Today is the first day of this June 2024 seven day sesshin.
For many people, the first day of such sheen can feel somewhat unsettled. It's common not to sleep very well, the first night. And you may have not gotten into the flow the rhythm of sesshin yet, of course that arises organically. On its own, the more the more Zen that we do. And if this happens to be your first session, at Chapin Mill, or the first you've done in a long while, or your first time working with a different teacher can all feel very new. You naturally have this beginner's mind which those who go to sesshin regularly may not so readily experience. For experienced sesshin goers, there may be thoughts about past six genes. So genes that other centers making comparisons you might find yourself plotting and planning your sesshin strategy looking for better results this time. Or looking to avoid pain. Let go of all that. In truth, we're all beginners. Each one of us moment by moment we're born anew. And that's because everything and everyone is in flux. Whatever practice you're working on, your job is just to give it your full attention. Just for one moment. Completely, wholeheartedly for this moment.
Now this one don't get ahead of yourself.
This requires a lot of effort on our part. It requires a willingness and a commitment to not allow ourselves to dwell in thoughts. It's a choice that each of us must make moment by moment.
Don't worry about where your mind was this morning. Or during the last round or a couple minutes ago. It's all gone doesn't matter. What matters is where you put your attention now.
Each moment is you could say an open invitation. Each time you notice. you've drifted off into thoughts. That's an open invitation to return It's not an invitation to judge yourself to pile more thoughts on
for this machine, I'm going to start off by reading from a book about the life and teachings of Tangen Harada Roshi. The book is titled, throw yourself into the house of Buddha. And the afterword is by our very own Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede in which he covers tangan Roshi, his connection to Roshi, Philip Kaplow and the Rochester Zen Center for the benefit of those of you who don't know, of Tongan Roshi, prior to being sanctioned as a teacher, he was the head monk at Hussain who Shinji, which was the primary monastery in Japan that Kapleau trained at during his 13 years in Japan. And the teacher at who Shinji at the time was Howard Dyer and Sogaku Roshi. And it was he who sanctioned Tongan as a teacher as a Dharma Heir. And another one of Harada Roshi is Dharma Heir errs was Yasutani Roshi.
When hovered over she's health had declined. Kapleau became a disciple of Yasutani Roshi, and in time Kapleau was sanctioned as a teacher. So Tongan and Kapleau were close dharma brothers and friends. And then there's another piece to the RCC connection in that after Tongan had been sanctioned as a teacher in 1955. He was sent to another monastery, who Coco tea. And that is the temple that Bowden Roshi trained at, in the mid 80s. At the time, it was one of the few temples in Japan that accepted foreigners.
So that's enough background. The book, throw yourself into the house of Buddha is part part autobiographical. I'd say about one half of it is largely autobiographical talks. In the second half is a collection of talks that we're going to focus on, and the editor of the book. Look up her name.
Oh cogen Shah Irina is the editor says that these talks were mostly excerpts from sesshin TV shows that Tang and Roshi had given and we're going to start off with a chapter titled Zen it covers the basics of practice, the kind of instruction that is covered during an introductory workshop. Now on the one hand, everyone here doing a seven day sesshin already knows the basics, or is at least been exposed to them. But on this first day of machine, we can all benefit from tapping into our intrinsic beginner's mind. A mind that is free of preconceived preconceptions. A mind that openly receives whatever is given whatever is
tangan Roshi begins how should we practice? What is the path? Zen is the foundation of our practice, we start out by learning to do Zaza and correctly following the guidance of a teacher to settle the body, settle the breath, settle the mind. Essentially, the body breath and mind are not separate just one but provisionally we can divide this into three parts in order to explain it. Body breath mind not to
So, he starts off describing how to engage the body and how to position it correctly, so that everything is in alignment as much as possible.
