The Zen Studies Podcast 264 - Ten Fields of Zen, Field Two - Zazen: Our Total Response to Life (2 of 3)
Mar 26, 2024
Explore the active nature of Zazen as it requires ongoing effort for a deeper connection with life. Discover the importance of letting go of self-centered grasping to fully embrace experience. Learn how maintaining a childlike wonder can enhance awareness of each moment. Domyo Burk encourages breaking free from mental maps to see reality more clearly, while also questioning the very act of sitting. Silent retreats and mindful choices help deepen this practice, leading to ease and skillful living.
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Let Go Into Present Experience
- Let go of grasping and resistance toward exactly what you are experiencing in this moment of zazen.
- Open awareness to include judgments, preferences, and feelings without carrying an agenda.
Surrender Beats Willful Deepening
- Zazen deepens not by force but by repeatedly opening to life without an outcome-focused agenda.
- Sincere presence and patience create space for intimacy to manifest naturally.
Practice Wide Open Awareness
- Maintain a lively, expansive, receptive awareness during zazen like a wonder-filled infant.
- Question labels and habitual categorization that shut down fresh perception of each moment.