Presence
from 
JoeUser Forums
JoeUser Forums
With palms together,
Good Morning All,
Each of us has our corner of the truth, do we not? We see from a point of view informed by our experience. Informed is the polite word. Zen teachers will use the word, distorted. As I sit in zazen my experience is just what is there. I learn that I do not have to do anything about it. I do not have to change it. I accept, enter, and become it.Yet, still not moving. We call this shikantaza, as I like to say, stillness in motion.
One of my readers has issues with mindfulness. He seems to think that being present is not enough. He is correct. Presence is not enough. If all we do is sit around being present, big mistake. Yet, it is equally incorrect to think that there is another other way than being present. Developing the ability to be present with pain and anguish without screaming our heads off is essential. Instead of screaming, so to speak, we address the cause of our suffering. Screaming is a coping strategy. Like Ora-gel on a tooth, it gets us through the night but does nothing to fix the problem.
Skill development is critical to our growth as spiritual people. The only tool we have is our heart/mind/body. It is essential then to practice. Call this practice what you will: prayer, meditation, study, walking meditation, therapy...its all the practice of being stillness in motion..
I have a small sticker on my truck window. It reads something like, "If you love your enemies, you won't have any." And so it is. Enemy is something we add, a construct. Like violence, we bring it to the table. When we want to understand we will be still and listen. This is what it means to be present.
Be well.
Good Morning All,
Each of us has our corner of the truth, do we not? We see from a point of view informed by our experience. Informed is the polite word. Zen teachers will use the word, distorted. As I sit in zazen my experience is just what is there. I learn that I do not have to do anything about it. I do not have to change it. I accept, enter, and become it.Yet, still not moving. We call this shikantaza, as I like to say, stillness in motion.
One of my readers has issues with mindfulness. He seems to think that being present is not enough. He is correct. Presence is not enough. If all we do is sit around being present, big mistake. Yet, it is equally incorrect to think that there is another other way than being present. Developing the ability to be present with pain and anguish without screaming our heads off is essential. Instead of screaming, so to speak, we address the cause of our suffering. Screaming is a coping strategy. Like Ora-gel on a tooth, it gets us through the night but does nothing to fix the problem.
Skill development is critical to our growth as spiritual people. The only tool we have is our heart/mind/body. It is essential then to practice. Call this practice what you will: prayer, meditation, study, walking meditation, therapy...its all the practice of being stillness in motion..
I have a small sticker on my truck window. It reads something like, "If you love your enemies, you won't have any." And so it is. Enemy is something we add, a construct. Like violence, we bring it to the table. When we want to understand we will be still and listen. This is what it means to be present.
Be well.