During Zazen,
The sitting meditation,
Constantly bring back your mind to a majestic posture.
Instead of following our thoughts and creating all kinds of mental projections,
Constructs.
Constantly come back to the living reality of the present moment.
Here and now,
This posture,
Sitting majestically,
And this breath harmoniously,
Constitute reality.
Reality is so simple that the ego cannot understand it.
Reality or Dharma is universal.
The ego stands in the way of experiencing reality as it is.
The ego continuously projects,
Analyzes,
Evaluates,
And all kinds of emotional and mental processes make it be lacking of harmony with the true reality of our existence,
Which is constantly changing,
Impermanent.
Because of our limited view of reality,
We often think we are small,
Incapable.
We may be anxious.
We may feel inadequate.
Yet the body of the Buddha Dharma is the entire Universe.
It includes everything.
Also our emotions of inadequacy.
Also our anxiety.
Also the madness happening in the world.
All of it is part of reality.
So how can we realize a peaceful,
Joyful mind in this world in turmoil?
The proposition of the Buddha is so simple.
Concentrate on a majestic posture,
Balancing the effort and relaxation of our muscles.
Just a tiny bit of effort,
Creating space in the Universe for ourselves,
Feeling well-grounded by pressing the body weight on the seat or the pillow we're sitting on,
The knees or the feet,
Depending if we're sitting on a chair or on a pillow,
The knees and the feet well-rooted in the ground.
And from the waist upwards,
Extend the back,
The neck,
And letting the top of the head lean toward the sky,
Filling all the space needed to be.
Instead of breathing superficially,
Anxiously holding our breath,
Exhale totally.
And to allow for a total out-breath,
The diaphragm need to relax.
And this can be naturally induced simply by tilting the pelvis slightly forward so that the gravity point can descend into the lower belly,
While massaging the abdominal mass and stimulating the function of our inner organ.
Just this posture,
Always here.
Just this breath,
Always now.
It is a source without limits that is constantly fresh,
A source we can tap into at any given moment,
To realize the ultimate potential of our existence.
The body of the Buddha Dharma is the entire universe.
Nothing stands in the way to realize it,
Apart from the ego,
This limited functioning of our mind that separates us from that universe.
Yet if we switch,
That is,
If we simply return our concentration to body posture and breathing naturally,
Harmoniously,
Automatically,
Almost unconsciously,
We realize peace and joy.
