If you have been reading a number of these weekly posts, it should be clear by now that human beings are most disturbed by what goes on in their heads as opposed to what the actual situation or event itself comprises. Zen often speaks of non-attachment. We become bothered by some condition because we allow ourselves to be moved around by circumstances.
The Sixth Ancestor, Hui Neng, defined “zazen” in the following manner.
Za – Do not give rise to thoughts about anything you see or hear.
Zen – Pay no attention to anything that arises from within.
When we remain calm and composed, searching for resolutions to life’s issues fades away and are no longer a necessity.
Resolutions will appear in due course. However, if your mind is distressed and spinning, suffering is sure to follow.
Bodhidharma gave us concurrently principle and practice in order to help us achieve a silent, unmoving mind.
Cultivating inner stillness through meditation practice tempers our inclination to get overly excited or emotional. Developing the ability to simply be aware of your thoughts means you won’t lose control.
Exercising restraint and maintaining composure in your speech and actions is then possible. When we are able to maintain a stable and calm state of awareness, and are no longer tethered by the emotional roller coaster of our judgements and opinions, delusions cease to arise and the sense of a separate I, my, me begins to dissolve.
I urge you to go back and read some of the initial meditation practice modalities in these posts, primarily the ones that deal with breath. Body and mind should be integrated singularly through the medium of respiration. This “becoming one” is then extended to all things. By this I mean both inside your body on a cellular level and with all things outside as well. Always remain one with whatever you happen to be doing in each moment of the day. Whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, do not deviate. The proof of this pudding lies in establishing a consistent discipline. Do not deceive yourself by thinking you can absorb any of this
intellectually.