Your true nature begins where identities end | Daily Zen

Daily Zen Talk by Sensei Michael Brunner
Join us for meditation and hear the talks in real time:
• Mon–Fri 6:30 AM CT
• Wed 6:00 PM CT
• Sat 9:00 AM CT
All are welcome to practice with us at One River Zen!

We do such a good job sometimes presenting ourselves as coherent and put together that we actually fall for ourselves. We walk around calling ourselves by our names, using our titles, and at some point, we start thinking these things are substantial. But when we take a deep step back and look within, we notice that we wear many different identities. We have many faces and jars we pull off the shelf for different reasons.

There’s the self we know as our self, the self we show at home, the self we show our employer or our teacher. All of these are different. When we come to sit, it’s important that we allow that cosmic parade of identities to continue to walk by — to be present — and that we take a clear look at each one we wear. Let them all sit on the cushion as well.

When we sit in this way — gathering all of those identities — we begin to recognize what it takes to become meta-aware of each of them rather than being seduced by or collapsing into them. Because we have a karmic-proclivity to fall into those identities at different times. And when we do, we become unavailable to our true nature — unavailable to manifest compassion in the world.

So when you sit on the cushion, make sure you bring your inner skeptic. Make sure you bring your inner critic. Bring all of the ones who are there. Allow them to come together and be seen. And as you do this clearly, begin to notice that the one who is aware of all of them is so much larger — and from there you can begin to assume your true identity.