Last things first. I’ve said it before, and at the risk of repeating myself, will say it again: Buddha was not a Buddhist, any more than Christ was a Christian. Obviously, there was no such thing as Buddhism at the time of Siddhartha; and there was no such thing as Christianity at the time of Jesus. This is not meant to be a scholarly statement of historicity, nor is it intended to stir up controversy. Instead, I am suggesting that in considering our own, personal practice, our perspective needs to be informed by that of the ancient Masters (Harmony of Sameness and Difference):

Not understanding the Way before your eyes
How do you know the Path you walk?

No such thing as Buddhism
From a strictly Zen perspective, even today, there is still no such thing as “Buddhism.” If we misunderstand that Buddhism — that is, the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha and his followers — is pointing to anything other than, or separate from, reality itself, our “first step is mistaken.”

If we mistake the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path for a doctrine about reality — rather than the outline of an approach to directly apprehending reality in our own experience — we have relegated Zen Buddhism to just another idea, philosophy, or belief system.

If we do apprehend the “Way before our eyes,” however (not “understanding” is a translator’s choice — even Buddha did not understand the Way), we will see directly into the insight of Buddha, penetrating to the only, singular point that he was actually making. This point is a turning-point, however, not an intellectual one (Precious Mirror Samadhi):

The meaning does not reside in the words
But a pivotal moment brings it forth
Move and you are trapped
Miss and you fall into doubt and vacillation

And this point, this “pivotal moment,” like any point, is so small — zero dimension on all axes — that it might easily be overlooked, or neglected (Precious Mirror Samadhi):

You would do well to respect this
Do not neglect it
So small it enters where there is no gap
So vast it transcends dimension
A hairsbreadth deviation
And you are out of tune

So this point is also inconceivably vast; it is beyond conventional measurement. Like the “eternal moment,” emphasized by Matsuoka Roshi, the “real time” of our existence. The deviation of a “hairsbreadth” represents a huge gap, by today’s standards of micro-measurement in physics; but it will suffice to make the point, that if we are only slightly to the left or right of center, as on an analog radio dial, all we will receive is static. We have to be tuned to just the right frequency, in order to “hear the true dharma” (Dogen’s Vow).

Zen is experiential in nature. Zen also includes re-experiencing Nature. I would like to invite you to join us in May in a highly intentional actualization of these truths. Plan to attend our annual Spring Retreat at Watershed, from Wednesday, May 2nd to Sunday, May 6th; pre-register soon to reserve your spot. The retreat is titled with its theme:

RETURN TO NATURE.
Watershed Retreat offers a hundred acres of Mother Nature’s finest.

This will be a deep dive into Nature. The nature of the natural world. The nature of the self. The nature of the “world of suchness,” in which “there is neither self nor other-than-self,” according to the foundational Ch’an poem “Trust in Mind,” Hsinhsinming (HHM). In our natural state, we “imperceptibly accord with all things,” according to Master Dogen: Fire, Wind, Water and Earth. “The Four Elements return to their natures just a child turns to its mother” (HHM). I urge you to return to your Original Nature (initial caps indicate Matsuoka Roshi’s reverence for this term).

And there is no gap between your original nature and Nature. Listen to the babbling brook and “enter there.” “Hear the true dharma” expounded by the wind in the trees. Embrace the “sounds of valleys and streams.” Witness the blue and green “mountains always walking” (re: Dogen).

Settle into solitary liberation deep in the heart of the forest. Witness the passage of time, in the moving shadows of trees, nature’s sundial. Slow down to the moment. Experience “Uji: Being-Time.” Reenter real time and space, through zazen.

Return to your natural self: Rediscover the natural sitting posture, the natural breath, and the natural state of your original mind. Remember the natural way to sit; the natural way to stand; the natural way to walk; to lie down, and to sleep under the stars.

Meditate “through the day, through the night” to realize Kanzeon, the all-seeing, all-hearing Bodhisattva of Compassion. Merge with the sun and moon; rising and setting, though they never really do. Realize “Sun-faced buddha; moon-faced buddha” (Master Baso Doitsu).

My poem for you:

Just between
red sun
white moon
my pink flesh

Rearrange in any order you wish: red sun; white moon; just between; my pink flesh.

When it comes to talking about Zen, it is difficult to find a simple way to discuss its irreducibly simple approach to meditation, and how that integrates with our daily life. As a professional designer, I cannot see any way to make zazen itself any simpler, except to avoid imbuing it with overly mystical, or philosophical, or even psychological, overlays. The Chinese-Japanese sitting cushion (J. zafu), as a designed item, is also pretty difficult to improve. I have made some inroads into the design details of sitting benches (J. seiza) that I consider to add value: making them collapsible and compact, and weighing half of what the run-of-the-mill designs currently available typically do. And one could certainly argue that the protocols and accessories around traditional Zen practice could be less elaborate. But we embrace these as our Zen heritage.