Thursday, January 19, 2012

Mountains Walk

In Dogen's "Mountains and Waters Sutra" (Sansui-kyo), he states, "Mountains' walking is just like human walking...if you doubt mountains' walking, you do not know your own walking; it is not that you do not walk, but that you do not know or understand your own walking."


source
I have put this into practice and realized it's universal with all activities.  When we say "I" am walking, it's not just me walking.  The ground is also walking with us.  If there were no ground, how could walking take place?  The same goes for virtually any activity.  "I" don't shovel snow; the shovel, snow and myself shovel snow.  Even for driving, "You" don't drive; the car, the road, and yourself drive.


Having put this into practice, I have experienced a deeper connection with everything I do.  I've found it can be done with everything I do including cooking, dish-washing, painting, etc.  This is a great practice in mindfulness.  You become one with everything you are doing while realizing this, which Katagiri Roshi himself explains this topic in his book Each Moment is the Universe, and calls it "The great enlightenment."


This is also a great example of why Zen is considered "practice-realization."  We don't have to wait for enlightenment, it happens all the time if we put into practice the teachings and see the world from what some call "Big Mind" or "Universal Mind."


I highly recommend practicing the "Mountains walk" frame of mind.

In Gassho.

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