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I want to jump back a few lines in ‘Fukanzazengi’, because similar questions have come up from a couple of folks:
Is our practice at Treeleaf “Western” Buddhism or “Internet/Global” Buddhism?
Is it the same as practice in Japan, China or India, or something different?
Is it different from the Zen of centuries past?
How does it compare to the Buddha’s original practice of 2500 years ago?
Well, I am not sure what label to put on our Practice. Sometimes it is the same in outer form with the customs of other places and times, sometimes it is different. Many of our new, ‘Western’ ways may be –better– than those of ancient days, a refinement upon the original teachings of the Buddha himself.
But that is just a matter of outer form, or the expression of teachings in words …
The moment we sit Zazen,
realizing this very instant in Zazen as still and complete,
there is not the slightest gap,
there is no difference …
Your sitting Zazen, is the Buddhas and Ancestors sitting Zazen.
Broadly then, in this world and in other worlds, in India and in China, all similarly maintain the Buddha-posture, and solely indulge in the fundamental custom: we simply devote ourselves to sitting, and are caught by the still state. Although there are myriad distinctions and thousands of differences, we should just pursue the truth through Zen balance. Why should we abandon our own sitting platform, to come and go without purpose through the dusty borders of foreign lands? If we misplace one step we pass over the moment of the present. [Nishijima]
In general, in our world and others, in both India and China, all equally hold the buddha-seal[*]. While each lineage expresses its own style, they are all simply devoted to sitting, totally blocked in resolute stability. Although they say that there are ten thousand distinctions and a thousand variations, they just wholeheartedly engage the way in zazen. Why leave behind the seat in your own home to wander in vain through the dusty realms of other lands? If you make one misstep, you stumble past what is directly in front of you. [SZTP]
[*]Here, “Buddha Seal” means the Buddha-mind seal, or Buddha’s mind of enlightenment. The Chinese character for “seal” is mudra in Sanskrit, a bodily or hand position which is used in meditation and other ritualistic activities. It thus can mean Zazen itself, which is inseparable from Buddha’s mind, as mind and body are one.
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