eliminating suffering by shifting towards a "wisdom view" that acknowledges the uniqueness and interconnected nature of every moment.

  • Zen Koan: "Does a dog have a Buddha nature?" is mentioned in relation to questioning the essence of existence and interconnectedness, inviting practitioners to engage deeply with these inquiries through the practice.

AI Suggested Title: Embracing Interconnectedness Through Zazen

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Yeah, this is a real test of this room. I think we'll have to consider this an experiment. Maybe we should limit the number of people next time more. So if by Sunday there's lots of complaints, we'll know what to do. We limit Sashins now to 44 people, isn't that right? So we'll have to decide what we do for a seminar like this. Unless we can expand the room or something. But one reason we did this is because we're this weekend celebrating having completed the payment, the purchase of this Johanneshof.

[01:10]

And I saw it being carted into the building today. I think we have enough so each person gets a sewing thimble. And also tomorrow afternoon, late in the afternoon, We'll do an opening eye ceremony for our new early Edo period Buddha. And it's an ancient and typical Buddhist ceremony.

[02:14]

So I think in doing it, and I'll discuss it a little bit, we can... learn something about why Buddhism has ceremonies and what they are. Now, are you able in both ends to hear Neil? You don't have to hear me. Amen. Now, I have to ask always when there's some new people, does anyone here have no or little experience at Zazen?

[03:21]

Okay, three, four. Oh, you were here all week. Three or four, yeah. Okay, okay. Well, the basic instruction is sit down and don't do anything. But it's pretty hard not to do anything. So you just sit. Tomorrow morning we'll sit. in this room. So just try to sit still and be good. And generally you lift up through your spine. And relaxed feeling through your body.

[04:24]

And the lifting feeling continuing up through the back of your neck and then this relaxed feeling. And if you can cross your legs, that's good. If you can't, it's too uncomfortable, you can sit with your feet back on a pillow. And if you can't do either of those, we can bring a chair in. No hammocks, though. That would be good, though. 90 hammocks. Somebody at one end could push, and then they... Could be a new practice in Western Zen.

[05:37]

Yeah. So I'd like to start with Some of what we began in the practice week that preceded these three days will be together. First let me say that tomorrow after the ceremony, By popular request we're planning a small party in the evening. And on Sunday we'll have a small around before noon or something, I guess, we'll have a small meeting with people who want to just to talk about what we're doing.

[07:02]

So let me start again with continuing from this practice week we just finished. A story I've told several times is this Suki Roshi talking to a group of kindergarten children. And this little four-year-old girl about saw Suzuki Roshi sitting in this pretzel-like fashion. And she said, I can do it, I can do it.

[08:11]

So Sukeroshi didn't have a translator, so he invited this little girl to sit beside him. And she folded her legs quite well. And then she said, now what, now what? And that pretty much sums up our practice. To have a mind that asks, what is it? Mm-hmm. Hung Chi, quite a good teacher in our Dung Shan lineage, said, standing alone and unchanging. This is quite interesting. Standing alone and unchanging. Acting

[09:12]

Thoroughly and exhaustively. Inexhaustibly. Thoroughly and inexhaustibly. Do not disdain the phenomena filling your eyes. Disdain, excuse me? Disdain is don't overlook or neglect or criticize. Do not disdain, not take seriously it means. Do not... Do not disdain the phenomena filling your eyes. If you understand in this way, you roll up the blinds and open the screens.

[10:43]

If you do not understand in this way, you close the doors and create a barrier. So he's describing the mind of what is it. Where do you start? You have to start somewhere. Again, Walt Whitman, an American poet, said, I am the poet of reality. The world before you is not an echo. Die Welt unmittelbar vor euch ist kein Echo. Wir menschliche Wesen sind keine Erscheinungen. Things as they appear are real.

[11:52]

Whatever appears is real. So I mention Walt Whitman partly because I like him. And because he's part of a Western lineage which includes European philosophers and poets as well. who anticipate much of what Buddhism is doing. So, Aung Ji says, do not disdain the phenomena filling your eyes. And so Aung Ji says, do not disdain the phenomena filling your eyes. That means no abstractions.

[12:58]

It means don't think about it. Oh, this is important, that's not important. So what I've been emphasizing this last week is to bring your energy equally to each thing. Sukhirashi said, Buddha's activity is just to be one with what appears. So you can ask what is real and so forth. But this question, this practice of what is it, But this question and this practice of what it is, is first of all cutting through your preferences. No, you know, it's... This is the easy way to cut through your preferences.

