Suzuki sensei says on pg 163, “Practice and enlightenment have equal value.” Vital, vital stuff right there. I’ve felt it myself and seen it in others. When first striking out on the path of Zen, we bring these crazy expectations with us. We mistake these expectations for understanding. We think Buddhism, Zen or meditation is going to be some cure for life. Well, only death is the cure for life and even it isn’t, since we continue on after we die even if only to fill the bellies of the worms and give them further life. We think Zen will cure our ills, make us stop drinking, improve our health, cure our sadness or lonliness. We think Zen is about striving for the big E of enlightenment, and we put butt to cushion with this not-understanding foremost in our minds. We sitting on the cushion, foot on the path so to speak, but we completely and utterly misunderstand it. So we have some silly little experience, a trick of the mind perhaps. We cling to it. We are on the path but facing the wrong way because we are clinging to the misunderstanding.
So yeah, practice isn’t far or near. We are right here. Butt on cushion=practicing enlightenment. But that isn’t really important. If we dwell to much on the importance of that, there we are standing with non-understanding on the path wondering were we are. So yeah, we don’t sit aimless but we are not necessarily trying to achieve a goal.
Gonna wrap up the Sandokai later, maybe tomorrow. Closing thoughts and such.
