the tree of life sangha

Some Notes on Nembutsu Zen

Dharmavidya, April 7, 2025: 

This morning in zazen I could feel the fire in my mind. This was from the mixture of feelings stirred up yesterday. I watched a film of a historian talking about the world situation and found his remarks very sensible. It was refreshing and even exciting to hear somebody who sees what is going on rather than the chatter that one hears all the time from people all clinging to illusions of the past. So that was a worldly influence that excited my mind. Then, also, I had watched some of the wonderful ceremonies at Zogoji in commemoration of Honen Shonin. This had stirred me in a different way, with much nostalgia for Japan and the sense of participation. I could happily have been a member of the crowd. Now, in zazen I strove to find the still point in he midst of all this. It was like a battle, or like fighting a forest fire. Time passed very swiftly. Every so often I got a glimpse of clarity, but the passion fought back. Sometimes sitting is like that, as if one is drowning. Every sitting is unique in content, but the samadhi is the same.

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Breathing out, Namo Amida Bu, I relax into nothingness. Completely empty. I have disappeared. Then the inbreath comes of its own accord. Oh, I am still alive. Inhalation complete, arrive at the balance point. Pause. Know it. Another stillness, emptiness. Then exhalation begins. Namo Amida Bu. Body very still. Everything melting away. Yet, watching, feeling for the still point. Great silence. Continuing, the breath gradually, naturally gets shorter and awareness moves from the nose to the belly, the hara. The strength is in the hara. The sense of stillness and the sense of movement of breath merge into one sensation - stillness that gently moves, gentle movement that is inherently still. As the breath shortens, Namo Amida Bu becomes Amida, or just ‘mida. Great peace pervades. Great stillness. Vast as space. Now and then thoughts or images intrude - offer hthem up: with the in-breath I give You this visitor. Namo Amida Bu, return to nothingness. A vibrant peace. A potent, yet unmoving energy. Bright, shining. 

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Shunryu Suzuki wrote: “To take care of the exhalation is very important. To die is more important than trying to be alive. When we always try to be alive, we have trouble. Rather than trying to be alive or active, if we can be calm and die or fade away into emptiness, then naturally we will be alright. Buddha will take care of us. Because we have lost our mother's bosom, we do not feel like her child anymore. Yet fading away into emptiness can feel like being at our mother's bosom, and we will feel as though she will take care of us. Moment after moment, do not lose this practice of shikantaza. Various kinds of religious practice are included in this point. When people say “Namu Amida Butsu, Namu Amida Butsu," they want to be Amida Buddha's children. That is why they practice repeating Amida Buddha's name. The same is true with our zazen practice. If we know how to practice shikantaza, and if they know how to repeat Amida Buddha's name, it cannot be different. So we have enjoyment, we are free.” - Suzuki S. 2002. Not Always So, Harper Collins. p.7

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When you do nembutsu zen, you must be deadly serious, as serious as if you were dying. There is no such thing as casual zazen. Casual is not it. If you are seeking the still point, you must be completely still in body and mind, at least between breaths. After breathing out and after breathing in there is a hiatus, then the natural reflex sets in. If you allow it to be totally a reflex, then it is movement without movement, if you get my meaning. The breath moves, but you do not move. Actually, the breath may become very short, but this should not be because you have chosen to shorten it. You have chosen to do nem zen and to find the zero point, but you have not made any choice about long breath or short breath, but, nonetheless, it is likely that the breath becomes short and quiet. Then, perhaps a thought will drift into your mind. Perhaps you think, “I’m doing this quite well”, but this thought then easily hijacks your attention and probably another thought creeps in behind it. Then, maybe you notice what is happening and the thoughts blow away like clouds in the sky. When this really happens, sometimes there comes a spontaneous joy. It wells up. You can’t help a smile spreading, not just on your face, but all through your body. This is second dhyana. At this point it is especially important to keep to stillness. Just let it happen. Here, the “mida bu” can be a great help. The smile - the feeling of joy - may stay or go, nothing to worry about, but stay with the stillness in all seriousness.

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It is important to see nembutsu zen as religion. It is not just a physical keep fit, nor a psychological exercise. It is not for making you a better person - that might happen, but it is not the point. It is connecting you to the higher realm. It is a way by which to allow the Buddha to take hold, the Dharma to take over your life. It is like a kind of prayer: “I make this space in my heart; please come and fill it. Lead me. I am yours.” Do not worry about names, the Nameless will draw you forth, will take you to the place of no birth and no death. This is more serious than dying.