[14:04]

This isn't about rejecting what you like and don't like. But just try as often as you can. To bring your attention equally to each thing that appears. Now I'll try to give you a sense of how important this practice is. The important thing is just to practice it. But I think if we have some understanding of what this practice is about, But I think if we have an understanding of what this practice is about, namely what is behind it, then we can practice it with more thoroughness and more comprehensively. Standing alone and unchanging.

[15:20]

What does he mean by alone? What way is each of you alone just now? How are we all alone? alone here even though together. Even though connected. So as soon as you ask Well, what's real? Which thing that appears shall I pay attention to? Now you're already thinking. You already have preferences. Again, to come back to this simple practice which sounds real, radical in its simplicity.

[16:29]

The third Zen ancestor, the grand son of the sixth patriarch of Bodhidharma, and the thirtieth from Buddha, he starts out his famous piece. The great way is not difficult. Der große Weg ist nicht schwierig. And as I say, this is I'm sure a relief to hear that. But he says then, only don't pick and choose.

[17:32]

How do you not pick and choose? What does he mean? It's not difficult if we don't pick and choose. All these teachings are a way of saying... Just have a mind that's ready for what appears. And just to be one with what appears. To be ready for what appears is what is it? What is it? What is it? So this is a, you know, you have to just find out your own sense of craft or... Just now, just now.

[18:39]

Not tomorrow, not next week. Do not disdain the phenomena filling your eyes, ears, body. Our topic for this weekend is the field of realization. Now, if you're not going to pick and choose, if you're not going to discriminate, if you're going to practice having a mind that doesn't discriminate, you're just going to have to really just whatever's there before choice occurs. So now, perhaps it's my voice.

[19:49]

Okay, bring your energy to that. Perhaps you're actually thinking and you're not listening to me at all. So you didn't hear what I just said. So now you can't follow my instruction. Which is to give energy just now to what you're thinking. But since you're thinking you didn't hear that, In case you're listening now, I'll repeat it again. Just bring, even if what you're doing is thinking, just bring your energy to your thinking. Perhaps if... her legs are hurting so she brings her energy to her legs and if she decides to move okay perfectly fine she brings her energy to her moving that's not discriminating if you think oh I shouldn't be moving

[20:58]

The great way is very difficult. So you really have to really practice just what appears. That's what a Buddha does. That's the activity of a Buddha. Just what appears. And to open these to roll up these blinds and open these screens. Where the gate is, what is it? I'm sorry Buddhism is so simple. I don't know what will I talk about the rest of the week. So I would like you to practice with what is it. And just bringing your attention equally to whatever appears. Mm-hmm.

[22:17]

Now I will divide practice up into, maybe for this weekend, three parts. Again, starting from our practice week, I described zazen, meditation, as the way we meet the Buddha body. In fact, when you sit sasen, you're introducing your body to Buddha's body. To the wide world. feel of Buddha's body. This is a fact. Now, maybe I can make it clearer tomorrow.

[23:45]

So we can call, as I've said, Johannes Hof, a Buddha body learning center. Now you may feel when you sit, particularly if you're a beginner, that you're just meeting your thinking and usual self. But it's something different. You'll find it's a little different. I say it's like chicken soup instead of beef stew. Yeah, we could call ordinary mind beef stew. Yeah. Soup. Beef stock.

[24:49]

Well, I don't care. Tonight it'll be beef stock. Rinderkraftbrühe. And Zazen mind is chicken stock. And it's a different, if you cook your life in chicken stock, it's different than if you cook your life in beef stock. So you'll find out that Zazen is not waking mind, not sleeping mind. Not dreaming mind. It's a little different kind of mind. And it becomes more and more different and different quality as you learn to sit. And the contents of mind, the contents of consciousness, are cooked differently in the chicken stock of Zazen.

[26:04]

So you are, it's, however I describe it, we can say you're introducing your body to Buddha's mind or Buddha's body. So I'll speak a little more about the practice of seated Buddha. Yeah, when you lie down, this is the posture of your sleeping body, your sleeping mind. And when we are sitting zazen, this is the posture of Buddha's mind. And believe it or not, a small change in your posture, repeated, makes a difference. So we could say again, just as your body changes,

[27:07]

needs to sleep. Your Buddha body needs meditation. And your Buddha body is nourished by meditation. Particularly the meditation rooted in transiency. rooted in knowing deeply that everything's changing. And knowing deeply that everything's changing, is also the question, what is it? So the second aspect I want to speak about this weekend.

