Sure, I agree that the food a menu list is not the same as eating real food, or a finger pointing to the moon is not the real moon. And so it goes with books about the Buddha’s wisdom. They cannot present actual enlightenment to us even if the words come from the mouth of Gautama.
So what is the best way to deal with this problem? Should we ignore such books and just sit in zazen? But what if doing zazen is like pretending to be sitting in a restaurant believing we just had a great meal or are about to be served?
What if the real goal of Zen is to realize the most fundamental stuff or tathata of the universe from which even our thoughts and emotions are composed which is also pure Mind? How do we go about that? Surely ‘just sitting’ or shikantaza will not take us there. Posture does not equate with awakening to the most fundamental stuff of the universe. Still, I suppose some Zennists believe that ‘sitting Zen’ or zazen is the answer.
Zen, itself, or dhyâna is not the practice of positioning oneself into a sitting posture. Zen has nothing whatsoever to do with sitting upright. Dhyâna, itself, is about transcending our entire mental life which results in direct union with pure Mind which is radiant and like clear light. For the first time we see that all phenomena, including mental phenomena are dependent originations which depend on pure Mind or tathata. This is the supreme truth, in other words.
On the other hand, if we attach to any mental phenomenon or ritual practice such as zazen or chanting we shall never accomplish the highest dhyâna. Such practices can deceive us insofar as we believe they will somehow lead to a direct intuition of pure Mind.
My master told me;
"Beyond the reflection in the mirror, what is your original face[1]?"
[1] translated from his japanese expression Honrai No Menmoku, which essentially means original nature, i.e. the one at hand before the distressing interference of the body of birth and death.
Posted by: minx | May 24, 2012 at 11:11 AM