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Do not argue over whether there is or is not Buddha Nature. Try to understand what it is that is really being said. If we say that there is Buddha Nature, then we must immediately clarify that Buddha Nature has nothing to do with good and bad and that it cannot be possessed, though it can possess us. Do not say, “Find your Buddha Nature”, say “Let Buddha nature possess you”. If there is Buddha Nature, then it is to the spirit as the sky is to clouds. “We live in the world as if in the sky”, or as if “cloud and water”. It is called Buddha Nature because Buddhas are thus. They are beyond moral judgement. They do not punish. They encounter life and “So it is,” but they are not there. This is because they have found the zero point that gives rise to infinity. When one is founded on zero one is infinite. Even if the cosmos were consummed in fire, one will pass through the fire for, not I but the Dharma lives. Though one says “I do this and I do that”, it is not, never was and never will be I.

UNDERSTANDING THE DHARMA

 

Dharmavidya David Brazier:

 

Buddhism has many scriptures (sutras). These derive from the teachings and conversations of the Buddha Shakyamuni. The texts have been passed down through some eighty five generations and along the way many different interpretations have emerged. With the arrival of Buddhism in the West, we see a further generation of new interpretations. Arguably, some of these take us further away from the original intention of the founder and some closer. I have myself advanced some proposals for how best to understand the Dharma and some of these differ from what is commonly read and taught these days.

 

Four Truths for Noble Ones:

At the heart of Buddhist teachings are what are generally called the Four Noble Truths. Commonly these are presented as a road to the ending of suffering. In my book The Feeling Buddha and elsewhere I suggest that this is a misinterpretation. Dukkha is such situations as  birth, aging, disease and death, separation, confinement and failure and we have to suffer these. What counts is how one does so. The "eightfold path" is not a route toward enlightenment, it is the path that issues from awakening to the real situation. The correct interpretation is that there are basically two ways to respond. One, the path of ego, just goes round in circles, generating more dukkha situations. The other, the way of nirodha - basically faith & practice - opens onto the (eightfold) spiritual path. Noble practitioners meet adversity in ways that are wise and compassionate. Worldly people meet them with selfishness, distraction and bitterness. Practise nirodha and the path opens naturally. This is the meaning.

 

Mindfulness:

The noble option of nirodha involves keeping Buddha & Dharma in mind, which is to say, in one's heart, in all situations. To do so is mindfulness in the true Buddhist sense. This is not a psychological technique of staying in the present moment. It is, rather, protection against what may happen if, in the present moment, one meets corruption, adversity or temptation. In this true sense, mindfulness is faith & practice. In Japanese it is called nembutsu, literally "keeping the Buddha in mind". If, in all situations, one sustains one's refuge in Buddha, one will not go far wrong.

 

Dharma:

It is often taught that the term Dharma has two (or more) meanings and these are often distinguished in translations by using upper or lower case initial letters which do not appear in the original language. It is said that Dharma is the teaching of Buddha and dharma are the manifold things in this world. I suggest that dharma, with or without a capital, has but one meaning and that is "fundamental truth", or, we could say, what is really real. Buddha's "teaching" is him pointing out reality and what we need to know about the phenomenal world is to discern whatever is fundamental. Much Buddhist teaching is concerned with the fact that ordinary experience is often based upon mere appearance that often turns out to be fake news. To live a spiritual life, one needs to address what is actually so, rather than superficial forms.

 

When we take these (and some other) key terms in this way, we receive a Buddhism that is coherent, clear and practical yet profound. It is fundamentally true that life for a sentient being includes many unavoidable dukkha situations and it is also fundamentally true that in this very existential situation a noble life is possible if one meet those situations mindfully in the above sense of the word. Doing so constitutes nirodha and the outcome of doing so is marga, the eightfold path, a truly spiritual life. The great diversity of Buddhist practices and teachings are all designed to assist and contribute to this.

