{"id":6850,"date":"2020-07-06T19:36:43","date_gmt":"2020-07-06T21:36:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nossacasa.net\/shunya\/?p=6850"},"modified":"2020-07-06T19:36:43","modified_gmt":"2020-07-06T21:36:43","slug":"sim-a-vida","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.nossacasa.net\/shunya\/sim-a-vida\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;Sim&#8221; \u00e0 vida"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:justify\">\n<a name=\"inicio\"><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nossacasa.net\/shunya\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Genmyo-Smith-672x372.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.nossacasa.net\/shunya\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Genmyo-Smith-672x372.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"672\" height=\"372\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-6852\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.nossacasa.net\/shunya\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Genmyo-Smith-672x372.jpg 672w, http:\/\/www.nossacasa.net\/shunya\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Genmyo-Smith-672x372-300x166.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.nossacasa.net\/shunya\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Genmyo-Smith-672x372-500x277.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 672px) 100vw, 672px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<div STYLE=\"text-align:right\"><i>de <b><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nossacasa.net\/shunya\/elihu-genmyo-smith\/\">Elihu Genmyo Smith<\/a><\/b><br \/>\nTradu\u00e7\u00e3o para o portugu\u00eas de<br \/>\nTenzin Namdrol<\/i><\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<div STYLE=\"text-align:center\">\n<table WIDTH=\"80%\" BORDER=\"1\">\n<tr ALIGN=\"center\">\n<td><a HREF=\"#a\">Portugu\u00eas &#8211; Parte 1<\/a><\/td>\n<td><a HREF=\"#b\">Portugu\u00eas &#8211; Parte 2<\/a><\/td>\n<td><a HREF=\"#c\">Ingl\u00eas &#8211; Parte 1<\/a><\/td>\n<td><a HREF=\"#d\">Ingl\u00eas &#8211; Parte 2<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p><a NAME=\"a\"><\/p>\n<div STYLE=\"text-align:center\"><font SIZE=\"4\"><b>&quot;SIM&quot; &Agrave; VIDA &#8211; PARTE  1<\/b><\/font><\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/p>\n<p ALIGN=\"JUSTIFY\">Temos empenho em manter uma pr&aacute;tica cont&iacute;nua, mas infelizmente, recorremos ininterruptamente &agrave;s express&otilde;es, &quot;eu&quot;, &quot;mim&quot;, &quot;meu&quot;&#8230; H&aacute;bitos, conceitos e atitudes repousam neste h&aacute;bito autocentrado.  &Eacute; pelo filtro das express&otilde;es &quot;eu penso&#8230;.&quot; &quot;minha opini&atilde;o&#8230;.&quot;  &quot;meu&#8230;&quot; que vemos, ouvimos e agimos.  Este h&aacute;bito autocentrado nos aprisiona, nos isola da corrente da vida e faz de n&oacute;s quem somos.  <\/p>\n<p ALIGN=\"JUSTIFY\">Zazen, a pr&aacute;tica verdadeira, est&aacute; no &quot;sim&quot;.  Nosso empenho se mede no &quot;sim&quot;; dizendo &quot;sim&quot; abrindo espa&ccedil;os onde a vida possa se manifestar. O sonho autocentrado permear&aacute; nossa exist&ecirc;ncia a menos que meditemos e pratiquemos com regularidade.  A import&acirc;ncia de meditar diariamente &eacute; imensur&aacute;vel e, se sempre que poss&iacute;vel, meditem em grupo.  