[28:19]

Not probably very much, but at least to give you a picture of what we're doing here. And how you might develop a practice you can continue when... when you leave here, is the practice of bringing your attention to your breathing. Which means you can do it quite a lot. I presume you'll be breathing the rest of your life. So you have lots of opportunity. All you have to do is bring your attention to your breathing. And what you're doing when you do that, this simple practice, You're developing your attention.

[29:28]

You're exercising the muscle of attention. And it is a kind of muscle. And it gets denser and moves into things. It becomes more viscous, like a liquid. And actually, enlightenment experiences happen to us all the time. Our attention simply isn't dense enough to notice them. So you're exercising the muscle of attention. You're bringing attention to your breathing. Which is actually physicalizing your mind. And again, because some of you are new, I'm coming back to basics.

[30:34]

A given of yogic thinking, practice, teaching, is all mental phenomena has a physical component, and all sentient physical phenomena has a mental component. So every state of mind you have has a physical dimension. You're alive, mind and body. They are not in some Descartian sense separate substances independent of each other. They do not exist independent of each other. Buddhist Buddhism is based on the assumption that they don't exist independent of each other.

[31:40]

I am the poet of reality. The world is not an echo. We human beings are not apparitions, ghosts. So when your attention is more physicalized, you can begin to notice the physical dimension of states of mind. So the simple practice of bringing attention mental attitude an intention to bring attention to your breath is mixing breath and mind And physicalizing the mind.

[32:55]

And what can I say? Mentalizing the body. Mind and body are related through our cultivating the relationship. Okay. And bringing your attention to your breath reverses the direction of mind. Usually our mind is constantly going outward to things. To comparisons, to thinking. The practice of bringing your attention to your breath. Exercising this muscle of attention.

[33:58]

It's also Learning to turn the mind inward. And if you keep, this is real simple, common sense stuff. Common sense, I know what it is. Okay, I understand. Thank you. bringing the attention inward, developing the habit of the mind turning inward, you actually are developing the capacity of interiority.

[35:00]

Which is also what opens into the wide mind of Buddha. Okay, so that's the second part. Okay, and the third part is what I've said already. Which sums up or is a way to practice the first two. Yeah. underlying and focusing the first two, is to bring your attention equally to whatever appears. As knowing, as thinking, as hearing, seeing, whatever it is. If you forget to do it, it's okay.

[36:02]

But when you remember, just do it. A few minutes a day. When you go to bed. When you're in Zazen. Just make it a kind of rule. If you want to be the poet of reality. Of how things actually exist. What is it? Bring your attention to whatever appears. Without picking and choosing. Now our translator's life partner and friend. Is that a good way to describe it? Absolutely accurate.

[37:26]

Sent me a postcard. And I guess it's a comment on this field of realization. And it's a photograph of twelve geese looking in ten directions. And they all are quite, you know, like that, yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah. And she wrote on the back, a charming field of attention. So I always have to pay attention to the translator's partner's instructions. So we're a kind of charming field of attention.

[38:35]

And there is, I believe, a charm a magical charm in our practicing together. That our practices develops more quickly and powerfully and more carries, is more likely to carry as it has for now twenty five hundred years, from generation to generation, if we develop a sangha body, a feeling of some kind of shared subtle body we have, And a shared but not common mind.

[39:50]

We don't all have the same mind. We all have our creativity and differences. But at underlying... Underneath consciousness, there's also a feeling of knowing each other, knowing the world together. And as you develop this practice of what is it, just what appears becomes more and more subtle. And we begin to know our deep connectedness with each other and the world. So our field of realization is also the charming field of attention.

[41:04]

Okay. You're leaving just when I'm stopping. So if you want to wait a minute, we'll say goodbye together. You can stay right there. Okay. Thank you very much for being here this evening. I look forward to seeing you at Zazen tomorrow and for our first meeting in the morning. And thank you for translating. Everybody has a bed?

[42:26]

What can be useful to your practice and understanding of Zen? And I can also speak to... those of you who are more experienced as well as those of you who are quite new. A couple of people told me I was rather dense last night. Didn't seem dense to me, but I just kept saying, Ask the question, what is it? But this question has not much weight for us if it's just a question, you know, is this a bell or a microphone.

[43:42]

The what has to penetrate beyond names. The most a well-known koan in Zen practice, is, does a dog have a Buddha nature? And the answer is variously yes, no, and emptiness. So say you practice with yes. You're not just... It's not just when you happen to run into a dog, you say, oh...

