Further Practice
The heart of our Zen practice is Zazen meditation: being in life as it is, in this present moment. This is expressed in our Practice Principles, recited at our meditation meetings. The Ordinary Mind Zen school emphasises these being extended into our daily life: work, home, relationships and community. This is supported by a number of further practices.
Practice Principles
Caught in the self centred dream, only suffering.
Holding to self-centred thoughts, exactly the dream.
Each moment, life as it is, the only teacher.
Being just this moment, compassion’s way.
Breath Counting
A common practice is to be aware of breathing in and out while focussing on the rise and fall of the belly, counting each outbreath from one up to ten, and repeating the cycle. This is a practice recommended for beginners, but it is also useful for experienced practitioners to return to.
Labelling Thoughts
In meditation we notice many thoughts arising, which naturally occurs. What is central to Zen and to Buddhist practice more widely, is how we relate to thoughts. Suffering, or dissatisfaction, is not created by thoughts in of themselves, but rather by our attachments to them.
Labelling of thoughts is a practice recommended by Joko Beck, the founder of the Ordinary Mind Zen School. By continual and specific labelling, over time we start to notice our habitual patterns, and begin to reduce entanglements with thoughts.
Shikantaza
Shikantaza is an open meditation of full awareness, free of fixed anchors or any goal. There is just sitting, with a clear awareness of the body, stream of thoughts, sounds and events. Although a simple practice, Shikantaza can be demanding. It is usually only recommended after students have established a foundation through breath meditation or labelling thoughts.
Koan Study
Koans are questions or stories focussing on our fundamental nature. There are many koans, traditionally known as ‘Public Cases’, and may appear either as exchanges between students and teachers, or as paradoxical statements. They cannot be solved by logical thought: practitioners work with the koan, through meditation and daily life, until it is resolved. Koan study occurs under the guidance of an experienced teacher. In this school, it is only given to students who have reached maturity in their practice.
Dharma Study
At our meditation meetings we recite Sutras, central texts on the Dharma. There are also many books on Zen by modern teachers, as well as Dharma and reflective talks.
The approach to Dharma Study is important. Thousands of sutras and texts exist, reflecting wisdom passed down over many generations. At the same time, there are many reminders contained within the texts and sutras themselves, that they form only words acting as guides and pointers, not to be confused with the core practice itself. Our practice principles remind us, that teachings are actually contained within each moment of life.
Sangha
Regular meditation is difficult to maintain by ourselves for long periods without the support of others. This is why our Sangha, or Zen community, exists. It provides the structure and space for us to sit together, and to help support each other. Our Sangha sits for meditation meetings each month. During the year we also meet for Zazenkai (full-day meditations) and Sesshin (a four-day intensive meditation).
Working with a Teacher
Working with an experienced teacher is fundamental to Zen practice. Teachers provide guidance to help individuals, and to the Sangha as a whole. A key interaction is though Daisan (also known as dokusan), a personal one-to-one interview with the teacher.
Daisan may be used to ask a question about Zen practice, report on a specific practice of mindfulness, character work, precept work, or a koan the teacher has given. It is okay to come to Daisan not knowing what to present: sometimes the best way is to enter the Daisan room with “beginners mind” and the courage of being as you are, with all of your uncertainty and vulnerability.
Through Daisan, the teacher and student develop a trusting relationship to break down barriers created by self-centred delusion, cultivating presence and open-heartedness that can be extended to others.
Precepts
The Buddhist precepts are ethical principles for engaging with the world with right awareness, effort and actions. However, they are not rules or commandments. In her book Waking Up To What You Do: A Zen Practice for meeting every situation with intelligence and compassion, Ordinary Mind Zen teacher Diane Eshin Rizetto outlines the precepts as a waypoints: markers that ask us to pay attention to the intent and effect of our actions:
I take up the way of speaking truthfully
I take up the way of speaking of others with openness and possibility
I take up the way of meeting others on equal ground
I take up the way of cultivating a clear mind
I take up the way of taking only what is freely given and giving freely of all that I can
I take up the way of engaging in sexual intimacy respectfully and with an open heart
I take up the way of letting go of anger
I take up the way of supporting life
– Diane Eshin Rizetto.
Waking Up To What You Do: A Zen Practice for meeting every situation with intelligence and compassion.