Sem a medita&ccedil;&atilde;o, os h&aacute;bitos autocentrados p&otilde;em a perder as palavras que lemos ou ouvimos, toda a apreens&atilde;o e compreens&atilde;o profundas.  Concentramo-nos no que estamos fazendo, ouvimos com aten&ccedil;&atilde;o os que se dirigem  a n&oacute;s, comendo, consertando o que engui&ccedil;ou, limpando o que est&aacute; sujo, sentindo dores, sofrendo de t&eacute;dio ou n&atilde;o fazendo nada demais.  Ser apenas isso, ser o &quot;sim&quot; com o corpo e observar quando n&atilde;o temos disposi&ccedil;&atilde;o para ser este &quot;sim&quot;.  Mesmo quando dizemos o &quot;n&atilde;o&quot;, nosso &quot;n&atilde;o&quot; pode ser ou surgir a partir do &quot;sim&quot;.   Doar-nos a n&oacute;s mesmos, a quem est&aacute; diante de n&oacute;s, ser este eu\/n&atilde;o-eu, &eacute; do que consta a pr&aacute;tica. Ao reverenciar, sejamos a rever&ecirc;ncia.  N&atilde;o um esbo&ccedil;o de rever&ecirc;ncia que pode doer; mas a pr&oacute;pria rever&ecirc;ncia que surge da dor.  Contudo, se ao reverenciar pensar ou crer &quot;estou reverenciando e a seguir colocar-me-ei de p&eacute;&quot;, estamos nos impedindo de ser a rever&ecirc;ncia.<\/p>\n<p ALIGN=\"JUSTIFY\">&quot;Estou arrumando os sapatos, mas tenho pressa.  Preciso arruma-los antes de come&ccedil;ar a medita&ccedil;&atilde;o no zendo, que &eacute; o que importa&quot;.  Neste caso, estamos nos impedindo de dizer o &quot;sim&quot; &agrave; vida, de estarmos com a vida no momento presente.  N&atilde;o existe qualquer outro momento\u2014mas pensamos que sim.  Ao mesmo tempo n&atilde;o estamos replicando um gesto r&iacute;gido e estereotipado de como devemos nos mover e com que ligeireza.  Mesmo com pressa, cal&ccedil;ando os sapatos podemos dizer, &quot;sim&quot; estou sendo a pressa.<\/p>\n<p ALIGN=\"JUSTIFY\">Dizem, &quot;Quando estiver melhor poderei praticar zazen, mas agora tudo me d&oacute;i, estou cansado&quot;.  A pr&aacute;tica verdadeira, a vida, &eacute; dizer &quot;sim&quot; ao cansa&ccedil;o.  Na pr&aacute;tica do zazen e pela vida afora, surgem diferentes estados da mente\u2014da mente\/corpo\u2014n&atilde;o s&atilde;o duas coisas distintas.  A pr&aacute;tica, a oportunidade, &eacute; ser isso, surgindo.  A pr&aacute;tica &eacute; permitir o &quot;sim&quot; o esfor&ccedil;o de ser o &quot;sim&quot; e desvendar todas as formas que encontramos para n&atilde;o dizer o &quot;sim&quot;.  Vamos construir muitas barreiras para n&atilde;o confrontar este momento; para evitar a vida presente na pessoa que fala comigo de uma forma particularmente desagrad&aacute;vel; ou uma circunst&acirc;ncia mal cheirosa, etc. etc&#8230;  Encontramos muitas maneiras de justificar o que evitamos, evitando a vida.  Pode nos acontecer ir ao toalete e constatar que a lixeira transborda de toalhas de papel usadas.  Ao lavar e enxugar as m&atilde;os numa toalha de papel, a jogamos na lixeira cheia quando temos aqui uma oportunidade de limpar e compactar, de agir sobre o que precisa ser feito agora, aqui\u2014o lixo; mas surge a atitude autocentrada:  &quot;n&atilde;o &eacute; minha responsabilidade&quot; &quot;n&atilde;o fui eu que fiz&quot;, etc.<\/p>\n<p ALIGN=\"JUSTIFY\">O &quot;sim&quot; &eacute; a vida; tudo o que vem ao nosso encontro da manh&atilde; &agrave; noite, n&atilde;o &eacute; um estado de ser porque surgem muitos estados de ser.  