WORLD OF DUALITIES

There are many factors to consider when you start on any spiritual path. One of the most important is choosing the right teacher. According to 20th century Zen Master Omori Sogen, the Zen teacher best suited to you is one who knows how to guide you – regardless of your starting point e.g., better health, ways to relax or reduce stress or any other myriad of reasons) – on to the proper path of finding your True Nature, which is the “goal” of Zen.

Omori Roshi says that while you are training, the teacher will ask you, “Why are you studying Zen?” Your response may well change as you study and train more but remember this: The answer is one that will determine whether you succeed in your Zen training or falter along the arduous journey.

He also points out that while in Zen meditation, students must undergo an individual awakening of their oneness with Emptiness. At the same time, however. teachers are needed to guide students “in the proper practice of meditation, to interpret the experience of that state of being, and to show them the proper discipline of the affairs of daily life.”

My Zen teacher, Taiken Yokoyama Roshi, has several times mentioned that one of the factors he looks at when considering the aptness of the teaching of Zen priests is whether they are helping students realize the true nature of Reality (and themselves) or aiming merely to help people do better in the world of dualities. The dualistic world is the one in which we exist on a day-to-day basis, the one in which we differentiate between night and day, good and bad, us and them, rich and poor, life and death.

Helping people survive better in their work, personal lives and society is fine, but survival to what end? Even if someone gets a better job and makes more money, has good friends and volunteers at a food bank, this is still in the realm of dualities. Is that enough for you?

Helping others be more present in the here and now, to be more aware or mindful of their surroundings can be helpful. But helpful toward what end? Even if someone is more mindful, this is still the world of dualities. Is that enough for you?

Helping people deal with stress, anxiety and chaos by reminding them to breathe correctly, watch their posture and have a calm state of mind can certainly make them feel better. They may feel better, but they remain in the world of dualities. Is that enough for you?

Zen aims to help people transcend differences and thus end the otherwise unending cycle of transmigration, that is, of rebirth and re-death. In the process of training toward this, a Zen student may indeed survive better in this world, be more present and feel less stress. From the outside, it may look the same as the lives of those living in the dualistic world, but there is the critical difference.

For those training in Zen, the world of everyday dualities is seen for what it truly is: transitory, constantly changing. Through Zen, there is the possibility of realizing how one is the same as the universe, there is no separation or differentiation. Even if you do not realize that you are on the same continuous flow of the universe, you are still moving and changing with it. This is Reality. This is our True Nature.

So, if you want to take this path, find yourself a good teacher who can guide you! Then, answer this question: Why am I studying Zen?