Practice
Zen requires practice. And what is practice? Everything is practice. If you think you are stupid, you practice thinking you are stupid. If you feel hate you practice hate. If you binge-eat a cake, you practice binge-eating a cake. You get how this works, don't you?
Zen strongly suggests you pay attention to where you are and what you are doing, not only in the outward world, but in your body, feelings, perceptions, impulses and conscious activity. If you look at this little fellow, his feet are going one way and his head is covered by a pot. He is lost, confused and about to fall off the sidewalk into a web. He lacks attention.
STOP! Stay still! Take the pot off your head, straighten your body and have a look at where you are. These are the bare bones of Zen practice. You stop, sit still, adjust your body and begin to look within yourself to see what is going on inside the self.
The first step is to study the self that is confused. This study takes time and it is essential. You need to know where you are before you are able to use directions which might help you.
You have to STOP looking outward for the cause of your confusion. You STOP blaming your boss, your lover, your child, your parents, your history, your situation, and come to see you shaped your life with a pot over your head. When you see the pot you can begin to recognize the actions of body, speech and mind which brought about your confusion. The pot is not to blame. In fact, blame is yet another pot that you hang and bang on your head. All blame must stop in order for you to begin to see clearly.
You can lie to yourself. You can continue to lie to yourself. It’s up to you.
PART TWO
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