Review the Mind
Be consistent. If you fall down, get back up & keep going.
Do not think: "This is good, that is bad." Do not take sides for or against. Stop all movement of the conscious mind. Do not judge thoughts and opinions. Have no desire to become a Buddha.
Zazen has absolutely nothing to do with the sitting posture or the lying posture. It is not all about the body, it is very much about the mind.
The mind of the great sage of India is intimately communicated from East to West.
It requires effort to sit, to be in silence, to be alone and study. It’s up to each one of us to work with our own effort in our own life right where we are. We do not need to go off to distant lands to find the Dharma.
It is already right where we are.
It is a journey of practice and effort. In order to practice, we need a willing mind to make the effort. We prepare ourselves by making a commitment to stick with the practice. The requirement is to dedicate ourselves to the work at hand.
We prepare the body and mind to be focused on letting go of the worldly winds. we withdraw out attachments to the world.
The Preliminary.
It is akin to taking a trip. We prepare our clothes, arrange for care for what we leave behind and make our travel plans.
Let nothing impede you.
Look carefully at your mind.
What is your intention?
Be specific and honest with yourself.
Don’t worry about what others do. Study your mind and how you live your life right now. Be specific. Be honest with yourself.
Are you half-hearted or whole-hearted?
Study what you have decided to follow. Writing it down is helpful.
It is your practice. Are you doing your best?
A TIP.
Once you have written down your practice ask yourself, “Do I do what I do well? Do I do my best? Do I?”
Honesty is a virtue. Practice as you do this self-examination. Don’t cheat yourself. Do I live life by doing what I do well? The emphasis is on the word WELL, not so much on what you do. Doing something well is not about judging the result it is about meeting what comes into your life with wholehearted effort to meet it well.
Keep what you know and understand about yourself and your practice to yourself and/or to a trusted teacher of the Dharma.
If you are upset about your practice, it is most likely that you have a habit of comparing yourself to someone else’s mind. Ask yourself if you feel jealous, envious, or angry. If you find you are caught in comparing yourself to others, do your very best to stop the comparative thinking.
The remedy and strength for your practice is to do what you do well. Do your practice well. Whatever it is do it well, not perfect, but well. Where you can announce to yourself, “Well done!” And your announcement is with total sincerity.
CAUTION: If what you do is done half-hearted with some striving to gain something, you are likely to be crestfallen, disappointed and sad. Apply the remedy and strength with attention to your life by doing it well.
Make no comparisons.
Don’t Give Up! Keep Going.
OM
🙏
www.asinglethread.net ————- www.zatma.org
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Very Tao finding this at this moment
Thank you for this 🙏