The Theme

When you go to a concert, you don’t just sit there, listening to the music. You focus on the themes. When you do zazen, you don’t just sit there, doing Mu. You questioning sprit is your theme. The answer is right there. As my old dad would say, “If it’d been a bear, it would’ve bit you.”

Unsafe

Ralph Nader said the Chevrolet Corvair is unsafe at any speed. So are you. Your walking pace is dangerous. Your security comes when you are completely still. Nothing whatever is happening at last. Nothing has absorbed you. Dōgen Zenji called this "Nothing but sitting."

Messy Mind

It's hard to do effective work when your desk is a mess. I once worked for a woman who had to pat the papers on her desk. in order to find her glasses to begin her work. Likewise, you can't do zazen with a messy mind. You can't even start. Clean it up, bit by bit, by counting your breaths: "One. . ., two. . ., three." Thus your mind is cleaned—and off you go with Dōgen and Zhaozhou.

The Dharma

The dharma is giving you a chance to learn who you really are, and I’m sure you are grateful. How do you keep this dana circulating? You be the dharma as best you can, and the old wheel will to grind out its richness. The closer you are to true intimacy with the dharma, the finer the grind will be.

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Killing Time

Yamamoto Genpō Rōshi used to say, "There is no killing worse than the killing of time." Reading from the crime section of the newspaper, he would relate how a man stabbed his wife and children to death. He would read how a woman bludgeoned her husband to death. Then he would say, "There is no killing worse than the killing of time." When I stray from Mu, and return, I thank my old teacher for saving me from death row.

Attention

Attention is the way. When you pay attention in your zazen, you notice how easily you slip into attention to something else. Return to the original attention of your zazen. Then when you notice that something else has slipped into view, return again to your original attention. This is the process of zazen. Nothing else is important. So the Ancients could say,  “Sitting is Zen, lying down is Zen.” 
-RA

Who hears?

Seikan Hasegawa said, "Kōans are matters to be made clear." They are not matters to be explained. They have no purpose except to clarify. The master of hearing that birdsong is not the thrush holding forth on the railing outside. Who hears? Who hears?