Zen is the religion that promises nothing, and delivers. Such a wry observation points, with appropriate obliqueness, to the potency of nothing. That 'no thing' meme is not merely a theoretical construction; it also has an embodiment within the Middle Way approach to living. Many embodiments, actually, because it is such a strong aesthetic influence; but the core one is stillness. Long ago humans discovered that paying attention to breath slows the mind.
The Middle Way is a balanced way. A balanced way arises from an awareness that leaves nothing out. An awareness that leaves nothing out arises from a still mind. A stilled mind is the inevitable result of bringing awareness to the breath and body. Anyone can try it: breathe consciously and notice that your internal stream of thoughts and emotions responds.
The 'still mind' effect is momentary; the busy mind immediately returns. But it demonstrates an inherent human quality; that one can bring cessation to the juggernaut of even a busy mind. Zen speaks of “one who is not busy” and this is what is meant. The ability to stop the infernal tootling of the mind is tethered to the cultivation of an awareness of breath. All the true meditation cultures are deeply and anciently aware of this built-in connection between breath and mind.
Seated meditation is a quest for stillness. In the Zen context this stillness is marked by absence of self and the acceptance of transience and impermanence. When perfected, this stillness is without opinion, judgement or discrimination but does include kindness, receptivity, reverence and connectedness.
Busy people often dismiss meditation, saying things like, “There is no perfect stillness and even if there were, so what? We do not live our lives in this Zen contrivance; we live our lives in the very midst of busy-ness. Our issues revolve around stress and this stress comes from factors beyond our direct control. Of what possible use can it be to take valuable time and do nothing? We don't need another religion, so who needs Zen?”.
I like this question. Zen is a religion with meditation at its heart. Only a few of us need the religion but all of us need the heart. None of the essential factors of meditation trespass in any way upon the realm of religion. The practice of meditation does no violence to belief, in and of itself; but that is not to say it is without influence. After all, when we take on the meditation form we are crafting a mind/body relationship that is unaligned with several axioms of our everyday awareness.
But the beginning; the initial condition of meditation, is almost formless. Just bring awareness to breath and intention to breathing; an intention to make a soft body using breath and make an effort to stay present with that task, not allowing internal habits their usual sovereignty. Softness is the embodiment of receptivity, openness an expression of the awareness that leaves nothing out. Just this is enough. No Zen involved.
Meditation needs a beginning, a middle and an end. That is part of a meditation culture. When we are not in meditation we are in the everyday mind of a busy world. We do not skew our effort to an extreme body/breath awareness; instead our effort goes into whatever version of right livelihood supports our households. But when stress arises or our thoughts won't stop there is something that can be done. And, over time we become more skillful at avoiding harmful effects while doing what needs to get done.
Wayne Codling is a former Zen monastic and a lineage holder in the Soto Zen tradition. He teaches Zen style meditation in various venues around Victoria. Wayne’s talks and some writings can be found on his blog (http://sotozenvictoria.wordpress.com
This article was first published in the print edition of the Times Colonist Saturday Feruary 8 2014
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