Prioritizing the practitioner over the practice form
The most important thing is not zazen, but the person doing it. If you always do it and don't know why you do it, that's a problem.
How sitting begins before the physical posture
The technique of sitting meditation is very simple. The first thing is a will to sit. You think, "I'd like to sit. It is time to sit." Before the body gets into a sitting position, you are already feeling it.
Kobun confirming Dogen's teaching from personal experience
After thirty years, on and off, sitting experience, I really feel that Dogen's statement is truly right, that sitting is the action of going into Buddha's world. In other words, because you are Buddhas, you can sit.
Teaching on facing the wall
Why do we face toward the wall when we do zazen? Gazing at the wall actually means we sit behind the wall. Zazen is not a game, or a show, to be seen by others, nor is it turning away or separating from the world.
The wall as empty space for self-forgetting
We face the wall to forget this small self and forgetting the self the whole universe appears. So the plain wall works as empty space, like a plain sky.
You are the projector, not the audience
Bodhidharma sat in front of a cave wall, but we don't know what he saw. We are not in a movie theatre waiting for the movie projector to start. You are the projector!
Posture as sitting itself, not preparation for sitting
Right posture does not mean you are doing sitting. Right posture, itself, is sitting, and your whole body system is going into that posture.
Teaching on the cosmic mudra
The mudra of dharmadhatu is giving up the state of discrimination and giving total trust to everything. That's what this mudra is. All fingers come together and become one thing. The mudra is the shape of a stupa, a limitless temple where all truth can dwell.
Teaching on walking meditation
Kinhin is that kind of slow and soft movement. When you do kinhin with a very aware mind, you begin to notice that in everyday life we are always skipping that kind of space by getting up and immediately running.
Kobun's personal relationship to zazen instruction
I speak of this zazen practice, not as a result of my intellectual analysis, but out of my deep respect and belief. I appeal to your intuition in picking up this practice in your life.
The ongoing effort of maintaining posture
We also know that our body is like a sand castle by the beach. We have to build it up, maybe every two or three minutes, checking every part of our body. Obviously, perfect posture is not the aim. More important is continuous effort and alertness.