If I had to pick a word that represented my first lessons in Zen training it would have to be the word “sacralization” in which a person is sensitized to seeing the immediate world around them in a much deeper and more spiritual way.
Everything I did from that time on involved a kind of deepening process whereby I became more attuned to my own behavior. It could be making a pot of coffee for sensei, washing the dishes, putting firewood into the stove, or reading a sutra. It was almost like I was imbuing everything and every action with a sacred character from turning a doorknob to putting on a new roof or just sitting and reading.
Admittedly, sacralization is difficult to define but if one is fortunate to spend even a day or two away from the madding crowd in a Buddhist temple wearing robes and practicing mindfulness, a sacred presence starts to take shape.
It is impossible to sense this reading books about Zen Buddhism. I know most people who are interested in Zen make some attempt at the sacralization of a space in their home or apartment by having a shrine. They might meditate there or do full prostrations (Tibetan style) and do sutra reading and chanting.
Becoming more spiritually sensitized so that the sacred character of the world around us grows is not an easy task. It is also easy to become confused by what it means to sacralize the immediate world around us as if it is a kind of moral behavior—it is not.
If we were Buddhas we would see that every action of ours, including our words in conversations, leaves a specific kind of imprint or mark which generates a particular aura around us which might be peaceful, hectic or even depressing. Surrounded by this aura we are unconsciously reacting and living with what is contained inside it which is not sacred or spiritually edifying. Hence, the need to become sensitized to the sacred.
In most cases we are just dumping our unresolved problems into this dark aura such that over time the problems mount up so that we sense a kind of unease much of the time. When the weekend comes we feel the urge to escape from our den. But in the end we have to return to it. The sacred peace found in the monastic life or living in retreat is not in our life. Nor can we find much time to become sensitized to the sacred.
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