“This teaching of casting off body and mind articulated by both Hongzhi and Dogen points to the essence of silent illumination, which is simply focusing awareness on the totality of self to return to and enact the bright shining empty field that is our own fundamental nature.”

― Taigen Dan Leighton, Cultivating the Empty Field

#zen #dogen #hongzhi #shikantaza

After doing my zazen this morning, this ku came into my head

sitting in silence
good for nothing?
maybe so

This is in reference to the Zen saying that Koda Sawaki popularized when he said "Zazen is good for nothing"

#haiku #micropoetry #zen #shikantaza

Ben wat aan het lezen over #shikantaza Is misschien naast de sportschool/fitness activiteiten ook wel leuk… 😊

“Don’t recall.
Don’t imagine.
Don’t think.
Don’t examine.
Don’t control.
Rest.”

It’s a teaching in six words.

The above plus another translation, both from Ken McLeod, here ➡️ https://unfetteredmind.org/tilopas-advice/

Additional translations, interpretations, elaborations ➡️ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tilopa#Six_Precepts_or_Words_of_Advice

#buddhism #meditation #shikantaza (the long way ‘round)

#ditdajow Worked on a swollen knee from #malasana #shikantaza

#Shikantaza

Hello #Fedivers 👋

I‘m #newhere

Some of my interests:

#nature
#naturephotography
#hiking
#landscapephotography
#pylon - photography
#sience in generell

#zen #zazen #shikantaza

#sounds in generell
#baroquemusic
#classicalmusic
#jazz #freejazz
#johncage #musicofsounds
#improvisedmusic #freeimprovisedmusic
#art and #exhibitions

Greetings 🖖🙂

Hello #Fedivers 👋

#newhere

Some of my interests:

#nature
#hiking
#landscapephotography
#pylon (photography)
#sience

#zazen #shikantaza #zen

#naturesounds
#baroquemusic
#classicalmusic
#jazz #freejazz
#johncage #musicofsounds
#improvisedmusic #freeimprovisedmusic
#sounds
#art
#exhibitions

Greetings 🖖🤓

@IAmErik No idea if this is of any benefit, :) but just in case: I have a simple #shikantaza practice, meaning that sometimes I put down the zabuton and zafu, and sit for awhile as thoughts and ideas and things arise and dissipate. Other than attending to the breath as a way to catch myself drifting off into ideation, I have never found anything more systematic to be appealing. Sometimes I have sat in company with a sangha, and that is good, but usually I don’t. It’s all good. :)

If you want to learn about #shikantaza, #zenBuddhism, #sotozen, why don't you visit the wonderful community of people at treeleaf.org?

It's a great place to start your zen journey.

Let's see. One thing I haven't talked about much is my #Zen #Buddhist involvement.

Which is entirely appropriate :) since my favorite phrase in this area is "language can't express truth"; but we muddle through anyway.

I have a (by some standards, nonexistent) #shikantaza (and so technically #soto I guess, and I do adore ol' #Dogen) practice, where I sit for some amount of time, watching thoughts and phenomena arise and dissipate, with no particular aim. This is, like, the best thing in the world!

I took part in r/zen for awhile, but it was (and maybe still is) a permanent trashfire dominated by a small group of people with their own bizarre ideas about Zen and an endless appetite for pointless conflict, which is sort of sad.

I don't have a local (or online) #sangha, really. I've done a couple of two or three day retreats at #ZMM , and they were great.

But mostly I just exist, to the limited extent that those words have any meaning. :)

Willing and even eager to discuss all this sort of thing with anyone here who is interested!