Draft Talk On Zazen, Part III

It might not be possible to prevent natural thoughts from arising spontaneously in the mind. However, even if this is possible, it is not what we are trying to do in zazen. Thoughts have to arise so that we can practice nonattachment to them. But it is possible:

to think that the purpose of zazen is to prevent thoughts from arising;

to continue to think this even when we have received instruction and have been told that it is not the case;

to practice meditation while misunderstanding it;

to think that we are failing to meditate because thoughts arise;

to realize that we have been mistaken about the purpose of meditation yet still to feel as if spontaneous thoughts are failures to meditate.

Maybe continued practice brings better understanding.

Draft Talk On Zazen, Part II

To minimize inputs, we sit in a quiet room, facing a wall. Because we want to remain awake and alert and not to go into a trance, we keep the eyes open but we see only an unchanging wall. One guy told me that he could see the quality of the light changing on the wall during evening meditation but I am not that observant. We hear silence and maybe an occasional faint background sound. However, any loud or persistent noise would interfere with meditation.

Practicing nonattachment to natural thoughts means:

sitting without deliberate thought;

remaining relaxed and alert;

noticing that a thought has arisen unbidden;

letting it come and go;

not holding onto it;

not continuing it or adding to it;

not getting caught up in it;

not trying to suppress it;

sitting with it, accepting its presence, until it passes;

not changing natural thought into deliberate thought.

 

Practicing does not mean always succeeding but does mean persevering. Most of the time, all that is present in meditation is you and your thoughts, not anything else, so why do this? If you see no point in it, then you will not do it. My job is not to tell you to do it but to say that, if you would like to approach some understanding and control of natural thought processes, then zazen might help.

Draft Talk On Zazen, Part I

Many inner practices are called "meditation." I will speak only about zazen, just sitting meditation. I will not give instruction in the practice of zazen because I am not qualified to do that but, if anyone would like to receive instruction, then I can tell them where to go for it. You will pick up some idea of what zazen is about from what I am going to say. 

Zazen is not trance, concentration, visualization, mantra or koan. It is a normal state of consciousness. We are aware of our surroundings while we meditate. If the fire alarm goes off while we are sitting for zazen, then we hear it and respond. We do not sit in a trance and burn to death. So, if zazen is ordinary consciousness, then why do we call it a meditation practice? That is the central question, to which I will return.

In every waking moment, a conscious mind receives inputs from the external world and outputs from the unconscious mind and thinks about them so here are three processes: inputs, outputs and thought. However, we must complicate the description slightly in order to differentiate between two kinds of thought. 

Inputs are what we see and hear. Outputs are natural thoughts, arising spontaneously, becoming conscious, entering consciousness from unconscious memories and mental processes. When we think about inputs or outputs, that is deliberate thought. Thus, we are making a three-fold distinction not between inputs, outputs and thoughts but between inputs, outputs (which are natural thoughts) and deliberate thoughts.

In zazen, we address all three processes. We minimize inputs, practice nonattachment to outputs and temporarily suspend deliberate thought.