What is this? A part of the consciousness that is in the way of the perception is actually filtering out direct perception of what life is. Incomplete inquiry. The seventh consciousness, the ego mind, tends to be the gatekeeper. With some intention to live a sane, awakened life, we need to look at how insane and unawake we are. The power of shikantaza, or zazen, starts to operate because we repeatedly do that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G749dNk1p7M

We’re always thinking about something. Quite often we find ourselves thinking about meditating rather than meditating. Am I doing this right? Should I be doing something else? Shouldn’t I feel better? The practice of meditation includes the thinking about meditation. Train your mind to see very clearly what is going on beyond your thought patterns, so that when you get up off of the cushion, some of that clarity comes along. The feeling you might be having when that occurs is being less confident. The road to unconditional confidence is scattered with the corpses of your ideas.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DLeOR3CRNU

We’re always thinking about something. Quite often we find ourselves thinking about meditating rather than meditating. Am I doing this right? Should I be doing something else? Shouldn’t I feel better? The practice of meditation includes the thinking about meditation. Train your mind to see very clearly what is going on beyond your thought patterns, so that when you get up off of the cushion, some of that clarity comes along. The feeling you might be having when that occurs is being less confident. The road to unconditional confidence is scattered with the corpses of your ideas.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DLeOR3CRNU

Your life is like a stage. Leave that stage and sharpen the blade of awareness so that when you go back onto the stage you are much more clear about what your part is in everything. You are better off at minding your business and working with your own mind rather than evaluating other people’s activity. Seeing the complete inappropriateness of trying to control…. this is renunciation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjNLRBafxzU

Sokozan discusses impromptu question and answer sessions that take place at the monastery.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgBLfEfyiOc

In the relative situation, whatever is true has its opposite. That’s how we know about it, through contrast. In our minds we are looking for facts we can believe in to secure our identity. When we sit down in meditation and watch our thoughts come and go, we are endeavoring to see what is true for ourselves, the Truth that has no opposite.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oQrr4wQ_PE

When ego trains ego, you’re being trained by the person you want to get rid of. Meditation opens up the dynamic of “Me me me!” Sit down and hold still until it becomes obvious. You don’t have to be anyone else.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bW9T2AVKuCk

It is difficult to be work with someone when there is chatter in your mind about how incorrect they are. It’s a judgement that you really don’t have any control over because it’s already on top of you before you can give it some space. If you can’t see entirely all the causes of everything then you could ask the question “what is that?” As soon as you come to a conclusion you shut down on the awareness.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qlE8VaSP10

The two veils-conflicting emotions and primitive beliefs-prevent us from seeing what is already the case: that you are already liberated and that you are not separate from the Buddha.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=preXCLKpNfs

What does it look like to become more intimate with ourselves? One way would be by not abandoning anything, not moving towards or away from anything or assuming anything. The traditional word for this is “sunyata” or emptiness. Emptiness does not mean absent. Emptiness means no longer insisting on separation based on how you feel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCpPJ7vBCPo