Working with posture is most effective when we take the middle way. Not obsessing over it not fussing over it, not trying this cushion and that cushion and another and another, constantly adjusting. But it's also not the opposite extreme. Not giving attention to your posture will cause you to place unnecessary strain on your body on your shoulders, your neck, your back, and it will sap your energy
so the middle way is, yes, it's helpful to experiment with your cushions. Try different positions as needed. So you can relax so you can relax into your seat. Don't make it into a big project though. The point he's making is that when the body is settled, so is the mind and breath. They're not two, they're not three
Okay, so this is what he says about working with the body.
Check your posture, making sure that you are properly positioned on your cushion. Your bottom is a little farther than halfway forward on the zafu. Or another way to put it is the front third of the cushion or chair. After arranging yourself properly on the cushion, cross your legs and lean your whole body forward toward the ground. Then bring your body slowly back up, taking care to leave the lower back straight. So here Harry's recommending that you do a hip hinge. Lean forward with a elongated spine and that helps you to get seated on your sit bones and not Tuck Tuck on your your pelvis. He says Now you will be centered in your tendon with a spine straight the hips back and the belly forward. This naturally happens when you are in a lotus position. But however your legs are crossed, it's very important that you don't let your lower back sink down. It's very important that you don't let your lower back sink down. Don't tuck your tailbone he uses the word tanden but it's also known as Hara and it's located roughly one to two inches below your belly button. And, and at our center, we are accustomed to using the word hora. So I'm going to stick with that, it's a little easier to say. I want to add to what he said that most of us benefit from having a support cushion, resting across our lap. So there that our hands. In particular, our pinkies pinky fingers rests against our abdomen against the heart. If you will allow your hands to drift down your lap down your legs. The result is that you're going to hunch you're going to tuck in your lower spine and strain your back muscles. So do yourself a favor there and pay attention to the placement of your hands. Then Tongan Roshi says Sit upright, leaning neither to the left nor to the right, neither forward nor back. Your ears should be on the same plane as your shoulders, and your nose aligned with your navel, the back of your neck is straight, so that your head is suspended as if a string from the heavens were pulling up the top of your head. This way, the chin will be aligned in the correct place. You know, probably most of us, myself included, don't sit in a full lotus position. And that's okay. The goal here is not to wrangle our body into some challenging position, or to look like a picture perfect Buddha, like the one on the altar. Each one of us already is a picture perfect Buddha. In the body that we're in. There's nothing we need to change. Doesn't matter how tall or short you are, your age, your hairstyle, your physical appearance. Your physical abilities or limitations don't matter. You're a Buddha.
Or we can say a Buddha becoming a Buddha
doesn't matter what position we sit in. Whether it's one of the Lotus postures, kneeling, the chair a bench. What matters most is that we're upright. We're engaged with our practice, but relaxed at the same time. And still, police sit still.
When our body is still so is our mind and our breath
Tongan Roshi says in giving all this instruction, this is not to say that your posture is forced. It is very natural. You don't need to put any tension anywhere. Shape it with your mind, not your muscles. Just do your best to work toward a good posture. Even if your body resists, keep your mind open. Remember that it is all right. Simply work with what you've got. Simply work where you are.
Where you are right now it's just like this Are you open to it
then he says, Keep your eyes half open, naturally gazing softly at the floor in front of you. Well for us, it's about a foot up from the base of the divider where it meets the time. Place your left hand on the top of your right hand and join the thumbs together, resting them on your feet if you're sitting in lotus posture, right in front of your Hara, or if not on your feet resting on a support cushion. Again, the most important thing is the lower back, if it is straight as it should be, your Hara becomes full of energy. And when he says by as straight as it should be, he's not talking about rigid, military like posture with the chest puffed out and the chin up. But again, completely natural and relaxed, while upright with the tent, the chin tucked in gently, so nothing forced or strained. Then he says, place your heart mind, your mind's eye in the Hara. If you don't keep your focus in the Hora, you will find yourself operating more and more in your head. That leads to confusion. It leads to becoming sidetracked, distracted.
