SHIN JIN MEI | 信心銘- DAY TWO

"The Perfect Way knows no difficulties
Except that it refuses to make preferences;"

Sōsan is guiding us in the method of Zen. Aptly titled Faith in Mind, we are surveying the landscape of the realized mind. Here, there is nothing to obtain, and yet we search with our eyes clamped shut mumbling about how dark it is.

Many of us come to Zen with a gaining idea. Maybe we come to obtain enlightenment or peace, maybe to understand the meaning of life. The instructions we start with are simple: sit with an intention to be still and follow the breath. When we let go of everything else in this way and continue to return to the breath, we become steadfast in our resolve to be present. Soon, as the notion of a gaining idea dissolves, we settle into practice. There becomes no distinction between the practice and the practitioner. This is the Perfect Way. It is always as close as the gap between your in- and out-breath. Just stop making distinctions and return home.