Podemos nos plantar na id&eacute;ia de que algumas situa&ccedil;&otilde;es, ou mesmo estados mentais s&atilde;o pr&aacute;ticas v&aacute;lidas, medita&ccedil;&atilde;o v&aacute;lida, samadhi profundo, quietude perfeita, realidade.  Estados mentais surgem na pr&aacute;tica e n&atilde;o t&ecirc;m nada de errado, mas n&atilde;o &eacute; o que denominamos pr&aacute;tica Zen, n&atilde;o &eacute; disso que trata o Caminho.<\/p>\n<p ALIGN=\"JUSTIFY\">Existe um koan, &quot;de p&eacute; no alto de um poste de 30 metros, como &eacute; que se vai em frente?&quot;  Estamos sempre de p&eacute; no alto de um poste de trinta metros, sempre para dar o pr&oacute;ximo passo, arriscando e oferecendo a vida.  A vida &eacute; um poste de 30 metros; a vida &eacute; ir em frente.  Ser&aacute; que estamos vendo assim as oportunidades com que nos deparamos na pr&aacute;tica e na vida?<\/p>\n<p ALIGN=\"JUSTIFY\">Sabemos por instinto\u2014j&aacute; que as op&ccedil;&otilde;es e h&aacute;bitos mentais s&atilde;o pessoais\u2014como dizemos &quot;n&atilde;o&quot; a n&oacute;s mesmos, &agrave; vida, apegados aos h&aacute;bitos autocentrados.  Como dizemos &quot;talvez&quot;, &quot;um dia&quot;, &quot;um pouco&quot;.  Mesmo tratando-se de ocasi&otilde;es t&atilde;o singelas quanto &agrave; medita&ccedil;&atilde;o ou o repouso.  &quot;Estou demasiado&#8230;. para meditar&quot;, &quot;para ir ao zendo&quot; todos h&aacute;bitos e conceitos autocentrados.  Ent&atilde;o o que &eacute; preciso para observar este condicionamento de hesita&ccedil;&atilde;o, de incerteza quando podemos dizer o &quot;sim&quot; aqui?  Ser&aacute; a necessidade de outras condi&ccedil;&otilde;es estarem presentes antes que possamos dizer o &quot;sim&quot;?  S&atilde;o as perenes atitudes autocentradas a que nos acostumamos.  Aprendemos que existem pr&eacute;-condicionamentos, que antes de podermos dizer &quot;sim&quot;  &quot;preciso ter certeza&quot; &quot;preciso me informar&quot; &quot;preciso sentir que &eacute; assim mesmo&#8230;&quot;.<\/p>\n<p ALIGN=\"JUSTIFY\">A pr&aacute;tica n&atilde;o exclui a adequa&ccedil;&atilde;o do &quot;n&atilde;o&quot; &agrave; escolha. Cuidado para n&atilde;o substituir com uma outra norma\u2014&quot;preciso dizer sim&quot;, o que n&atilde;o adianta, passa a ser uma nova regra, mais um conceito autocentrado.  Ainda que as regras possam constar da pr&aacute;tica, zazen e pr&aacute;tica n&atilde;o querem dizer o cumprimento de uma nova regra, ou estaremos de novo de p&eacute; no alto do posto de 30 metros.  Um &quot;n&atilde;o&quot; tamb&eacute;m cabe no nosso &quot;sim&quot;.  Lembrem-se, n&atilde;o fiquem presos &agrave;s palavras.  N&atilde;o continuem vivendo h&aacute;bitos mente\/corpo, sen&atilde;o, como poder&atilde;o ir em frente do alto de um poste de 30 metros?<\/p>\n<p ALIGN=\"JUSTIFY\">Para muitos de n&oacute;s, o &quot;sim&quot; que surge da atitude autocentrada parece ser o in&iacute;cio da pr&aacute;tica Zen; contudo, mesmo o primeiro passo j&aacute; est&aacute; al&eacute;m disso.  Zazen, a nossa pr&aacute;tica est&aacute; al&eacute;m da atitude autocentrada; permite-nos ser quem somos ainda que surja da chamada atitude  autocentrada.  Permitam o &quot;sim&quot;, sejam o empenho de dizer o &quot;sim&quot;.  Quando n&atilde;o existe a disposi&ccedil;&atilde;o de dizer o &quot;sim&quot; observem, reparem, experimentem o condicionamento do &quot;sim&quot; e o do &quot;n&atilde;o&quot; de sempre.  