Posts Tagged → realization

the most important things in our practice

1qr9

everyday zen

 

If you

are trying to attain

enlightenment, you are creating

and being driven by karma, and you are

wasting your time on your black cushion.

The most important things in our practice are

our physical posture and our way of breathing.

We are not so concerned about a deep understanding

of Buddhism. As a philosophy, Buddhism is a very deep,

wide, and firm system of thought, but zen is not concerned

about philosophical understanding. We emphasize practice.

We should understand why our physical posture and

breathing exercise are so important. Instead of

having a deep understanding of the teaching,

we need a strong confidence in our teaching,

which says that originally we have

Buddha nature. Our practice

is based on this

faith.

 

Shunryu Suzuki

 

Hexagram 55: FÊNG /

ABUNDANCE

 

In

the search 

for enlightenment, 

there is an ever-present 

certainty that there is more to do, 

someone else who holds the 

secret, another state to 

attain.

 

In the 

finding of it, 

there is the comical

revelation that not one

of those things was 

ever true.

 

小畜

Hexagram 9: HSIAO CH’U /

THE TAMING POWER OF THE SMALL

 

The

best effort 

one can make is the 

gentlest effort: wei wu wei. 

Quietly, persistently direct the 

mind toward emptiness. When 

all thoughts and ideas have 

dissipated, then make no 

further effort. Just 

breathe. 

 

This

is the only

practice required of a 

human, the best one, the one 

that perfectly purifies

our lives.

 

Wei wu Wei Ching

Paperback / Kindle here

iPad/iPhone

iBooks

 

brian browne walker taoist app bundle ios ipad iphone

You

can now buy

Wei wu Wei Ching as part of a

five-app bundle of Taoist classics 

for iPhone or iPad for less than

the cost of one hardcover

book.

 

practice without any gaining idea

the gate of suzuki

 

We say

to practice zazen

without any gaining idea,

without any purpose. Let things work

as they do, supporting everything as your own.

Real practice has orientation or direction, but it has

no purpose or gaining idea, so  it can include everything

that comes. Whether it is good or bad doesn’t matter.

If something bad comes: “Okay, you are a part

of me;” and if something good comes,

“Oh, okay.” Because we don’t have

any special goal or purpose

of practice, it doesn’t

matter what

comes.

 

Shunryu Suzuki

not always so

 

the necessity of adversity

what is always present

 

A true change of

heart  is possible when we accept the

necessity of adversity. Peace comes when

we discontinue the strivings

of the ego.

 

fifth changing line

from The I Ching, or Book of Changes

Hexagram 30, Li / The Clinging (Fire)

(full text here)

 

ebooks & apps of the Tao the Ching, I Ching,

Hua hu Ching, Wei wu Wei Ching,

Art of War for iPad, Phone,

Kindle, Nook, or

Android

 

You

can now buy

the I Ching as part of a

five-app bundle of Taoist classics 

for iPhone or iPad for less than

the cost of one hardcover

book.

brian browne walker taoist app bundle ios ipad iphone

a moment of great influence

for nature, from nature

 

A moment of

great influence is at hand.

Prepare wisely and act

accordingly.

 
The image of the hexagram Fêng is that of thunder and lightning filling the sky. It signifies a period of tremendous power which, like all such moments, only lasts for a time. Here we are instructed how to know when the moment is ripe, and what to do when it is not.

Our influence in the world naturally ebbs and flows. At one moment others are full of mistrust, and forward movement is impossible. In the next, by steadfastly clinging to what is true and good, we reawaken their receptivity and growth can take place. Only by carefully observing these cycles—the openings and closings of others to our influence—can we achieve greatness.

To do this, we must cultivate an attitude of independent watchfulness. In this state of quiet observation we open our hearts to the aid of the Sage, who in turn opens our eyes to what is possible and what is not. This clarity enables us to move with strength and grace when the time is right, and in this we achieve abundance.

Fêng also advises us that influence cannot last forever; as the sun rises, so it must set. When receptivity gives way to mistrust and our influence begins to wane, we ought not struggle to fortify or prolong it. Modesty and detachment require that we accept the turning of the tide. By letting go of the passing moment and entering the next with a correct and balanced attitude, we save ourselves for a more beneficial time.

 

The I Ching, or Book of Changes

Hexagram 55, Feng / Abundance

 

ebooks & apps of the Tao the Ching, I Ching,

Wei wu Wei Ching, Hua hu Ching, and

Art of War for iPad/Phone, Kindle,

Nook, or Android

 

You

can now buy

the I Ching as part of a

five-app bundle of Taoist classics 

for iPhone or iPad for less than

the cost of one hardcover

book.

brian browne walker taoist app bundle ios ipad iphone

 

let your mind and body become thoroughly empty

in the midst of the interplay

 

If you want to

pass through easily and directly

right now, just let your body and mind become

thoroughly empty, so it is vacant and silent yet aware

and luminous. Inwardly, forget all your conceptions of self,

and outwardly, cut off all sensory defilements.

When inside and outside are clear all the

way through, there is just

one true reality.

 

Yuanwu

zen letters