[44:47]

Does this dog have a Buddha nature? But rather, you're asking yourself, what is Buddha nature? Is it something dogs have, or is it something, what is it at all? Now you know if you look at your life carefully, it's wider than what you think. And we don't know exactly what our life is. So this question is also, what is it to be alive? What is aliveness? What is aliveness in general? And what is aliveness at this moment?

[46:16]

Especially at this moment. So if you're a person who asks yourself questions like this, Or you feel the need. You have to ask questions like this. Then Zen practice is a way to ask the question and perhaps answer it. Now I also want to, we're going to do this ceremony this afternoon for this lovely Buddha.

[47:21]

And someone during this practice week asked me why you always talk about Zen more or less as it was a form of science. Yeah, and I do, it's true. But then we do all this bowing and chanting, and what's that about? And in what sense is this also a religion that we're getting ourselves involved in? Well, if it's a religion, then we have this statue here. And why do we have the statue there? Is it any better than a blank wall?

[48:25]

It's prettier, I think, than most blank walls. And I think if it's a good statue, it gives us some feeling. Some sense of solidity. And so we have this statement I gave you last night of Hong Ji's. Standing alone, unchanging. So do you have some feeling of standing alone? Or being unchanging? What would this mean? Now, Buddhism is the two main one or two main ideas in Buddhism. is that everything is changing.

[49:53]

And not only is everything changing, but it's also interdependent. If everything is changing and also interdependent, It means that everything is unique. At each moment, whatever appears is unique. Now this is a kind of science or a kind of common sense. And Buddhism says that most of our suffering, the root of our suffering including physical and neurotic suffering is rooted Its pain is rooted mostly in what we could call existential suffering.

[51:08]

The habit of seeing this world as independent from us Which is not. Interdependent with us. And to see this world as somehow at least subtly permanent. Zen says, Buddhism says, it makes a big difference if you recognize each moment is unique. And you don't think you're independent from that momentary uniqueness. So in a sense, Buddhism is pretty simple. It means We tend to think the world is not unique, it's permanent.

[52:30]

We tend to think the world is permanent, it's not... And we tend to think we are somehow separate from it. We think the world is some sort of container we live in. This simple and very easy to make mistake is the root of most of our suffering. And I think you'll be surprised if you do, I mean, you may not believe that.

[53:31]

And in the near future, you don't see that it would do you a darn bit of good. But it's surprising if you do make an effort to to recognize the uniqueness of each moment. And that's where the question what comes in. To not answer what, but just... What is there? So if you keep doing that, you'll be surprised at how much of a change it makes. And even in a simple thing, like bringing your attention to this particular moment.

[54:43]

As often and as regularly as you can. How we change as human beings. And I don't think it's really believable, but if you try it, you'll see. So mindfulness practice is just to keep bringing yourself to the immediate situation knowing that it's unique and knowing that it covers everything that everything is so interdependent and interpenetrating that this particular is also Everything all at once.

[55:52]

Now that's a kind of philosophy. I mean, it is a philosophy. And a lot of thinking has gone into this in Buddhist history. But all this thinking does is simplify and focus the practice. And the purpose of it is to confirm that this practice makes fundamental sense. And to have an answer to your doubts if doubts come up. But all the thinking about it doesn't mean much in comparison to the practice of just bringing yourself into the present. into this present moment.

[57:10]

Okay, but, you know, already you have to have a mind that's ready for whatever appears. So then you have another kind of problem. My mind is not ready for whatever appears. My mind is only interested in certain things appearing. A beautiful person. A large purse. You know, things like that. So you say, well, okay, this is the mind most of us live in.

[58:17]

And I'm not saying you should send all beautiful people away. In fact, each one of you is quite beautiful. But also in addition, to not sending beautiful people away. Things you love. Also, just when you can, in the cracks of your life, find what it's like to bring your attention equally to each thing. Now, I don't mean your attention is always...

[59:20]

Exactly the same. Or as I say, bring your energy equally to each thing. Your energy is different on each moment. Some things require more energy, some things draw more energy out of you. What I'm emphasizing is, in using the word equally, it's just that you make an effort to be present to each moment. without comparison to other moments. Now, we have to look, if we want to get a sense of this world of what-ness, the what-ness that's rooted in understanding interdependence,

[60:43]

We have to look at the sometimes peculiar statements of Zen teachers. Now, one I think it's very useful to get a feeling for, and I've mentioned before, is Dogen's statement that the coming and going of birth and death is the true human body. Now I'm speaking about this also in relationship to our Yohannesov Buddha. What could Dogen, this 13th century Zen teacher, what could he have possibly meant?

