Dogen's Rules for Meditation say that
zazen, just sitting, is not something that is done in stages. Maybe not but it
does seem to have levels or layers not all of which are experienced
simultaneously:
(i) uncontrolled surface thoughts that
everyone perhaps is familiar with;
(ii) stillness when attention, undistracted by thoughts, is focused on the present moment;
(iii) deeper issues arising from or within the stillness;
(iv) resolution of deeper issues.
(ii) stillness when attention, undistracted by thoughts, is focused on the present moment;
(iii) deeper issues arising from or within the stillness;
(iv) resolution of deeper issues.
When I started to meditate twenty seven
years ago in 1985, I experienced only (i), wanted to experience (ii) and did not
understand references to (iii). Now, I have glimpsed (ii) and (iii) but have not
come close to experiencing (iv). Meditation is worth doing but can take a long
time. Dogen wrote, "If you want to find it quickly, you must start at once..."
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