BODAI: Awakening
The characters read in Japanese as BODAI, representing the Sanskri word bodhi which was used to represent the awakening or enlightenment of the buddha Gautama, appears twice in the later version of Fukan-zazengi.
BODAI O GUJIN SURU NO SHUSHO NARI.
“[Sitting-zen] is the practice and experience that gets to the bottom of bodhi.”
BUTSU-BUTSU NO BODAI NI GATTO SHI
“Accord with the bodhi of the buddhas.”
People tend to think that what FM Alexander discovered -- because it can be very useful for a person with a bad back -- was a physical technique to do with holding oneself in the right posture. But as one investigates Alexander’s discoveries more deeply, one begins to see for oneself why Alexander spoke of “conscious control,” saying that it was “primarily a plane to be reached.”
Last night was a cold night here in France and the electrics in my caravan weren’t working, and so I couldn’t warm my bed up with the electric blanket. Consquently, I couldn’t get to sleep for an hour or so, and then shortly after I dropped off I woke up needing to take a piss. But after that I seemed to enter into a state akin to hibernation. Having awakened from this and done a couple of sittings, I am struck afresh by the realization that what Alexander discovered has to do with awakening, has to do with enlightenment.
Before I started Alexander work I had a kind of confidence that what I invariably called “Zazen” (preferring the more authentic-sounding Japanese term) was just enlightenment. It was intellectual confidence, religious confidence, confidence borrowed from a confidence trickster.
The doing of Zazen that I thought must be enlightenment, I now see without (I hope) any lingering denial, was not enlightenment. In thinking that it might be enlightenment, I was indulging in wishful thinking, and telling myself a lie that I almost completely believed.
BODAI O GUJIN SURU NO SHUSHO NARI.
“[Sitting-zen] is the practice and experience that gets to the bottom of bodhi.”
BUTSU-BUTSU NO BODAI NI GATTO SHI
“Accord with the bodhi of the buddhas.”
People tend to think that what FM Alexander discovered -- because it can be very useful for a person with a bad back -- was a physical technique to do with holding oneself in the right posture. But as one investigates Alexander’s discoveries more deeply, one begins to see for oneself why Alexander spoke of “conscious control,” saying that it was “primarily a plane to be reached.”
Last night was a cold night here in France and the electrics in my caravan weren’t working, and so I couldn’t warm my bed up with the electric blanket. Consquently, I couldn’t get to sleep for an hour or so, and then shortly after I dropped off I woke up needing to take a piss. But after that I seemed to enter into a state akin to hibernation. Having awakened from this and done a couple of sittings, I am struck afresh by the realization that what Alexander discovered has to do with awakening, has to do with enlightenment.
Before I started Alexander work I had a kind of confidence that what I invariably called “Zazen” (preferring the more authentic-sounding Japanese term) was just enlightenment. It was intellectual confidence, religious confidence, confidence borrowed from a confidence trickster.
The doing of Zazen that I thought must be enlightenment, I now see without (I hope) any lingering denial, was not enlightenment. In thinking that it might be enlightenment, I was indulging in wishful thinking, and telling myself a lie that I almost completely believed.
posted by Mike Cross at 11:43 AM
7 Comments:
Hey, Mike.
I always thought that maybe old Dogen was gently fucking with our big buddha heads when he gave us the 'Big Fish' straight up in his suggestion that "Enlightenment (TM)" was ours for sitting on our wee arses with a straight back.
But isn't it practical? If we do away with thoughts of the Ultimate End Gain (i.e. 'enlightenment', 'booddyhood', Nirvana and all that crap) by accepting that its not something we can think or will our self into like we do with most other things we try to 'get' in life, aren't we doing something rather special? I don't even know if I want enlightenment, I quite like sitting on my ass on a zafu though. I certainly don't want to waste my life poking through the turd of my mental faculties to see what's coming out.
'Wu Wei', as the Daoists have it. Doing the non-doing of sweet Fanny All because it instinctively feels right, that'll do me: if its not enlightenment then I'll gladly do it till my ignorant ass, brain and otherbits are toast.
Religion is mostly a load of time-wasting shit.
Regards,
Harry.
Hi Harry,
As Marjory Barlow truly said, “We are all going around trying to be right” -- each in our own individual way.
The most difficult things to get rid of are the ones that don’t exist.
Mike,
Re what Marge said: Yeah, that seems about right :-) ... its another thing taking what we see as 'right' dreadfully seriously.
But then, we can stop that little merry-go-round pretty quickly through Dogen's method which, silly old me, doesn't seem all that complicated. I mean, there's nothing there to get a twist in our sphincters about is there?
Regards,
Harry.
:-)
Why were you sleeping in a caravan? Why weren’t you in a cosy cottage?
A nosey parker called Pete.
Hi Harry,
We tend to want to feel secure in the knowledge of Master Dogen’s method is. As an antidote to this, I have found Frank Lambert’s writings on Time’s Arrow to be very effective -- see link to his introduction to the 2nd law of thermoynamics.
Hi Pete,
The scrounged caravan at the end of the garden feels like my rightful place. The cottage has evolved into more of a gite -- discounts available for sitting-zen practitioners if you are interested?
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