Practice.
Zen requires practice.
And what is practice? "There is nothing hidden from practice."
If you are thinking you are stupid, then you are practicing thinking you are stupid. If you are feeling hate, then you are practicing hate. If you are binge-eating a cake, you are practicing binge-eating a cake. You get how this works, don't you?
"Nothing is hidden from practice." Nothing!
But attention and discipline are needed to see that ..."nothing" is hidden from practice.
Zen strongly suggests you pay attention to where you are and what you are doing, not in the outward world, but in your body, feelings, perceptions, impulses and conscious activity.
Where do you start? What do you pay attention to?
If you look at this little fellow, his feet are going this way and that and his head is covered by a pot. He is lost, confused and about to fall off the sidewalk into a web. Do you ever feel like this? What do you suggest he do?
STOP! Stay still! Take the pot off your head, straighten your body and have a look at where you are.
These are the bare bones of Zen practice. You stop, sit still, adjust your body and begin to look within yourself to see what is going on in your self. "To study the Way is to study the self..."
You have to know where you are to get directions on how to get to where you want to go.
You have to STOP looking outward at your boss, your lover, your child, your parents, your history, your situation, whatever happens and begin to bring your attention to your body, feelings, perceptions, impulses and conscious activity as a reaction to your six sense contacts.
You hear something, you see something, you smell something, you touch something, you taste something and you think something which triggers your body, feelings, your perceptions, impulses, and conscious activity. You blame or praise the trigger. STOP! Blaming and praising the trigger. Each time you do, you look outward. You need to look at your self.
The work is always with yourself.
Sit down, sit up straight, stay still and see what is going on with you.
It requires time, your attention and discipline.
I would like to share my Lenten practice. I made a card deck pieces of paper and numbered them 1-40. Each day I am writing a small prayer on each card and carrying it around in my back pants pocket all day. Yesterday I found that I took the prayer out of my pocket and read it several times throughout the day. I am the one that needs reminders to look within. Many Blessings on this St. Valentine's Day.
ReplyDeleteMarilyn
me too. Good idea. I'm kind of drugged up from surgery 2 days ago and can't really sit for more than a couple of minutes. Have to keep leg elevated. Can I do this lying down?
DeleteGood morning Eileen.
DeleteA prone position is just fine.
Stillness, silence and solitude are important as well as concentration.
Forgetting is one of our biggest problems. What do you do you to remind yourself?
Liz
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Blessings,
Marilyn