286. ZEN REMARKS

286. In Zen we hear a lot about living in the moment. But what exactly does this mean? No doubt it has something to do with focusing on doing whatever is to be done here and now. Yet every moment opens onto an unknown next moment. And to do properly the task of the present we need to see how it relates to what is to come. The present moment is both closed and open. 

285. ZEN REMARKS

285. The poet bids his soul 'be still, and wait without hope'. In zazen this is sometimes the best we can do. Overwhelmed by our own 'not knowing', and a sense of utter helplessness, we just sit. Hopeless, helpless, we yet continue to trust that 'all will be well, all will be well, and all manner of things will be well'.

284. ZEN REMARKS

284.      awake in the night -
              darkness loud with the croaking
              of ten thousand frogs 

283. ZEN REMARKS

283.      leaning on my staff
              I gaze into mountain mist -
              dogs bark, roosters crow.

282. ZEN REMARKS

282. Master Gutei responded to every question by raising a finger. What did he mean by this? Was he answering from what in Zen is called 'beginner's mind '? 

281. ZEN REMARKS

281. Heidegger writes: 'Philosophizing ultimately means nothing other than being a beginner'. Merton remarks that in the spiritual life we are all always beginners. Zen would have us cultivate beginner's mind. So, how do we begin? 

280. ZEN REMARKS

280. Breathing in, I count one, breathing out, I count two,  and so on up to ten. Then I come back to one and repeat the process. The in-breath is on an odd number, the out-breath on an even number. Using odd and even numbers like this is an aid to developing concentration and so learning to discipline one's thoughts. Many people starting out in meditation express surprise at finding out how unruly is their mind. Counting the breath can help quieten the mind. 

279. ZEN REMARKS

279. The practice of counting the breath is usually assigned to beginners in meditation. It would be a mistake, however, to think that this 'beginner's practice' is only for beginners. Counting the breath is a powerful practice. Even longterm practitioners can take it up, particularly in times of great stress. Should you find yourself having to deal with a smoldering anger or a deep seated resentment, don't be too proud to just sit and count your breath. 

278. ZEN REMARKS

278. Master Mumon Ekai insists that in order to enter upon the Way of Zen we must cut off the way of thinking. This must be balanced, however, by the recognition that 'thought after thought arises in the heart-mind, thought after thought is not separate from heart-mind'.

277. ZEN REMARKS

277. There was a man who suddenly woke up to find himself in the Garden of Eden. To his amazement he had access to every delight save one. And so he fretted.

276. ZEN REMARKS

276. It is said that Fa Yen cried out to Ti Tsang, saying, 'O Master, I am now in a situation in which language is reduced to silence'. How many of us can relate to Fa Yen's predicament? If so we might call to mind some words of the philosopher Wittgenstein, namely,  'whereof we cannot speak, thereof we must be silent'.