Chapter 1: What is the essence of Zen Mind and Beginner's Mind?
Zen mind. Beginner's mind.
People say that practicing Zen is difficult, but there is a misunderstanding as to why. It is not difficult because it is hard to sit in the cross-legged position or to attain enlightenment. It is difficult because it is hard to keep our mind pure and our practice pure in its fundamental sense. The goal of practice is always to keep our beginner's mind
Suppose you recite the Prajnaparamita Sutra only once. It might be a very good recitation. But what would happen to you if you recited it twice, three times, four times or more? You might easily lose your original attitude towards it. The same thing will happen in your other Zen practices.
For a while, you will keep your beginner's mind, but if you continue to practice one, two, three years or more, although you may improve some, you are liable to lose the limitless meaning of original mind. For Zen students, the most important thing is not to be dualistic. Our original mind includes everything within itself. It is always rich and sufficient within itself.
You should not lose your self-sufficient state of mind This does not mean a closed mind, but actually an empty mind and a ready mind. If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything. It is open to everything. In the beginner's mind, there are many possibilities. In the expert's mind, there are few. If you discriminate too much, you limit yourself.
If you are too demanding or too greedy, your mind is not rich and self-sufficient. If we lose our original self-sufficient mind we will lose all precepts. When your mind becomes demanding when you long for something you will end up violating your own precepts. Not to tell lies not to steal not to kill not to be immoral, and so forth.
If you keep your original mind, the precepts will keep themselves. In the beginner's mind, there is no thought. I have attained something.
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Chapter 2: Why do people find practicing Zen difficult?
All self-centered thoughts limit our vast mind. When we have no thought of achievement, no thought of self, we are true beginners. Then we can really learn something. The beginner's mind is the mind of compassion. When our mind is compassionate, it is boundless. Dogen Zenji always emphasized how important it is to resume our boundless, original mind.
Then we are always true to ourselves, in sympathy with all beings, and can actually practice. So the most difficult thing is always to keep your beginner's mind.
There is no need to have a deep understanding of Zen. Even though you read much Zen literature, You must read each sentence with a fresh mind.
You should not say, I know what Zen is, or I have attained enlightenment. This is also the real secret of the arts. Always be a beginner.
Be very, very careful about this point. If you start to practice Sa Zen, you will begin to appreciate your beginner's mind.
It is a secret of Zen practice. There is no difference between Zazen practice and bowing. Usually to bow means to pay our respects to something which is more worthy of respect than ourselves. But when you bow to the Buddha, you should have no idea of Buddha. You just become one with Buddha. You are already Buddha.
When you become one with Buddha, one with everything that exists, you find the true meaning of being.
When you forget all your dualistic ideas, everything becomes your teacher and everything can be the object of worship. When everything exists within your big mind, all dualistic relationships drop away
There is no distinction between heaven and earth, man and woman, teacher and disciple. Sometimes a man bows to a woman. Sometimes a woman bows to a man. Sometimes the disciple bows to the master.
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Chapter 3: How can we maintain a beginner's mind in Zen practice?
Sometimes the master bows to the disciple.
A master who cannot bow to his disciple cannot bow to Buddha. Sometimes the master and disciple bow together to Buddha. Sometimes we may bow to cats and dogs.
In your big mind, everything has the same value.
Everything is Buddha himself.
You see something or hear a sound and there you have everything just as it is.
In your practice, you should accept everything as it is, giving to each thing the same respect given to a Buddha. Here there is Buddhahood.
Then Buddha bows to Buddha, and you bow to yourself.
This is the true bow.
If you do not have this firm conviction of big mind in your practice, your bow will be dualistic. When you are just yourself, you bow to yourself in its true sense, and you are one with everything. Only when you are you yourself can you bow to everything in its true sense. Bowing is a very serious practice. You should be prepared to bow even in your last moment.
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Chapter 4: What role does self-sufficiency play in Zen practice?
Zen practice is the direct expression of our true nature. Of course, whatever we do is the expression of our true nature. But without this practice, it is difficult to realize this. It is our human nature to be active and the nature of every existence. As long as we are alive, we are always doing something. But as long as you think,
I am doing this, or I have to do this, or I must attain something special, you are actually not doing anything. When you give up, when you no longer want something, or when you do not try to do anything special, then you do something
When there is no gaining idea in what you do, then you do something.
In Zazen, what you are doing is not for the sake of anything. You may feel as if you are doing something special, but actually it is only the expression of your true nature.
It is the activity which appeases your inmost desire.
But as long as you think you are practicing Zazen for the sake of something, that is not true practice. If you continue this simple practice every day, you will obtain a wonderful power. Before you attain it, it is something wonderful. But after you obtain it, it is nothing special.
It is just you, yourself. Nothing special. As a Chinese poem says, I went and I returned.
It was nothing special. Roseanne famous for its misty mountains, Seiko for its water. People think it must be wonderful to see the famous range of mountains covered by mists, and the water said to cover all the earth. But if you go there, you will just see water and mountains, nothing special. It is a kind of mystery that for people who have no experience of enlightenment,
Enlightenment is something wonderful. But if they attain it, it is nothing. But yet, it is not nothing. Do you understand? For a mother with children, Having children is nothing special.
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Chapter 5: How does one bow in Zen practice and what does it signify?
That is zazen. So if you continue this practice, more and more you will acquire something. Nothing special. But nevertheless, something You may say universal nature or Buddha nature or enlightenment. You may call it by many names. But for the person who has it, it is nothing and it is something.
So to be a human being is to be a Buddha.
Buddha nature is just another name for human nature.
Our true human nature. Thus even though you do not do anything, you are actually doing something. You are expressing yourself. You are expressing your true nature. Your eyes will express. Your voice will express. Your demeanor will express.
The most important thing is to express your true nature in the simplest, most adequate way and to appreciate it in the smallest existence. While you are continuing this practice, week after week, year after year, your experience will become deeper and deeper.
And your experience will cover everything you do in your everyday life. The most important thing is to forget all gaining ideas.
All dualistic ideas. In other words, just practice Zazen in a certain posture.
Do not think about anything. Just remain on your cushion without expecting anything.
Then, eventually you will resume your own true nature. That is to say, your own true nature
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