Poder dizer o &quot;n&atilde;o&quot; a partir do &quot;sim&quot; &eacute; maravilhoso; dizer o &quot;sim&quot; a partir do &quot;sim&quot; &eacute; maravilhoso; dizer o &quot;talvez&quot; a partir &quot;sim&quot; &eacute; maravilhoso, aqui mesmo se encontra a maravilha da vida.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<div STYLE=\"text-align:right\"><a HREF=\"#inicio\"><font SIZE=\"2\">Topo<\/font><\/a><\/div>\n<p><a NAME=\"b\"><\/p>\n<div STYLE=\"text-align:center\"><font SIZE=\"4\"><b>&#038;quotSIM&quot; &Agrave; VIDA \u2013 PARTE 2<\/b><\/font><\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/p>\n<p ALIGN=\"JUSTIFY\">O choque, a dor, o sofrimento causados pela destrui&ccedil;&atilde;o e morte no World Trade Center e no Pentagno est&atilde;o ainda bem presentes em n&oacute;s.  Eles comp&otilde;em a pr&aacute;tica na vida, pertencem a este momento mente-corpo.  Perante a trag&eacute;dia muitos participaram diretamente descartando qualquer atitude autocentrada, como os bombeiros socorrendo as v&iacute;timas que fugiam dos edif&iacute;cios que ru&iacute;am.  As circunst&acirc;ncias sustentam, imp&otilde;em at&eacute;, que se despojem da atitude autocentrada.  Infelizmente, contudo, no rastro dos acontecimentos, a atitude autocentrada volta a impor-se, muitas vezes com insuspeit&aacute;vel viol&ecirc;ncia, a raiva, as rea&ccedil;&otilde;es e conceitos tornam-se mais irredut&iacute;veis.  A dor e o sofrimento que nos permeia no rastro da matan&ccedil;a do dia 11 de setembro nos abala e demonstra nitidamente o percep&ccedil;&atilde;o s&oacute;lida que temos de um eu, do &quot;meu mundo.&quot;  Como &eacute; que confrontamos e assimilamos a raiva, a viol&ecirc;ncia e o &oacute;dio dos terroristas e de seus atos?<\/p>\n<p ALIGN=\"JUSTIFY\">Tomando consci&ecirc;ncia de como sou incapaz de assimilar e estar presente neste momento, &quot;eu&quot; dou de frente com as circunst&acirc;ncias e condi&ccedil;&otilde;es da mente-corpo de todo o universo.  &quot;Eu&quot; posso reagir, at&eacute; lutar com raiva e &oacute;dio, em vez de abra&ccedil;ar o momento, as circunst&acirc;ncias, estes agregados.  A oportunidade para praticar surge aqui mesmo.  Podemos permitir que a rea&ccedil;&atilde;o da vida nos habite?  Meditando ou lidando com o dia a dia, estamos &agrave; merc&ecirc; de sofrimentos que rejeitamos; a mente-corpo, sensa&ccedil;&otilde;es, pensamentos est&atilde;o e  entram em sofrimento devido ao que parece que &eacute;.  Perguntamos:  &quot;como &eacute; poss&iacute;vel?&quot;  A pr&aacute;tica consiste em ir ao encontro do que estamos contendo, no que cremos quando &eacute; dif&iacute;cil ser a vida como ela &eacute;\u2014ser corpo-mente segurando, lutando contra as condi&ccedil;&otilde;es ou exigindo que elas se transformem segundo os meus desejos.  N&atilde;o de forma abstrata.  Neste mesmo momento imediato e concreto!<\/p>\n<p ALIGN=\"JUSTIFY\">Quando nos aferramos a preconceitos de toda esp&eacute;cie, certos e errados, n&atilde;o somos capazes de ver claramente, n&atilde;o somos capazes de permitir a livre manifesta&ccedil;&atilde;o.  Achamos muito dif&iacute;cil, mas como?  Cremos na atitude autocentrada de todo o nosso ser\u2014sabemos como queremos que os outros ou n&oacute;s ajam ou falem.  Tornou-se evidente na forma como reagimos com viol&ecirc;ncia aos ataques de 11 de setembro.  Ser&aacute; que estamos dispostos a ser este momento e permitir a manifesta&ccedil;&atilde;o da na&ccedil;&atilde;o, a realidade do mundo, manifestar a nossa rea&ccedil;&atilde;o?  