During the meditation,
We are invited to concentrate all our attention to embody its awareness.
Sit majestically,
As if the continuation of life on earth entirely depended on it.
Be fully present,
Instead of getting entangled with the relentless stream of mental activity.
Just be content with what is really there,
This body and this breath,
Here and now.
Being fully absorbed in this simple living reality of the present moment,
The mind can become totally free.
When we surrender completely to the absorption in posture and breath,
There is a spiritual communion that occurs.
A communion between our relative state of being,
Which is mostly unsatisfactory,
And that what we've always been on an absolute level.
Life itself.
Life with capital L.
On a relative level,
Our life is ruled by our fears,
Our desires,
Our expectations,
Our anger,
Our grief,
And so on.
By all of the complex feelings and difficult emotions,
By the mental processes and passionate afflictions that obstruct us to experience the oneness of our existence,
The absolute level of reality has many names in various traditions.
For instance,
God,
Or Allah,
Yahweh,
Or Buddha.
In the spiritual communion of parameditation,
There is a resonance between the person practicing and the radiation of that practice.
In the Zen tradition,
This phenomenon is called Kano Doko,
A mutual affinity between the practitioner and the awakening practice,
And the divine response through goodness and compassion.
The term Kano Doko was coined in the 6th century by Chinese master Zijin.
Kan is to feel or perceive.
No is a response.
Do is the way or the spiritual path.
And Ko,
To intersect,
To exchange,
Or to communicate.
Kano Doko.
Experiencing this resonance of the spiritual communion requires concentration and observation.
Zijin says,
There are many ways to enter the true reality of nirvana,
But there is none that is more essential than the twofold method of cessation and contemplation,
Or concentration and observation.
The reason is that cessation is the preliminary gate to find calmness and for overcoming the bonds of passionate afflictions.
Contemplation or observation,
On the other hand,
Is the sublime technique for arousing spiritual understanding.
Wisdom.
If one perfects the twofold aspects of concentration and observation,
Then one is fully endowed with the aspects of both benefiting oneself and benefiting others.
So let's continue concentrating on posture.
Let's continue observing the breathing.
