Zazen is just sitting. It is very plain and ultimately open. When I sit I can attend to whatever is present without meddling and without trying to achieve something special. Simple Zen sitting is becoming familiar with body, mind, feelings, and spirit. The upright and balanced posture of meditation is a reference point for spiritual inquiry and a complete expression of our universal nature. Making the effort to stop in stillness reveals the world as it is, which is waking up to reality, something we can lose in the midst of busy lives.
'How do I show up?' is a spiritual question sitting on my shoulder whenever I sit zazen. Am I all here, and what is the quality of my participation: bored, happy, lost, confused, clear, afraid, calm? Sitting is a chance to meet myself as I really am, not how I wish to be, think I am, or how I was. Zazen creates the wonderment of existing right now...what is it, how is it, where is it, am I awake to it?
Welcoming silence closes the gap between the so called 'outer' and 'inner' worlds. As Katigiri Roshi was fond of saying, there is 'no gap' between you and the world. Just sitting is a field of intimacy, direct experience, truth. It is also a fertile field for cultivating loving kindness, wisdom, alertness, giving, patience, and energy. How this happens....who knows?!
Zazen: Just Sitting