Muitos da esquerda pol&iacute;tica enfatizam a fal&ecirc;ncia da pol&iacute;tica internacional americana, criticam as tend&ecirc;ncias globalizantes  e imperalistas, aferrados a id&eacute;ias pertinazes sobre o governo americano e a pol&iacute;tica internacional.  Muitas da direita pol&iacute;tica enfatizam a necessidade de a&ccedil;&otilde;es militares contundentes que incorporem seus preconceitos sobre a melhor forma de agir dos Estados Unidos.  Ser&aacute; que como na&ccedil;&atilde;o e indiv&iacute;duos, podemos aceitar as palavras do Dalai Lama, que diz que a viol&ecirc;ncia s&oacute; aumenta o ciclo de viol&ecirc;ncia.  Mas como &eacute; que podemos lidar com o &oacute;dio e a raiva que s&atilde;o a causa fundamental da viol&ecirc;ncia sem sentido?  &Eacute; dif&iacute;cil de responder, sobretudo quando se trata de uma na&ccedil;&atilde;o que tem id&eacute;ias fixas sobre a melhor forma de lidar com tais ataques.<\/p>\n<p ALIGN=\"JUSTIFY\">Estando perfeitamente &agrave; vontade a todo momento, o que quer que nos confronte nos pertence.  Praticando vemos a confus&atilde;o, a nossa confus&atilde;o, que nos impede de lidar livremente com o manifesto.  Ser&aacute; que acreditamos que no universo as pequenas ou as grandes coisas nos prejudicam ou nos aprisionam?  Este &eacute; o espa&ccedil;o da pr&aacute;tica, este &eacute; o nosso zendo.  O universo de dimens&atilde;o infinita &eacute; exatamente as pessoas, as circunstancias, as condi&ccedil;&otilde;es para ser plenamente que encontramos.<\/p>\n<p ALIGN=\"JUSTIFY\">O empenho na pr&aacute;tica &eacute; ser plenamente este momento, t&atilde;o inc&ocirc;modo ou amea&ccedil;ador quanto possa ser e que personifica o surgir da vida.  Ser este corpo-mente no surgir do eu, mim, meu, no surgir das no&ccedil;&otilde;es preconcebidas, n&atilde;o ditas, n&atilde;o observadas.  Tomar consci&ecirc;ncia da nossa rea&ccedil;&atilde;o &eacute; o trampolim de abertura para a vida, permitindo a vida agir em n&oacute;s.  Isto &eacute; zazen, uma e outra vez, meditando o momento que surge, incorporando a medita&ccedil;&atilde;o na a&ccedil;&atilde;o.  Isto &eacute; zazen na a&ccedil;&atilde;o, ser presente quando conversamos, em crise, em dar e receber.  A pr&aacute;tica cont&iacute;nua sustenta a vida no momento; n&atilde;o existe qualquer forma ou a&ccedil;&atilde;o prescrita.  Na China antiga, quando o Governador Lu se prop&ocirc;s &quot;governar pela sabedoria&quot;.  O mestre Ch\u2019an Nanchuan disse &quot;se este &eacute; o seu prop&oacute;sito far&aacute; sofrer o seu povo&quot;.  N&atilde;o nos apegarmos nem mesmo &agrave; sabedoria, zazen &eacute; permitir a compaix&atilde;o e a sabedoria que s&atilde;o quem somos de surgir numa mir&iacute;ade de manifesta&ccedil;&otilde;es em nossas vidas.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<div STYLE=\"text-align:right\"><a HREF=\"#inicio\"><font SIZE=\"2\">Topo<\/font><\/a><\/div>\n<p><font FACE=\"Verdana\" SIZE=2><\/p>\n<div STYLE=\"text-align:center\"><font SIZE=\"4\"><b><a NAME=\"c\">\u201cYes\u201d to Life &#8211; Part 1 <\/a><\/b><\/font><\/div>\n<p ALIGN=\"right\"><font SIZE=\"1\"><i>by <a href=\"default.asp?menu=224\" class=\"broken_link\"><font SIZE=\"1\"><b>Elihu Genmyo Smith<\/b><\/font><\/a><\/i><\/font><br \/>Retirado do site www.prairiezen.org<\/p>\n<p><\/font><\/p>\n<div STYLE=\"text-align:justify\">\nAll of us are engaged in ongoing practice!  