Purpose for Practice and the Ground of Being

Last updated on: January 30, 2009 at 7:08 pm by Dosho Port

Purpose for Practice and the Ground of Being 2009-01-30T19:08:00-06:00 Dosho Port

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Question: Dosho…you may know the therapy from Japan, Morita Therapy. I would call it everyday mindfulness with no special idea of practice. Maybe self-forgetfulness in action. It is good for people like me who have anxiety issues. I also talked to a man named M. Saito from Japan. He used Zen to help cure his anxiety problems, but no formal zazen. I asked him many questions and he explained things to me using Zen sayings. He reports rare anxiety problems after 10 years of work. Also, Morita seems to have also realized what a healthy mind is like with no zazen.

Am I missing something here? For me it seems necessary to ask, is there some difference between everyday presence, whether we call it mindfulness practice or surrender to Life, and formal sitting practice? I have to take up the question why we do it. If precepts, awareness and action were enough, I assume Dogen and others would have said so. I don’t find any Zen teacher saying so. Maybe there is a difference between establishing a smooth balanced mind in daily life vs. glimpsing your true nature? But some great moments of stillness have arisen for me in the middle of really mindless action.

Response: I am familiar with Morita Therapy (or click here for a limited preview of Quiet Therapies: Japanese Pathways to Personal Growth).

There are, of course, many reasons to practice: health, supernormal feats, arrogance, curiosity about the true face, and wanting to roll like black ball rolling through the dark night.

In an “ideal” world, we first clarify our intention and then undertake a practice that fits the intention. In “reality,” we are drawn to practice for what we imagine it is rather than for what it is, buffeted by various voices in our internal dialogue/chorus discussing what we’re doing and why. Then we sort things out as we go.

Precepts and mindful action are powerful healing practices and can allow a person to delight in wholesome states of mind, rather than torment, and discover well being. No doubt about it.

I’m reminded of Freud commenting that his treatment allowed his patients to live lives of “common unhappiness,” rather, I suppose, than “uncommon unhappiness.”

Dharma practice, however, is a much more powerful thing than simply helping us to heal.

Here’s Daido Loori Roshi (one of my teachers) on this point:

“What person’s life is lacking? Each one of us is perfect and complete, lacking nothing. The pivotal question is, “How do you get to that?” The answer is simple—practice. Practice is not an educational process of collecting reams of information. Practice is exactly the opposite of accumulating data. It involves peeling back layers of conditioning, the ways we have defined our lives, to get to what is underneath that. Buried below those layers of conditioning is a Buddha. That is what needs to be realized. Regardless of what aspect of training we use to get to the ground of being, the fact is that ground is there. Realized or not, it is there.

“When we have not yet realized our Buddha nature, we live our lives out of delusion, out of our conditioning. That leads to a lot of pain and suffering. When we realize our Buddha nature, we enter the realm of clarity and peace. The world is the same world. But our way of appreciating ourselves and the universe is transformed. We call that enlightenment. It is true human nature. We do not need genetic designers for it. Nobody can improve this perfection. That is what it means to be a great human being—to truly be human. Most of us have never seen a true human being. We have seen some qualities surface here and there in special people. I have no doubt that true human qualities are not hate, greed, and jealousy, but compassion, wisdom, and love. How this next century goes depends a lot on how much we are able to get in touch with our true humanity. Please take care of this great matter.”

Well being work is for health and ground of being work for realization. Sometimes it’s all mixed up and calls to be clarified.

Above, Daido emphasizes the need for the ground of being to be realized through practice. This requires that we turn the dharma wheel. When we allow the dharma wheel to turn us, this is practice by realization and there is really nothing to be done.

And so we can get going with great energy. That is to take care of this great matter.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

January 29, 2009

Way Mind

Next Post

January 31, 2009 Way Mind and the Color of My Hometown

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 August 2021 June 2021 April 2021 February 2021 January 2021 November 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 August 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 December 2016 October 2016 June 2016 April 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 August 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

According to Philippians, what should we think about?

Select your answer to see how you score.

The suffering of Christ The word of God day and night Whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and admirable The needs of others