![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/88\/2019\/11\/4267ae402f036dd6e023bb9e699bf0bc-296x300.jpg\")
You can\u2019t do what alone?<\/p>\nYou can\u2019t do what alone?<\/p>\n
Traditionally in the buddhadharma across schools, sam\u0101dhi (calming, concentration or absorption) and\u00a0vipa\u015byan\u0101 (insight, or in Zen, \u201ckensh\u014d,\u201d seeing true nature) are regarded as the two wings of meditation. And although there seems to be wide agreement in the general tradition that both are necessary for waking up and living accordingly, there is a wide range of views on the emphasis of the two wings, including within the Zen tradition.<\/p>\n
At it\u2019s best, the present just-sitting tradition, for example, emphasizes samadhi (e.g., Bokusan\u2019s \u201cDeeply settled heart of the S\u014dt\u014d school\u201d), while the k\u014dan-introspection tradition emphasizes kensh\u014d (e.g., \u201cmu<\/em>,\u201d \u201cwho?\u201d and \u201csound of one hand\u201d). It is generally agreed, however, that some degree of sam\u0101dhi is necessary for awakening, but, as I said, you will find a great deal of variance between and within schools, as well as within and between sub-lineages.<\/p>\n Personally, sam\u0101dhi was vital for my process and continues to be, as D\u014dgen said, \u201cthe dharma gate of peace and happiness.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0But it is seeing through k\u014dan that really enlivens and provides clear instruction for how to integrate\u00a0sam\u0101dhi and kensh\u014d within the vertiginous vicissitudes of daily life.<\/p>\n One genius aspect of the mu<\/em> k\u014dan is how it serves as both a sam\u0101dhi practice (\u201cbe mu<\/em>\u201c) and an insight practice (\u201cwhat is mu<\/em>?\u201d). Subsequent k\u014dan serve to clarify awakening, while also encouraging cultivating verification. Authentic sam\u0101dhi, by the way, generally requires extensive retreats, while k\u014dan were developed in order to support people doing the work of awakening during chaotic times and in the midst of householder lives.<\/p>\n Through my Zen teaching practice, I\u2019ve seen quite a wide range of capacity for sam\u0101dhi. That is, some students find settling the mind easy and some find it difficult. And even after the mind settles, there are numerous challenges that arise before a student settles into sam\u0101dhi and doesn\u2019t mistake subtle laxity, for example, for one-pointedness.<\/p>\n Because some degree of sam\u0101dhi is usually necessary for awakening, it is important to work with a skilled teacher to cultivate a settled mind to the degree possible for you and within your life circumstances. During this \u201csetting the heart\u201d stage of practice, it is necessary to focus and restrain from chasing after shiny objects, even\/especially shiny dharma objects.<\/p>\n Although there are many positives to our present \u201cdharma scene,\u201d including access to a multitude of teachings and teachers via the internet and also \u201ccoming soon to a dharma center near you,\u201d given that none of us have much time in this life, it may be best to practice some serious restraint. The many teachings and teachers quickly become noise in the system.<\/p>\n Take k\u014dan for instance. You\u2019ll hear many things about them, pro and con, often from people who haven\u2019t seen through a single k\u014dan, so most of what you\u2019ll read is much like gossip. Of course, some amount of information about the pros and cons can be helpful, and it is wise to know something about what you\u2019re getting yourself into. And then, if you are determined to see it\u00a0through and through (mu<\/em> or who? or whatever you\u2019re assigned), then wide reading and learning can just result in dissipation and confusion. So I recommend finding a skilled teacher with whom you feel some affinity, and then taking up the practice you\u2019re offered, throwing yourself into with wholeheartedness, uncommon focus and integrity, and minimal looking around.<\/p>\n Perhaps the<\/em> essential quality of taking the student seat is to acknowledge that we don\u2019t know what we\u2019re doing, and we aren\u2019t sure where we are on the path. We then inquire of our teacher (e.g., the practitioner on the teacher\u2019s seat) to learn about\u00a0sam\u0101dhi and subtle realization. We place ourself in the care, under the guidance, of someone who has direct experience through their own process, not just from browsing on the internet. We allow our teacher to see where we\u2019re at on this journey, and make adjustments to our practice as prescribed. This relational aspect of practice is an essential skill very different from the self-diagnosis of both\u00a0sam\u0101dhi and kensh\u014d that seem to be raging on the internet now, especially in Facebook forums.<\/p>\n The possibilities of samadhi and kensh\u014d do not function apart from the teacher-student and community relationships. These are essential for the full functioning of awakening, carrying all beings across.<\/p>\n May we all fully awaken and function freely.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" You can\u2019t do what alone? Traditionally in the buddhadharma across schools, sam\u0101dhi (calming, concentration or absorption) and\u00a0vipa\u015byan\u0101 (insight, or in Zen, \u201ckensh\u014d,\u201d seeing true nature) are regarded as the two wings of meditation. And although there seems to be wide agreement in the general tradition that both are necessary for waking up and living accordingly, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":182,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[73,219,69,222],"class_list":["post-5568","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-kensho","tag-samadhi","tag-teacher-student-relationship","tag-vipassana"],"yoast_head":"\n