Unfortunately, most of the time our ongoing practice is self-centeredness, saying I, me and my. Habits, thoughts, beliefs and behaviors are the basis of this ongoing self-centered practice. Through \u201cI think&#8230;\u201d, \u201cI feel&#8230;, \u201cmy idea.., \u201cmy&#8230;\u201d  we see, hear and act. It is this ongoing self-centeredness practice that keeps us trapped, keeps us from our life, being who we are. <\/p>\n<p>Zazen, true practice, is in the word \u201cyes.\u201d  Our practice effort is being \u201cyes\u201d, saying \u201cyes\u201d to this, allowing our life. Unless we practice regularly, sit regularly, self-centered dream continues to pervade our life. The value of daily zazen is immeasurable; when possible, sit zazen with others. Without it, all the words we read, hear, all our insights and understanding, are lost   in the face of self-centered habits. Zazen and ongoing practice throughout the day are an antidote to habitual self-centeredness. Taking care of the immediate task &#8211; listening to the one speaking to us; eating this bread; fixing what is broken; cleaning up a dirty mess; or being in the midst of pain, suffering, dullness or nothing special.   To be this, to bodily say \u201cyes\u201d and to notice all the ways that we are unwilling to say \u201cyes.\u201d Even when we say \u201cno;\u201d our \u201cno\u201d can be, is to be, in the midst of \u201cyes.\u201d  To give ourself to our self, to the task at hand, being this no-self self. This is practice.  When we bow, be bowing. Not bowing \u201ca little bit\u201d because it hurts too much; bowing as we are in the midst of the hurt.  As we bow, thinking, believing, \u201cwell, I\u2019m bowing down, but I\u2019m ready to get up\u201d; that much we are holding back being bowing. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m putting my shoes away, but really I\u2019m in a rush.  I need to just get them in there, so I can go on to the important thing of sitting in the zendo.\u201d  That much we hold back from saying \u201cyes\u201d to our life, this moment being alive.  We don\u2019t have any other time &#8211; though we think we do.  At the same time, it is not duplicating a stereotyped rigid behavior of how and how fast to move. Even hurrying as we put in shoes can be to say \u201cyes\u201d to being hurrying. <\/p>\n<p>I have heard, \u201cWhen I will feel good, then I can really sit.  Right now I\u2019m too achy to sit  &#8211; I\u2019m too tired.\u201d  True practice, life, is saying \u201cyes\u201d to being fully tired. Throughout our zazen, our life, all sorts of different states arise: States of mind, states of body &#8211; not two different things.  And our practice &#8211; our opportunity &#8211; is to be this, this arising.  Our practice is to allow yes, to make the effort to be \u201cyes;\u201d and to notice all sorts of ways we find not to say \u201cyes.\u201d  We may find all sorts of ways to avoid this moment;  to  avoid this life, which is right here the person who talks in a way I find particularly unpleasant; the circumstance that smells so bad; on and on. There are all sorts of ways to justify what we want to avoid; avoiding our life.  Going into the bathroom, finding the trash overflowing, we wash our hands, use a paper towel and just sort of drop it on top.  That much we avoid; right here is the opportunity.  Clean it up, push it down; what needs to get taken care of right here, the trash.  