After earnestly seeking the question “What am I?” for a period of time through techniques outlined in previous teaching, a breakthrough enlightenment often appears.
It can be loosely defined in the following way:
A person gains the insight that his own temporal existence and all phenomena in this world are without substance and fundamentally empty of a separate enduring entity.
As heavy as this may sound, how would you personally perceive an existence that is not swayed by circumstance, not captured by emotions, and not a slave to opinion and judgement.
The truth reveals that world religions, founded initially with purity and simplicity, have over the centuries been subject to exploitation through human intervention. This sad occurrence is demonstrated intellectually and spiritually by self serving design.
I have quoted the word “samadhi” during these writings. This is important. Think of it as a single – mindedness where we do not weigh thought as being either superior or inferior to each other. Your current thought, your previous thought, and subsequent thoughts are viewed as having equal value, simply phenomena drifting into and out of your minds. Don’t attach! This is the key that unlocks samadhi. The ability to place our mind where we want it, when we want it and for as long as we want it.
If you are a newcomer to the Zen meditation process, please don’t “beat yourself up” for losing focus. This will occur over and over for some time. Simply stated, this means you are still dealing from a place that has an I, my, me as the focal point. Let it all go. Let go of the inner self as well as the outer self, and let go of everything you consider being “mine” as regards education, social status, and the like.
You can enjoy material things, and certainly your education and career aspirations should be applauded. However, do not allow these things to define who you are.
Through sustained practice, you will find that thoughts will subside giving way to a calm, quiet, enduring peace that is our original nature. Anecdotally, please let me make clear that wandering thoughts will always appear. It is an integral part of being human. The difference lies in how well you have trained yourself to not be moved around by this ever changing scenario.
Ji Haeng Zen Master – Desert Dragon