So,
When we are sitting in meditation,
Once we have taken on a graceful posture,
Once we have let go of all unnecessary tensions in the body,
And our breathing has calmed down to its natural rhythm,
We don't do anything anymore.
We just sit fully alive,
Fully present.
When we are fully present,
Our mind becomes vast,
Like the ocean,
In which fish freely swim without any obstruction.
On this ocean,
When the wind stops,
The waves calm down,
And then everything can be reflected on the smooth surface.
The ocean is a metaphor for the vast spirit of Zazen.
It is vast because it doesn't choose or select.
It's not driven by human preferences.
When our mind doesn't choose,
We can accept calmly.
We are disturbed by nothing,
And we become truly free.
As soon as something disturbs us,
Our ego,
Our spirit of attachment,
Manifests itself.
All spiritual paths teach us to abandon the ego.
But if we want to abandon it,
Voluntarily,
No matter what or how many techniques we use,
It's not possible.
When we practice with the wanting mind,
Then the whole practice will only be the manifestation of this ego.
The ego that wants to obtain something.
The ego that wants a result.
The ego is not something we can grasp or discard.
It is just a way of functioning.
A functioning that is very well needed to be able to operate in this world on a relative level.
That is to plan,
To execute,
To evaluate,
To measure,
To function in the world.
But during meditation,
When our mind operates in ego mode,
It gets caught up in its preferences.
In love,
In hate,
In choice,
In rejection,
In all kinds of mental processes.
When that happens,
All at once the world shrinks.
And instead of experiencing the vast ocean that reflects the clouds,
The sun,
The moon,
And the stars,
We only see the waves that risk to draw us.
Instead of experiencing the absolute dimension of our lives,
We only experience the relative threats and opportunities,
Our strengths and weaknesses.
In Zazen,
We reconnect with the absolute dimension of our existence.
So don't fear the waves.
Don't expect a smooth surface.
Don't expect any result of the meditation.
Just surrender to the bearing strength of the water and trust.
Trust that it will hold your floating as it always did and ever will.