 

Namo Amida Bu.

the five remembrances

Sr Thuận Nghiêm talked about the Upajjhatthana Sutta (Subjects for Contemplation) otherwise known as the Five Remembrances during the Spring Retreat. :: link

1. I am of the nature to grow old, I cannot escape old age.
Plum trees need to be trimmed so that their sap energy does not get dispersed into growing lots of branches and leaves, but instead can be directed to produce more fruits. We are the same, with the practices of mindfulness, we can grow old beautifully, bearing many fruits of happiness and peace. Who are our role models for growing old gracefully? Thầy, Sr Chân Không, Sr Chân Đức can be our source of inspiration for how to age with wisdom and beauty.
2. I am of the nature to get sick, I cannot escape sickness.
The Buddha taught that sickness comes from the way we consume and what we consume through edible food, sense impressions, volition, and collective consciousness. How is your consumption in daily life affecting your body and mind? Depression and loneliness are very prevalent in our society now. Fostering a community connection can alleviate these maladies because it brings the warmth of being in a family. Eating a vegetarian diet, organic food, meditation, exercise, relaxation and friendship are other important factors in the healing process.
3. I am of the nature to die, I cannot escape death.
We can remember the fact that each day that passes we have one day less to live, so we can do and say things to appreciate and cherish our loved one’s presence. When our parents have passed away, instead of regretting and lamenting their loss we can contemplate on what aspirations they had and we can continue to realize it for them. This is one way we continue them. How can we overcome feelings of resentment towards a loved one before they die? Try to look at the positive things they have done, and see the bigger picture, or the conditions that have made them the way they are.
4. All that is dear to me and everyone I love are of the nature to change. There is no way to escape being separated from them.
Life can be full of unexpected events, earth quake, tsunami, people we live with can die the next day. Do we take time to recognize the preciousness of our relationships?
5. I inherit the results of my actions of body, speech, and mind. My actions are my continuation. The echo in the mountains is our life. What we give out through the three actions of body, speech and mind comes back to us, even very little things in our thinking. If we have received positive things from a good environment, like a sangha, then we are more inspired to give back positively by sharing our peace and joy to others.

no escape retreat

Here's a moving article from Sr Tam Muoi, recently shared by Plum Village. It is such a beautiful and honest account of taking care of her elderly parents during the pandemic - the difficulties, the joys and the many aspects of our practice that have supported her.

 

https://plumvillage.org/articles/no-escape-retreat/

embracing anger

We can embrace all of our feelings, even difficult ones like anger. Anger is a fire burning inside us, filling our whole being with smoke. When we are angry, we need to calm ourselves: "Breathing in, I calm my anger. Breathing out, I take care of my anger." As soon as a mother takes her crying baby into her arms, the baby already feels some relief. When we embrace our anger with Right Mindfulness, we suffer less right away.

- Thich Nhat Hanh

still water

Breathing in, I see myself as still water.

Breathing out, I reflect things as they are.

 

Near the mountain, there is a lake with clear, still water reflecting the mountain and the sky with pristine clarity. You can do the same. If you are calm and still enough, you can reflect the mountain, the blue sky, and the moon exactly as they are. You reflect whatever you see exactly as it is, without distorting anything.

 

Have you ever seen yourself in a mirror that distorts the image? Your face is long, your eyes are huge, and your legs are really short. Don’t be like that mirror. It is better to be like the still water on the mountain lake.

 

We often do not reflect things clearly, and we suffer because of our wrong perceptions. Suppose you are walking in the twilight and see a snake. You scream and run into the house to get your friends, and all of you run outside with a flashlight. But when you shine your light on the snake, you discover that it isn’t a snake at all, just a piece of rope. This is a distorted perception.

We need to make our water still if we want to receive reality as it is.

 

When we see things or listen to other people, we often don’t see clearly or really listen. We see and hear our projections and our prejudices. We are not clear enough, and we have a wrong perception. Even if our friend is giving us a compliment, we may argue with him because we distort what he says.

 

If we are not calm, if we only listen to our hopes or our anger, we will not be able to receive the truth that is trying to reflect itself on our lake. We need to make our water still if we want to receive reality as it is. If you feel agitated, don’t do or say anything. Just breathe in and out until you are calm enough. Then ask your friend to repeat what he has said. This will avoid a lot of damage. Stillness is the foundation of understanding and insight. Stillness is strength.

 

Thich Nhat Hanh from “Touching Peace: Practicing the Art of Mindful Living"

Teachings on Mindfulness and Gratefulness