Glasgow Zen GroupWhat are we actually engaged in when we sit in Zazen? Unlike other meditation practices, there is no given object to focus our attention on, and no graspable instructions telling us what we should be doing.
In this video the practice is clarified not so much in terms of an activity of the ‘mind’, or the consideration of an ‘object’ of meditation, but as something physically enacted which involves the whole of us, and thus a ‘fall’ into the space of zazen.
Our first online Shakyo 写経 practice event saw us come together from Scotland, and elsewhere such as the rest of the UK and Canada, forming a lovely group of sutra tracing and copying practitioners.
Beginning with an introduction about the history of shakyo and the development of it from Tang dynasty China to modern day Japan, with descriptions of experiences and process in Japanese Buddhist temples such as Zen and Hossou schools, and then we discussed the meditative as well as practical techniques, demos and tips to prepare us.
We also talked about the Boundless Life Ten Phrase Kannon Sutra 延命十句観音経 and its connections to other sutras, looked at particular kanji characters and phrases, and how the sutra has been popular and cherished over the centuries as one that aids wellbeing in times of sickness or difficulty.
After our tea, we lit the incense, rang the bell, chanted and began quietly tracing or copying, working from the short but meaningful and energetic sutra, assisted by worksheets with the kanji and meanings. Some people simply used pens with plain paper whilst others had brush pens or shakyo brush with suzuri inkwell and Japanese paper. It was great to see the the sutras of everyone, here are some examples.
It was a peaceful and meditative atmosphere and one where we could practice with care, feeling and attentiveness working on each stroke bringing each character and letter to life. We connected with our senses, felt grounded and connected with the sutra.
We wrote our wish in the traditional manner (in Japanese and English) in the allotted space as well as the date and our name, passing the merits beyond our group, and then we completed our practice with a short chant and some time to briefly chat together about our experience.
Thanks to all the participants for their wholehearted practice.
Find out more about our Sutra tracing practice at Glasgow Zen Group.
See past Shakyo Sutra tracing events such as at KSD in Glasgow.
Zen group member Alan Buchan’s fast forward shakyo 🙂
A practitioner’s perspective, on and off the zafu – Three
The Guest House
Mowlānā Jalāloddin Balkhi, known in Persia as Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Balkhī and in the West as Rumi, was born on September 30, 1207 C. E. in Balkh Province, Afghanistan, on the eastern edge of the Persian Empire. His poem ‘The Guest House’ captures the spirit of open acceptance which zazen calls for.
The Guest House
Jalaluddin Rumi, Translated by Coleman Barks
This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honourably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.
Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.
In this video John examines one of Dogen’s Dharma Hall Discourses, which expounds a very different view of both time and expression to our habitual sense.
This view can wake us up to the urgency of living right now, of being alive together with all beings, that all of our life, all the now-moments within, no matter how mundane they seem, are part of something bigger and more alive than we can currently see, have meanings for others that we cannot fathom, hold significance beyond our imagination, and have causes and repercussions that extend in all directions. Therefore, we should be attentive and grateful, even when doing the washing-up.
It is often a puzzle for us when we practice how to respond when thoughts, daydreams, emotions or fantasies arise. While we shouldn’t try to push them away, neither should we get caught up in them. But how?
The quandary is based on unquestioned assumptions about the self.
In this video, reference is made to one of Dogen’s poems which helps to illuminate a way out of this predicament by challenging the dualistic assumptions which underlie it.
The Poem:
A person in the mountains should love the mountains,
with going and coming, the moutains are his body.
The mountains are the body, but the body is not the self
So where can one find any senses, or their objects?
A practitioner’s perspective, on and off the zafu – Two
There’s something rather absurd about rushing to get to zazen (meditation) yet that’s sometimes what happens – arriving to sit out of breath and with a head still teeming with the busyness of the day. For some people lockdown will make that less likely, for some people more of a risk.
Although our practice of zazen is of just sitting without any specific focus it can help to have a transition at times like that, just before the bell rings at the start.
Counting the breath from one to ten can help recalibrate. Counting one on an in breath and two on the out breath then continuing like that up to ten before dropping from the counting into full awareness.
If the body is tight with tension, doing a brief body scan before the bell rings, without making any conscious effort to relax, can allow your body to have the space to release into the sitting.
First becoming aware of the breath in your abdomen before taking your awareness up to the top of your head then from the top of your head, over your face and neck down your shoulders and hands to your fingers then from your shoulders down your torso, back and front, down your legs and feet then returning up the body back to the top of the head, noticing as you travel through the body in each direction how each part feels, without trying to change anything.
Then the bell rings and you can just sit.
Not Attaining, Not Knowing . Dharma Hall Discourse Here is a story. [Tianhuang] Daowu asked Shitou, “What is the essential meaning of Buddha Dharma?” Shitou said, “Not attaining, not knowing.” Daowu said, “Beyond that, is there any other pivotal point or not?” Shitou said, “The wide sky does not obstruct the white clouds drifting.” Not attaining, not knowing is Buddha’s essential meaning. The wind blows into the depths, and further winds blow. The wide sky does not obstruct the white clouds drifting. At this time, why do you take the trouble to ask Shitou? Blue Mountains Walking; Giving Birth at Night . Dharma Hall Discourse Deeply see the blue mountains constantly walking.
Eihei Kōroku (Japanese: 永平広録), also known by its English translation Dōgen’s Extensive Record, is a ten volume collection of works by the Sōtō Zen monk Eihei Dōgen. The bulk of the text, accounting for volumes one through seven, are formal Dharma hall discourses, or jōdō (上堂) as they are known in Sino-Japanese, given from 1236 to 1252. Volume eight consists of “informal meetings” or shōsan (小參) that would have taken place in Dōgen’s quarters with select groups of monks, as well as “Dharma words” or hōgo (法語), which were letters containing practice instructions to specific students. Volume nine includes a collection of 90 traditional kōans with verse commentary by Dōgen, while volume 10 collects his Chinese poetry.[1]
Unlike Dōgen’s other major work the Shōbōgenzō, which was written in vernacular Late Middle Japanese, the text of Eihei Kōroku is written in the Japanese version of Classical Chinese, known as Kanbun. While Dōgen is also better known for the essays that make up the Shōbōgenzō, most of them were completed by 1244. After that date, nearly coinciding with his move from Kyoto to Eihei-ji, he wrote 405 of the 531 Dharma hall discourses that make up Eihei Kōroku, indicating that he may have come to prefer the jōdō format over the jishu style used in the Shōbōgenzō essays. Taigen Dan Leighton, a modern Zen priest and translator of the Eihei Kōroku, believes that the Dharma hall discourses tell us more about Dōgen the individual than the Shōbōgenzō as they reveal his training methodology, humor, and even emotional states.[1]
When we practice, we release the world and ourselves from the grip of our certainty. However it is not exactly that our limited views are wrong, and we should try to ‘lose’ them, or that some are more illuminating that others, or that if all views could be taken together they would finally fully illuminate the practitioner. All views, no matter how many, are all the expression and life of this phenomena right now, which interpenetrates and is interpenetrated by all dharmas, everywhere.
Here are some pictures of the sutra tracing and copying practice (shakyo 写経) that we will be working from in our practice group. These are from the short sutra Boundless Life Ten Line Kannon Sutra.