How To Practice and Comments on Empty Mind

Edited Excerpts from Teisho by Mitra Bishop Roshi on July 5, 2017

Here in this zendo, we have a phenomenal set of tools to work with both inwardly and outwardly. As we do our practice, focusing on the extended outbreath, being totally present in our bodies, it brings us increasingly closer to the clarity of compassion and wisdom that is innate in us and helps us let go of a conditioning that would have us reacting rather than responding_2. to circumstances. The tricky part is we have to practice it all the time, well not all the time. We have to do the zazen for a committed period of time each day. As it goes deeper, we will want to expand it. We will want to come to the center, here, to practice where other people are practicing, because when we practice together, it is synergistic.

There is a common analogy to people practicing together in the zendo and that of a V shaped formation of the Canada geese when they fly north and south. These geese will fly 150 miles without coming down. The young ones, the old ones, the weak ones would never be able to do this on their own. The leader of the V shifts and changes periodically so that not one bird is having to pull the whole train along and there is something about the wave action created by the flapping of their wings in that formation that helps support the whole group, so that they are all working to help each other fly longer.

Our analogy is, in terms of the zendo, as we gather and do zazen together we are supporting each other. We are helping each other to go deeper. We are helping each other to let go of more of our conditioning, more of our stuck places_1.; so that we move more seamlessly through world and respond rather than react to situations _2.. As we do our practice and are able to, little by little, go deeper, and let me say this, “Unless you’re extremely advanced in your practice, you will not be able to discern, except, in rare situations, whether you’ve gone deeper or not, because it might seem like the practice is making you worse. It’s not. It’s only that it is making you clearer so you are seeing more clearly where you are caught_1. Seeing this clearly gives you the incredible opportunity to be able to work with that caught place_1. so that you can let it go.”

There’s a humility that develops as we do our practice, particularly as we open to where we are caught and we realize, not only are we caught there and didn’t realize it and acted out of it, but that means other people are caught too and we are not so judgmental. We realize that other people may have stuck places_1. too, that they are blind to. This is, also an important part of Zen practice. It is about honoring, about honoring ourselves, about honoring others. It is hard to honor ourselves until we can accept ourselves. Our Zen practice helps do this if we can’t do it already. To be honest most people, most westerners, anyway, given the child raising methods, are not able to truly honor themselves. We have been taught so much what’s wrong with us that it’s hard to believe that there is anything right with us.

1. Caught or stuck places: Our tenacious hold on suffering that prevents us from fully living in the present moment.
2. Responding as opposed to reacting:
   1. Reacting is the self-defensive act of avoiding and/or denial, and/or other reactions such as mistrust for even happy situations, of anger and hate, or of jealousy and greed, etc.
   2. Responding is the radical acceptance of fully embracing everything as it is, and thoroughly experiencing the physical body sensation of it as it is. This also includes recognizing and working with our reactions.

See also the pages: How to Practice and Metta Practice