Bare Zen

Some arugula, a zucchini still warm from the vine, wind rustling the leaves of the poplar trees, a blackbird cawing from the highest tip of a dying oak. When I’m really present, as I am during meditation, even the simplest things bring me joy. I don’t live in that state of mind all the time, rather, I drift in and out between worlds created in my imagination into a world where the vibrant taste of mint from the garden is all there is. These intermittent tastes of freedom keep me coming back to practice.

 The practice is Zen. The word Zen derives from the Chinese word Chan which is a translation of the Pali word dyana which translates into English as meditation. (take a breath) If Zen had a sub title it might be- sit and find out for yourself. The Buddha said, I paraphrase, don’t take my word for it. Check it out in your life and see whether or not this stuff really works. We sit in meditation to find out for ourselves that:

 The complete teachings of all Buddhas, past, present and future, are to be found within the essence of every human being.

Hui Neg, from the Platform Sutra

 Hui Neng was an 8th century Chinese illiterate woodcutter. He practiced shikantaza, or just sitting, which he defined as a meditative state in which perception is completely free from any discrimination between mind and matter, self and object, and where change, whether subtle or powerful, is the essence of being. He suggested that meditation practice itself is an expression of enlightenment and therefore leads to ever greater enlightenment. Believing that, realizing one’s own essence is the ultimate expression of enlightenment, Hui Neng’s Zen stripped away rituals, lineages, and formalities that had become cumbersome institutions in Chinese Buddhist traditions.

 We don’t need to depend too much on an intellectual approach to awakening. Another Zen master, Penhsien, reminded his followers, “If you really want to get to the truth of Zen, get it while walking, while standing, while sleeping or sitting…while working.” Only then, he tells us, can one begin to know the work.

 There is great beauty in the written words of our ancestors. The eloquence of their writings are so beautiful it’s easy to get lost in their revelations of awakening, believing that elevated experiences like theirs are not within our reach. But, as my brother who loves the old teachings once said, in the Buddha’s time they were “dropping like flies”. Meaning, someone would just meet the Buddha on the road, have a conversation with him and, bingo! They became enlightened. They weren’t aiming for enlightenment, going on numerous retreats or living in caves. The perfect teacher met the perfect moment.

 I am a major Dharma geek and love the old texts. The language and wisdom contained in these dharma footprints are illuminating and deeply satisfying. But this is not the only way into the core of the ancient wisdom. The wisdom is within each one of us and we each tap into it in different ways. We can experience what past masters are writing about while walking, while standing, while sleeping or sitting…while working.

 In this time of tumultuous change we are all called upon to wake up and tend to the mess we humans have made. Like Hui Neng, we do not need to be scholars, and like the person on the road who meets the Buddha we do not need to turn ourselves inside out and follow some culturally uncomfortable path to awakening. We can learn from Hui Neng and know Zen right where we are-right now. Then we can bring that Zen out into the world where it is sorely needed.