This is really important advice to new and seasoned sitters like
many of us because of our conditioning, tend to not even be aware of our body. We go about our days, doing our everyday routines, the ones we've done a million times before including here in the Zendo during Kaneen, taking your C getting into position. We've done it so much are you aware of your body in space
your body is never not somewhere in space. Pay attention
we're conditioned to treat the head or the brain as if it's the center of the body rather than the Hara. And so without realizing it. We might be working on our koan, or breath practice in our head in a mental kind of intellectual way. Rather than with our whole body
treating it as if it's something we need to think through. Something to figure out to find an answer to a puzzle to solve
and yet, there's nowhere to go. There's nothing you need
this is just conditioning and we can do do it but it does require effort it requires attention how can we get our practice more into our bodies How can we embody more
how can we embody this
body the breath
don't lead with the head lead with the horror
make your center of gravity lower ground yourself from below not above
tangan Roshi then says, If you do this, with attention, you will be able to sit well discriminating thought is abandoned. True Nature is one with itself most naturally, in this posture, true dignity is true mind sit in the form of true mind.
Nexi describes how to settle the breath the breath flows in and out from the bottom of your belly, you are breathing from your Hara, you can become settled in this way. Patiently breathe this one breath deeply from your lower belly, your Hara becomes your center naturally, the bottom of your belly is where you are The stablest the breath goes in the breath goes out, pour all of your body all of your spirit into this one breath. There is nothing outside of it. Just breathe this one breath. This is all there is. Give it your all you are one with the breath. The way is one
so our work is on a real micro level. Again, one moment at a time
not counting hours or days or rounds or blocks of sitting. Not thinking about what comes next. Or what happened before. Not wasting your time. Thinking about how you're doing or how other people are doing or about what's going on in the world outside.
Just be here
for this one moment here
Then he says even if you are not thinking about taking this breath the breath is breathed for you you are perfectly nurtured like a baby is nurtured by its mother there is nothing there is nothing to figure out you are naturally cared for when you go to sleep at night Are you directing your breath? Since you were born 2040 70 years ago 365 days a year how many times in one night alone has this breath been breathed? Always it has been natural you have never had to will it to be so, who is breathing for you? Who is breathing this breath Don't look away this breath is true life this breath is everything
this breath is perfectly receiving all things this one breath is repaying all the goodness of the universe this is the heart of all the cosmos there are no boundaries to this one breath the host is here who is the host Can someone take this breath for you? This is total mutual support and sustenance the heart of all being is now here in this one breath
just breathing and being breathe
we all breathe the same air the same mixture of gases that make up the Earth's atmosphere where does my breath Where does my breath begin and yours end?
Where does my breath and in yours begin?
So so far he's covered the body and the breath. And next is mind. tangan Roshi says various ways of practice are given to us. There is a practice just right for you. The practice that will reveal to you this one way path. There is no question of comparing and saying this is a good practice. But that one not so good. It is just like the Olympics. You have the 100 meter race, the 1000 meter race and the marathon. Depending on the way you're able to practice, one practice will be better for you than another, it is only if you are not giving yourself completely to the practice that you will become dissatisfied with it. There is counting the breath following the breath shikantaza Mu, the sound of one hand clapping your original face and many other koans the teaching is the same and each practice reveals one and the same thing
what does it reveal? Sir, anything to learn or get
when it comes to practice at certain points, working with a teacher, we might change our practice. For example, switching from a breath practice to a first koan or a first go on to other koans. When that happens, it's not as if we've graduated to some higher level. It's not like we're working our way up to the top of the ladder. That's a real misunderstanding of the work we're doing. We're not trying to gain anything. It's about losing, losing the grip of thoughts. The method is the same no matter which practice we're working on. Some people have a really hard time with this especially those with strong ambitions to succeed at whatever they do.
Attachment to success attainment so if your motivation while practicing is to work your way up. Try working your way down.
