Zen: Convenient, Committed

This talk is intended to support and deepen meditation practice from the Soto Zen perspective by describing the differences between convenient practice and committed meditation practice and by offering suggestions for creating a structure for
consistent practice.

Transcript

Welcome,

Fellow practitioners.

This talk,

Convenient Zen,

Committed Zen,

Is not a meditation or a guided practice period.

However,

My hope is that it will help support your practice.

How do you approach Zen practice?

As you know,

Zen has become very popular over the last several years and has taken on many meanings from the deepest to the most superficial.

Zen Buddhism,

It seems,

Is everywhere.

There's no question about it.

We hear about Zen moments,

Zen lifestyle,

A restaurant,

Zen palette,

We hear about Zen living,

And Zen fashions.

There's a holiday pop-up store in New York City called Zen Garage that sells handbags made from antique,

Mideastern fabrics.

A recent book,

The Zen of Psychotherapy,

Has absolutely nothing to do with Zen Buddhism.

And there's even a tile-matching computer game called Zen Match.

There's a store in central Vermont called Zen Barn Farm that sells marijuana products.

For some people,

It seems to be a matter of lifestyle and convenience.

For others,

It's a matter of life and death and is accompanied by the deepest level of committed practice.

These individuals,

To use an old expression,

Practice as if their heads were on fire.

For some very pragmatic individuals,

It's a technique of stress reduction,

And they want immediate results.

Others understand the true meaning of the Japanese Zen teacher Kodo Sawaki Roshi's words that,

As he says,

Zazen is good for nothing.

Well,

If you practice wholeheartedly,

You will realize the nothing that Zazen is good for.

For others,

It's a matter of making a sincere effort to actualize the great Bodhisattva vow to save all beings.

In this regard,

Zen has many diverse meanings for different individuals.

You've heard the increasingly common expression,

I had a Zen moment.

Well,

What is a Zen moment?

Strictly speaking,

What we typically and commonly think of as a moment from the Zen Buddhist perspective is made up of thousands of instants.

Thousands of instants.

I saw a billboard advertising a new condo on 6th Avenue in New York City.

The ad on the billboard noted,

For a Zen lifestyle,

Come live here.

What is a Zen lifestyle?

Is this new condo a monastery or a Zendo?

Does it have a meditation hall?

Not really.

Just high common charges for understated upscale city living.

Everything has the potential to be co-opted by mass culture and transformed into mass merchandising dollars.

I'm reminded of blue jeans in the early 60s.

They were a political statement and a sign of taking a step back from the larger culture.

By the end of the 1960s,

They were a fashion statement and a sign of conformity.

Sooner or later,

Not unlike other popular trends,

The Zen will fade out of the spotlight.

And who will remain standing?

Or should I say,

Who will remain sitting?

Only the committed practitioner.

The committed practitioner will keep on whether it's cool or not.

As one teacher used to say to me,

Just keep practicing no matter what.

So,

What is convenient Zen and what is committed Zen?

Convenient Zen,

As I see it,

Goes something like this.

Here's an example.

Some time ago,

I ran into an acquaintance who considered himself to be an expert on Buddhist theory and meditation practice.

I asked,

Tell me about your practice.

He answered,

I'm very busy,

But I practice sometimes when I'm riding home on the train.

Another person said to me,

I was planning to practice,

But I didn't have time today.

Oh,

Why not?

I queried.

He said,

I met a friend for coffee.

Variations on this theme include practicing when a person has nothing better to do.

For example,

On a Friday evening,

A trip to the Zen Do might substitute for a trip to the wine bar or making it to the latest popular single scene.

Any invitation might preempt the visit to the Zen Do or time for practice.

In short,

Convenient practice is contingent on convenience itself and maintains a very low priority.

It's a fill-in where there is nothing better to do.

It becomes part of one's experience collection,

Something one can say one does.

Committed practice,

On the other hand,

Is a commitment to the Buddha,

The Dharma,

Or the teachings,

And the Sangha,

The spiritual community,

Like the community here on Insight Timer,

And also,

Vow.

It's also a statement that we make to the world at large,

A family,

Partner,

Friends,

Community,

Environment,

And the world one moment at a time,

One breath at a time,

But mostly to ourselves.

Committed practice will radically change your life and the lives of those around you.

A non-practitioner spouse of a highly committed practitioner said to me,

I benefit by my partner's practice.

Perhaps over time,

Such individuals will begin to see the benefit of their own practice,

If they take it up.

Whether or not this individual still benefits through the partner's practice,

His own committed practice would certainly make a difference.

This practitioner takes the wisdom experience that evolves on the cushion and in their studies into their relationships.

Everyone benefits.

This brings the abstract Mahayana notion of for all beings into concrete lived reality.

This is something we need to take responsibility for,

But only if we're willing to.

The Buddhist scholar Sally King describes our responsibility in the context of Buddha nature,

And she writes,

Our world is the way it is because we are the way we are,

And we are the way we are because of the way the world is.

The two arise together and are mutually creative.

However,

It is stressed that this interplay may be broken by transforming oneself and the way one perceives the world,

Something over which one has total control and for which one's responsibility is also total.

We can begin to take responsibility through a committed practice.

So here's the challenge.

Pick a time for nothing but practice.

It can be 10 minutes,

It can be 40 minutes,

Or anywhere in between.

It doesn't matter.

What matters is that you be decisive and say,

This is my time for zazen and for nothing else,

No matter what.

When you stick to this time,

All relationships will begin to gradually change because any activities that you plan will have to be arranged according to your practice schedule.

Practice is no longer convenient.

It becomes central.

Truth is,

Sometimes it could be a big pain in the neck,

But you do it anyway.

It's the center of its own time.

Practice is its own time.

So pick a place.

If you have the space,

It can be a room that is used for no other purpose.

If not,

How about the corner of a room,

A spot that you can reserve for zazen and for nothing else?

I know someone who set up a zendo in a closet and found somewhere to store what had been in the closet somewhere else.

In any case,

Whatever the conditions,

The point is,

As I noted before,

Just keep practicing no matter what.

Thank you.

Reviews

I really enjoyed this talk about committed or convenient practice. I practice in the corner of a room at the same time every day and am very unsettled if someone knocks on the door! But as you explain, fitting in practice can be difficult but if you determine time and place you can practice no matter what! Thank you for your wonderful teachings.

Thank you, Seiso 🙏 “who will be left sitting?” made me smile 😊I’ve also adopted your phrase “just keep practicing no matter what” as a daily mantra. It has helped me overcome some fear and hesitation I was experiencing. Thank you, Seiso 🙏💛

This is so practical. If practice doesn’t make a difference to mundane living and everyday relationships, then why bother? Thank you