Back to the Beginning
Anyone who has spent time with children can tell you how marvelous it is
to witness a child experience things for the first time. The major
events are so significant, like taking their first steps, or saying
their first words. But for me, witnessing the small, mundane moments
carries such magic — like tasting ice cream for the first time, their
first sight of a butterfly, or pushing a ball downhill and watching it
roll by itself.
There is a type of magic that happens when you observe a child
experience these things we take for granted — things that we barely
notice anymore. Their excitement and awe is so contagious, it’s as if
you’re experiencing them for the first time as well. When I think about
the Buddhist concept of “beginner’s mind,” I think of this child-like
mind — a mind full of possibilities, without preconceptions.
As seasoned practitioners, we might find ourselves at a point where our
practice feels stale. Over the years, we may lose perspective and find
that our practice has become a habit — a chore even. With the excitement
of discovering something new long faded, practice becomes just another
thing we fit into our busy day. We fail to see how our practice is
relevant to this very moment, forgetting to look at what’s going on right now. As Shunryu Suzuki Roshi famously said, “In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s there are few.”
A beginner’s mind approach can help us to come back to square one.
Whether you’re a beginner or seasoned practitioner, coming back to
square one can help us keep our practice relevant and fresh.
What would it be like to experience the mundane as new again? How would
it feel to sit on the cushion for the first time? I invite you to find
out.
—Mariana Restrepo, deputy editor, Buddhadharma
|
|
Zen teacher and yoga instructor Donna Quesada addresses our all-too-common need to get it done, whatever it is, right now.
We go through life forever trying to get to ten. We look to the clock
with great expectations, forever asking, even as grown-ups, if we’re
there yet. We humor the children when they ask, but we ask too, in our
own rushed ways, in all the days of our lives, and in everything we do,
forever rushing to the end. The end of what? If this continues
throughout every activity, throughout the rest of our lives, the only
end in sight is death. As an experiment, catch yourself the next time
you find yourself thinking in terms of quantity.
|
|
Geshe Tenzin Wangyal tells us how to turn our daily challenges into
meditation practice. Illustrations of the six Tibetan Realms of Rebirth
by Steve Heynen.
In daily life, there are many times when we unexpectedly encounter
problems, and we don’t always greet these encounters joyfully or with
strength. Sitting on our meditation cushion is a good time to bring
these situations to mind, and then to look directly at those encounters,
with the support of our refuge in the Buddha as open awareness. In
order to bring the fruit of practice into the realities of everyday
life, it is important to look deeply and directly at yourself, to
examine your actions of body, speech, and mind. The teachings and
practices give you ways to overcome and transform negative emotions, so
you can examine yourself with confidence. It is not the case that the
closer you look the scarier it gets.
|
|
The
point of zazen, says Shunryu Suzuki Roshi, is to live each moment in
complete combustion, like a clean-burning kerosene lamp. Here he
explains Dogen’s teaching on practicing within imperfection and warns
against the arrogance of the false self.
Practice is something you do consciously, something you do with effort.
There! There is enlightenment! Most Zen masters missed the point. They
didn’t know how important this point is — they were striving to attain
perfect zazen. That is Dogen’s teaching, and that is how everything
actually exists in this world. Things that exist are imperfect. Nothing
we see or hear is perfect. But right there in that imperfection is
perfect reality.
This is true intellectual understanding. Intellectually it is true, and
in the realm of practice it is also true. It is true on paper, and it is
also true with our body. We can realize how true it is through our
physical practice and emotional problems. So according to Dogen Zenji,
our practice should be established in delusion. We are all deluded
people, and before we attain enlightenment, we should establish our true
practice in our delusion.
| | |