Next, he describes the practice of counting the breath. And of course what he says about counting the breath also applies to other practices. Counting the breath is the perfect practice at the beginning. Shakyamuni Buddha himself taught this practice. We have example after example of it in the sutras. Starting with a few deep abdominal breaths, your mind's eye settles into your lower belly, counting on the exhale, just count why there is no separation. Just doing just being the breath being the count to just to count to 10 and naturally start from one again, earnestly count this one breath. Do not let yourself be bothered by thoughts and feelings. If you fall off the count, you pull yourself together and go back to counting your breath. Many thoughts arise in the brain. Just let them be. The brain is actively going all the time, which is neither good nor bad. Whatever arises No matter how inviting it appears, neither entertain it nor reject it. This is the key, be strong on this point, be firm and determined, be resolved. But don't strain
he continues, the host is not the discriminating consciousness, the host is true self, all of heaven and earth, same route, all the myriad things are one body, the true nature openly, obediently, be pure grasp nothing, hold nothing, rest, nowhere. Let go of everything, you are the embodiment of truth, just as you are, stay in your Hara do this one doing? What is one doing? You can only answer this for yourself by doing it. Simply count this breath or simply be be this one Mu. This one who
he goes on one wholehearted breath is a step taken. This is the law of karmic inevitability. The step that you take is never lost. Just carry on. Give it your all, then give it some more clearly, decisively settled into this one breath. Nothing agitates you. Counting the breath is the perfect practice of truth. You need not entertain any ideas of gain or getting something everything you need is right here. Everything You Need to Know You know already. If you practice counting the breath, you will become very calm in this practice. unflustered by anything that arises. You're giving your life over to this. Practicing in such a way that there is no tomorrow. Thinking that you still have time is a loss of valuable time. Depending on having tomorrow to deepen your practice is not giving over your life to practice. There is only today, only this period of meditation. Actually, there is only this one breath. There is only this one doing this one single point. This is all there is.
I'm reminded of the words of Miller rapa the 11th century Tibetan master who said affairs and business will drag on forever. So lay them down and practice the Dharma now, if you think tomorrow is the time to practice, suddenly, you find that life has slipped away. Who can tell when death will come?
Then Tonga nurse she says, whether it's counting the breath, following the breath, Mu shikantaza Whatever it is, burn within that practice, and your practice will take care of itself. Burn within it. Leave no self, Leave No Trace, burn completely cleanly.
He says practice nurtures practice. First and foremost, believe with all your life that you are immersed in the Buddha way here and now. We walk this one path, purely throwing all of your might into it, maintaining this one straight path, this one practice you have been given to do. If you practice this way, you won't have the possibility of regret later. How many of us have experienced post sesshin regrets? Looking back and analyzing how it went, how you got entangled in thoughts yet again. That's a symptom of a results seeking mind. Don't analyze your practice. Just do it. Just the doing. tangan Roshi says when your practice is wholehearted like this, everything comes together to support you, there is no more separation. There is no room for any reasoning or conceptualizing or trying to figure it out. If you throw everything into your practice, then everything gives itself to you to make one whole, pure doing but if you don't really do it wholeheartedly, then you won't be able to appreciate the intimacy of Buddha heart. Even though we're always an equally receiving and living out this treasure, we are eating a feast without even tasting it this is a real waste. Eating a feast without tea tasting this dividing our attention. The most ordinary bland food like plain rice or oatmeal, tastes amazing. If we pay attention if we throw ourselves into the just eating
and then tongue in Roshi concludes it is so difficult to attain a human birth and as human beings. Does everyone have this opportunity to hear the teachings of Buddha Dharma in this life? Certainly not. The Dharma, incomparable the profound and minut Lee subtle, is rarely encountered, even in hundreds of 1000s of millions of Calpis. Happily, we are blessed with this human body. Happily, we are able to meet with Buddha Dharma, true nature meets with itself. Self awareness is possible. We have this capacity and we are in a position to attain liberation. At the same time, we have an infinite capacity to use our wits to be clever and judgmental, to look away from the reality of our own being. Which way are we going to go? He says, Lay down your self cherishing, throw yourself into the house of Buddha. Then everything is done by Buddha. Release the hold of the small self and know how vast you are. Just practice and know how vast and wonderful the way is
how vast and wonderful it is. Just as it is. Just like this. Just says you are
