practice za-ZEN

It’s common that Zen monks chant the following before or after a meeting: “All beings are primarily Buddhas / Like water and ice / There is no ice apart from water / There are no Buddhas apart from beings.”

But the meaning of this is not commonly known. It can be traced back to Buddha himself who upon enlightment said: “All beings without exception are endowed with Buddha-nature.” But this too is cryptic.

Our fundamental nature is akin to water, and as we get on with life, we get more and more frozen—snow, icicle, perhaps becoming an iceberg. How do we regain that flow of water in a gentle forest stream? That’s my “to-do” question today… meditating on it while taking a walk to the cafe… snowflakes thaw in the spring sun.

What is zazen? “Za” refers to sitting, while the original meaning of “Zen” is meditation.

The practice of zazen is simple to learn, yet is probably most difficult for many to sustain. Its primary importance in life cannot be understood without the experience itself and entering beyond it.

“Just let the thoughts pass, like clouds in the sky, neither opposing them nor attaching to them. Shadows pass and vanish. Images arise from the subconscious, then disappear. The brain becomes deeply calm.”

Master Dogen wrote in the Fukanzazengi: “The zazen I speak of is not learning how to meditate. It is nothing other than the way to peace and happiness, the practice-realization of perfect awakening.”

See also:
http://www.pxr.com/kojin-an/htmls/practice.html

Addendum:
For those who prefer VIDEO presentation, I recently found this 10-minute clip (WMV format in accented English) on How to Practice Zazen by Gudo Nishijima at http://www.dogensangha.org/video.htm , a Dogen site in Tokyo.

On the same page, there is a 7-minute clip on The Meaning of Zazen—which alludes to scientific validation, but let that pass, for the real meaning cannot be truly discerned without dedicated personal practice.