Essays
Personal Remarks about Zazen I am a 40-year practitioner of zazen. One might think that after all this time, I would find zazen uninteresting and routine. However, the reverse is true.
Thoughts on Enlightenment In one of his talks in The Myth of Freedom, Boston, 1976, Chogyam Trungpa said, “We are just a speck of dust in the midst of the universe” (p. 6). These words struck me as reflecting the inner condition of an enlightened person. Trungpa continued, “If you are a grain of sand, the rest of the universe, all the space, all the room is yours, because you obstruct nothing, overcrowd nothing, possess nothing. There is tremendous openness” (pp. 6-7).
No Gaining Idea In Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind (Boulder, 2011), Shunryu Suzuki says, “We say our practice should be without gaining ideas, without any expectations, even of enlightenment” (p. 25). The advice to not have any “gaining ideas” while meditating has become a commonplace in zazen instruction.
Inspiration in Zazen When I began practicing zazen and studying spiritual teachings, I was inspired by Nisargadatta’s I Am That (Durham, 1973). Nisargadatta Maharaj taught in his modest home in Mumbai (formerly Bombay), India until his demise in 1981.
A Useful Practice Recently I started to reread Ajahn Chah’s talks in Food for the Heart (Massachusetts, 2002). This book helped me a great deal when, years ago, I began the practice of zazen and my study of Buddhism. I had read the whole book, which is quite lengthy, but as, just recently, I reread the first chapter, it seemed to me to encapsulate the whole of Chah’s teaching.
Breathing and Zazen An important stage in zazen occurs when one stops breathing. Not literally, of course, but when a practitioner stops “doing” his or her breathing, that’s an important stage.
Thinking During Zazen Continuing to read Chogyam Trungpa’s talks in Smile at Fear (Boston and London, 2009), I was struck by this remark about meditation: “All kinds of thoughts arise naturally. If you have lots of time to sit, endless thoughts happen constantly.” (p. 15)
Buddhanature In Smile at Fear (Boston and London, 2009), Chogyam Trungpa says that for someone on the spiritual path, at some point “you begin to realize that you have something in yourself that is fundamentally, basically good. It transcends the notion of good or bad. Something that is worthwhile, wholesome, and healthy exists in all of us.” (p. 8)
Goal of Soto Zen I have been reading introductory comments on the Dhammapada, edited and commented on by Eknath Easwaran, a noted translator and author born in India. The book is The Dhammapada , ed. Eknath Easwaran, Nilgiri Press, California, 2007.