[61:46]

This is like, does a dog have a Buddha nature? Do you have a Buddha nature? What is your true human body? Okay, so, I mean, the best way for me to say it, say that, excuse me for bringing this into the room, but say there's a corpse here in front of me. If there was, we'd have to do a funeral ceremony before we do this afternoon. Each one of you... I shouldn't remind you. No, I won't say it. No. It's strange.

[63:13]

We have problems with small problems. But we all will face the biggest problem of all. And my experience is most of us do it pretty well. So here it might be me. And from the Buddhist point of view, that's not a body. I'm pointing out how the Buddhism uses the word body. This is some basic stuff we've gone over before. But we should really deepen it in ourselves and be clear about it. This corpse is just stuff.

[64:17]

In Buddhist terms, what makes it alive is what the body is. When it's embodied. Mm-hmm. So if the body is what makes this stuff alive, where's the boundary? What makes each of us alive is... Not just your heartbeat and your breath. It's the air. Yeah, the clouds. All the good food we've had so far. And it's your parents. And your children. And all of us at each moment.

[65:28]

There's no place you can draw the line and say, okay, there's the line, this is me and that's not me. Your immune system can say, this belongs to my functioning and that doesn't belong to my functioning at this moment. But still, if you really look at where this true human body ends, you can't find a boundary. The moon itself affects our reproductive cycles. So the moon is also us. So again, I keep bringing up this stuff. Okay, if that's the case, if that is a more accurate way to view the world, As I say to you often, we have a prior assumption before thinking and perception arises.

[66:46]

Und wie ich euch auch schon oft gesagt habe, so gibt es eine Vorannahme, wir haben eine Vorannahme, bevor Denken und Wahrnehmung aufsteigt. Nämlich die, dass wir von den Dingen getrennt sind. Und unsere Sprache und unsere Wahrnehmung There's some truth to this. But to the extent that denies our connectedness, it's a lie. And the way we're born, we come into the world brought up by two parents or an extended family. It's natural to think of ourselves as separate and finding our individual way in the world. It's a practical view. It functions pretty well.

[68:21]

But fundamentally it's a deluded view. And here, whether this is spiritual life or scientific or philosophical... Buddhism says we have to shift this view, this habit. We have to shift it to a wisdom view. And we have to work within the habits of our own consciousness and activity. And it's only powerful. A wisdom view is only powerful. When it's brought into the details of your life.

[69:30]

That's where all the real decisions are made. That's where your heart is beating. That's where you're breathing. That's where your stomach is digesting. That's where your kidneys are working. That's where you're thinking about what you do next or don't do is working. As a generalization, it means virtually nothing. So the trick is, the skill is, how do you bring it into Each moment. Well, we have this great tool, this great apparatus of language. Which confuses our mind, deludes us.

[70:33]

But also gathers energy in us. Yeah. I was struck seeing this terrible news about the avalanches in Switzerland. And... How just when there's a disaster in America too, it's the same. They bring in psychotherapists and trauma experts. Well, this is interesting. I mean, you see them interviewed in television. They say, well, people have to express it. They have to talk it out. This is quite interesting. I mean, snow buries a village.

[71:44]

This must be a horrible shock. And you lose family members. And that it makes a difference to talk about it. That's quite extraordinary. That somehow this unbelievable shock to your system, which I believe you can measure even at a cellular level, words somehow draw the trauma, the pain, out of the cells of the body. So words are physically interconnected with us. They may be confusing and distracting and deluding, But they're also, for the most part, a wonderful way to talk with people, to read things, and so forth.

[73:05]

But the problem with language from a Buddhist point of view Is it creates a mind of language? Okay, so Zen says, well, use the power of words and language. But take them out of language and make them into a mantra. Make them something you can repeat. Make them something you can bring your attention to. Again, it's surprisingly effective. Asking what? But you're not trying to answer it.

[74:06]

You're just asking what. You may start with yes. Everything you look at, you say yes. This is a practice of acceptance. If you're going to be one with everything that appears. You're going to cultivate the interconnectedness of everything that appears. Perhaps it starts with yes. With acceptance. Just what appears. Another form of yes is already connected. So you can say yes if you like.

