Zen is not for the weak-hearted.
In Zen, even if you train diligently and hard, there is no guarantee that you will experience a deep realization about your True Self – what some folks call “enlightenment.” Along the way, however, you definitely will encounter yourself in ways that occasionally might make you chuckle but more often make you shake your head in dismay.
During one of my earliest encounters with my first Zen teacher, Tanouye Rotaishi, he declared that all the work I had previously done in the community had come from “selfish” reasons. Not so, I countered. I had been fighting for racial and gender equity, workplace and news media diversity, and the like, for almost four decades. These are good and just causes. Aren’t they?
No, he said. All the work you did before was for nothing because it was done out of your ego. A senior priest who was present in the room said: No, all her prior work brought her here, so it was worth it. Tanouye Rotaishi remained adamant and scolded her: No, don’t make any excuses for her. Turning to me, he said: You did not consider the other people’s points of view. They also were doing what they thought was best.
His observation hit me like a metaphorical whack on the head. Up until that point, I had not considered that my “opponents” were doing what they believed was good and just from their own perspective. This was a hard but necessary truth to face.
In Zen, martial arts become martial Ways, because they are methods through which to develop yourself as a human being. For instance, the purpose of Hojo (a form of sword fighting), is to break all habits and return to your true nature. You hold your sword tip at throat level, but even when facing another person, your true opponent is yourself. Your own sword is pointed at your own throat.
This is what Zen is like: looking at the truth about ourselves. This is not easy.
Yes, the training is difficult and requires discipline, perseverance and what may seem like a willingness to subject oneself to tortuous conditions: lack of sleep, hours of meditation seated in an unnatural position, and especially facing not-so-pleasant aspects of yourself.
To seriously go on this Zen journey, we must be prepared for whatever comes. We do not know what we will discover. So, words of advice: Only the brave need apply!
Zen is not for the weak-hearted.
In Zen, even if you train diligently and hard, there is no guarantee that you will experience a deep realization about your True Self – what some folks call “enlightenment.” Along the way, however, you definitely will encounter yourself in ways that occasionally might make you chuckle but more often make you shake your head in dismay.
During one of my earliest encounters with my first Zen teacher, Tanouye Rotaishi, he declared that all the work I had previously done in the community had come from “selfish” reasons. Not so, I countered. I had been fighting for racial and gender equity, workplace and news media diversity, and the like, for almost four decades. These are good and just causes. Aren’t they?
No, he said. All the work you did before was for nothing because it was done out of your ego. A senior priest who was present in the room said: No, all her prior work brought her here, so it was worth it. Tanouye Rotaishi remained adamant and scolded her: No, don’t make any excuses for her. Turning to me, he said: You did not consider the other people’s points of view. They also were doing what they thought was best.
His observation hit me like a metaphorical whack on the head. Up until that point, I had not considered that my “opponents” were doing what they believed was good and just from their own perspective. This was a hard but necessary truth to face.
In Zen, martial arts become martial Ways, because they are methods through which to develop yourself as a human being. For instance, the purpose of Hojo (a form of sword fighting), is to break all habits and return to your true nature. You hold your sword tip at throat level, but even when facing another person, your true opponent is yourself. Your own sword is pointed at your own throat.
This is what Zen is like: looking at the truth about ourselves. This is not easy.
Yes, the training is difficult and requires discipline, perseverance and what may seem like a willingness to subject oneself to tortuous conditions: lack of sleep, hours of meditation seated in an unnatural position, and especially facing not-so-pleasant aspects of yourself.
To seriously go on this Zen journey, we must be prepared for whatever comes. We do not know what we will discover. So, words of advice: Only the brave need apply!