Our usual understanding of life is dualistic: you and I, this and that, good and bad. This kind of awareness is very important, because we are usually so one-sided. But to be aware of the movement does not mean to be aware of your small self, but rather of your universal nature, or Buddha nature. So when we practice zazen, all that exists is the movement of the breathing, but we are aware of this movement. When your mind is pure and calm enough to follow this movement, there is nothing: no “I,” no world, no mind nor body just a swinging door. There is no you to say “I.” What we call “I” is just a swinging door which moves when we inhale and when we exhale. If you think “I breathe,” the “I” is extra. The air comes in and goes out like someone passing through a swinging door. In this limitless world, our throat is like a swinging door. We say “inner world” or “outer world,” but actually there is just one whole world. The inner world is limitless, and the outer world is also limitless. When we exhale, the air goes out to the outer world. When we inhale, the air comes into our inner world. When we practice zazen our mind always follows our breathing. “What we call ‘I’ is just a swinging door which moves when we inhale and when we exhale.” If you start to practice zazen, you will begin to appreciate your beginner’s mind. This is also a real secret of the arts: always be a beginner. You should not say “I know what Zen is,” or “I have attained enlightenment.” Even though you read much Zen literature, you must read each sentence with a fresh mind. There is no need to have a deep understanding of Zen. So the most difficult thing is always to keep your beginner’s mind. Then we are always true to ourselves, in sympathy with all beings, and can actually practice. Dogen-zenji, the founder of our school, always emphasized how important it is to resume our boundless original mind. When our mind is compassionate, it is boundless. The beginner’s mind is the mind of compassion. When we have no thought of achievement, no thought of self, we are true beginners. In the beginner’s mind there is no thought “I have attained something.” All self-centered thoughts limit our vast mind. In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities in the expert’s mind there are few. If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything it is open to everything. This doesn’t mean a closed mind, but actually an empty mind and a ready mind. You should not lose your self-sufficient state of mind. It is always rich and sufficient within itself. Our “original mind” includes everything within itself. For a while you will keep your beginner’s mind, but if you continue to practice one, two, three years or more, although you may improve some, you are liable to lose the limitless meaning of original mind.įor Zen students the most important thing is not to be dualistic. The same thing will happen in your other Zen practices. But what would happen to you if you recited it twice, three times, four times or more? You might easily lose your original attitude towards it. Suppose you recite the Prajna Paramita Sutra only once. In Japan we have the phrase shoshin, which means “beginner’s mind.” The goal of practice is always to keep our beginner’s mind. It is difficult because it is hard to keep our mind pure and our practice pure in its fundamental sense. It is not difficult because it is hard to sit in the cross-legged position, or to attain enlightenment. People say that practicing Zen is difficult, but there is a misunderstanding as to why. “In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities,
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