[75:07]

And that's been one of my practices for many years. I'm a yes man. I say yes to everything. Will you go to the movies with me? Yes. Then I say no. Oh, no, I'm sorry. I have to give a lecture. I have to go to Zazen. I can't go to the movies. But my habit is to start out with yes. My first thought is my best thought. So yes. And sometimes I change yes into already connected. It's a little different. It means nearly the same.

[76:08]

So I bring my attention and my energy to already connected. So I looked at you, I feel already connected. I don't have to make any special effort because we're already connected. Sometimes I'm embarrassed I tell you this stuff so often. But what a miracle it is, I tell you what a miracle it is when you practice it. You change the simple ingredients of your life and you change your life. You change what you bring your attention to. Ihr verändert das oder ihr wechselt das, dem ihr eure Aufmerksamkeit gegenüber bringt.

[77:18]

Denn eure Aufmerksamkeit ist euer größter Schatz. Denn eure Aufmerksamkeit und dem, dem ihr eure Aufmerksamkeit entgegenbringt, das formt euer Leben. So it's your decision. What do you bring your attention to? So another similar response to yes and already connected is whatever you see, you say to yourself, this is also me. Now, you're trying to find various ways to focus this wisdom teaching Into the present moment.

[78:32]

And what is the present moment? It's not some philosophical thing. It's you as a human being. And just what appears to you. Without discriminating. So it may be a lot of crap at first. But slowly you get a kind of cosmic sewage system that washes it away. Somehow, if you just keep bringing your energy and attention to whatever appears, cutting through your habits of only seeing likes and dislikes, cutting through or creating a balance to the mind which keeps swinging between alternatives,

[79:52]

And you begin to, the world begins to be like the surface of a clear lake. Somehow, the more you, strangely, the more you bring your attention and energy to each thing as it appears, Und seltsamerweise ist es so, je mehr ihr also eure Energie und Aufmerksamkeit zu allem, was erscheint, hinbringt, dann wird die Welt nach einer Weile immer klarer. Und ihr habt dann ein Gefühl, ihr könnt hinein in sie sehen. Und ihr habt ein Gefühl, dass sie euch durchdringt. And then you really do see a new depth to Dogen's statement.

[81:04]

The true human body is the all at once coming and going of birth and death. I think that's enough for starting off the morning. And I think we can take a break. But let's sit for a few minutes at least. Sitting. I hope you can come to feel That you can let settle into you.

[82:16]

After the break, maybe half an hour. So please give me some comments. Yes. I have a question. I was struck by what you said about attention as a precious gift and as a way to reach your power, something like that. Could you elaborate on what you meant? The danger in telling you what I meant If I could, is then you think you know what I meant.

[83:58]

And the practice has to, I should only say enough to get you to practice. And I should leave you thoroughly on the whole unsatisfied. So this is very good. You feel dissatisfied. So now you're going to have to practice. You're going to have to see what it's like to bring your attention. equally to each of your precious moments. It also helps to know you had the capacity to do it. And I can see that you do. At least I think so. I have a question concerning practice.

[85:17]

What I learned was that we have to bring our attention to everything that comes up, to what appears. Is this also valid for the practice of zazen? Yes. This means that I should concentrate on my thoughts, not on the art. I have learned that I should follow my breath, come back to my breath, and put thoughts, if they appear, away. And so I understood, should I now concentrate rather on my thoughts?

[86:23]

Good question. Nothing wrong with your thoughts. Identifying with them is a problem. And the practice you say you do, bringing your attention to your breath and so forth, this is good. But it assumes we know where we're going. And particularly in Zen practice, we emphasize we don't know where we're going. So to give too much of a map is, I think, not good.

[87:33]

And I think we can ask again why Zen doesn't do guided meditation. Because guided meditation assumes we know what a human being is. So, this is interesting because it also opens up Zen, particularly in Buddhism, to the evolution of consciousness. The Buddha or Zhaozhou or Dogen didn't have the best, most complete, wonderful consciousness. For that person, perhaps he did. We don't know exactly what kind of consciousness might happen in you.

[88:34]

Because if actually each moment is... Absolutely unique. There's only creativity. And creativity means the new is always appearing. So, these zazen instructions like follow your breath, count your breath and so forth are very good. And essential. And it's particularly good to bring them into your daily life practice.

[89:37]

But they're a little, as I said yesterday, like counting sheep. We have instructions about how to go to sleep. And we have instructions about how to

[89:46]

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