Good morning!
We have a nice quiet, cool morning. All over the world zen practitioners are in Rohatsu sesshin to commemorate the Buddha’s awakening, available for all to witness, always.
Sesshin is embracing the mind (摂心) or touching the mind (接心). Our minds stray away and are not touched, but when we sit calm and clear, we can embrace and touch our minds.
Our minds are constantly running after or away from things. When we sit, our minds also settle down, calm and clear, and our minds see our world in quietude and clarity.
Then, we know how our minds wonder and work in our daily living. Further, we find the awakened mind and world. Kukai said that awakening is to know one’s mind as it is.
The Buddha said that we cannot reach the limit of the world. This means our minds can reach and find the limit of the world – it is actually mind-world, our six sense world.
The Buddha said, “The world is on fire. Eyes are on fire. Ears…Nose…Tongue…Body… The mind is on fire.” Because our minds are on fire our world, the globe, is on fire.
“The three worlds are in one mind – kama-dhâtu (lust realm, volitional/emotional world), rûpa-dhâtu (form realm, material world), and arûpa-dhâtu (formless realm, idea world).
Our minds reflect and illuminate these worlds like a mirror. Depending on whether we are small or great, bright or dark, we reflect and illuminate such worlds, and live our lives in such a world.
The common verse among the seven Buddhas is:
Doing all the good,
doing no evil, and
purifying the mind
is the teaching of all buddhas.
Only by purifying the mind, can we figure out good or evil. So, purifying the mind is crucial. Constant purification is the most important task. This is our task and practice.
We are driven by karma in our daily lives. When we sit, we can stop our karma and see how our minds stray in the Six Ways. The quality of life depends on the mind’s purification.
It determines our life and world, individually, socially, and ecologically. The Buddha advised his disciples at his passing, “Now I leave you. Strive hard with no laxity!”
Life is in impermanence, not only at our passing, but consistently. So, to practice here and now is the only way to do it. Because it is our life and our world, we must strive here now.
Zen practice is beyond all karmas and karma worlds. If we want a better, true world, we must practice it – hopefully all humans will sit and settle in holy truth, beauty, and goodness.
11/12/3
