Dropping gaining mind in practice is a huge step; in the beginning, we are all awonder at these marvelous “results” of meditation and when they might appear.

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I’ve built a grass hut where there’s nothing of value.

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For those of us who have read the stories of Zen masters’ lives, Bankei’s enlightenment story is among the more powerful ones. His dedication is inspiring, and his insights shared from that ground give us a rich perspective on his deceptively simple-sounding teaching.

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This translation comes from the Tun-huang documents discovered in Cave 17 sometime around 1900. While we don’t usually explore where these translations actually come from, this story deserves some attention.

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At times we feel like we are “successfully” walking with a foot in both worlds where illusion and reality seem balanced. Similar to walking a balance beam, we adjust our heart/mind and respond to what is happening within and without with a sense of naturalness.

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Most of what we have read or heard about sitting meditation has come from contemporary vehicles for Buddhism. This lovely piece, King of Samadhis, helps communicate the direct teaching of sitting meditation expounded hundreds of years ago to monks in Dogen’s assembly.

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Many of us are familiar with the first part of the Platform Sutra, recounting the story of Huineng’s life and how he obtained the robe and bowl after arriving at the monastery as a commoner.  

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All of us have been known to complicate our lives and our practice at times. We overthink problems, over-dwell on emotional states from time to time, and try to quantify where we are in practice. To simply sit without the complications, the trappings of practice, even something this simple, can be challenging for us.

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Time to return to the beginning with Spring/Fall around the corner.  Many of you have asked for more instruction on beginning meditation.

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Dogen speaks clearly about the mind that seeks the way and how to maintain the intensity of practice over time.  We couldn’t ask for a world of more distraction than the one we currently inhabit.

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