Self-centeredness arises as \u201cit is not my responsibility\u201d, \u201cI did not do it\u201d, and so forth. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes\u201d is our life; this is all that we encounter from morning to night. It is not a particular state of being. All sorts of states of being arise.  It is very easy to get trapped in thinking that some situations, even some mental states, are good practice, good sitting, deep samadhi, deep stillness, reality. These states arise in practice life and are fine, but they are not what Zen practice is, what the way is.  <\/p>\n<p>There is a nice koan &#8211; From the top of a hundred-foot pole, how do you step forward? We are always on top of a hundred-foot pole, always at that juncture of stepping forward, exposing and offering our whole life. Our life is this hundred-foot pole; our life is stepping forth. Do we see this? Do we live this &#8211; our practice opportunity, our life opportunity?  <\/p>\n<p>We all know for ourself &#8211; because we all have our unique ways, our unique habits of mind &#8211; how we say \u201cno\u201d to our self, to our life, in the midst ongoing self-centeredness. How we say  \u201cmaybe\u201d or \u201csometime\u201d or \u201ca little bit.\u201d  Even in something as simple and straightforward as our sitting, we can find ways to say \u201cno\u201d to being this body mind right here; all the more so when were working or walking or resting.  \u201cI am too&#8230;. to sit\u201d, \u201cto go to the Zendo\u201d, all the self-centered habits and beliefs. So what does it take to notice this conditional, this hesitant, this not sure if it\u2019s okay to say \u201cyes\u201d here, this wanting some more conditions to be met before I say \u201cyes?\u201d  These are the ongoing self-centeredness we have learned. We have learned to believe that there are all sorts of conditions I need before I can say \u201cyes\u201d.  \u201cI need to be sure\u201d; \u201cI need to know\u201d; \u201cit needs to feel right . . .\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Practice doesn\u2019t exclude appropriateness of \u201cno\u201d,  of choosing. Be careful not to make a new ideal- \u201cI should say yes.\u201d  It is not of much use by itself, because if it becomes a new rule, a new self-centered belief. Though rules may be part of the form of practice, Zazen and practice are not some blind obedience or a new rule, otherwise we are just stuck on the pole.   Even \u201cno\u201d can be in our \u201cyes\u201d.  Remember: Don\u2019t get trapped by the words.     Not just living in habits of body-mind, how do you step forth from the top of the hundred-foot pole? <\/p>\n<p>For many of us, \u201cyes\u201d in the midst of self-centeredness seems to be how our Zen practice begins; yet even the first step of practice is truly beyond this.  Zazen, our practice, is beyond self-centeredness; it allows us to be who we are, who we always are even in the midst of so-called self-centeredness. Allow \u201cyes\u201d, be the effort to say \u201cyes;\u201d when there is unwillingness to say \u201cyes,\u201d see &#8211; notice &#8211; experience &#8211; the conditionality of \u201cyes\u201d or the habitual \u201cno\u201d. To say  \u201cno\u201d in the midst of \u201cyes\u201d is wonderful; to say \u201cyes\u201d in the midst of \u201cyes\u201d is wonderful; to say \u201cmaybe\u201d in the midst of \u201cyes\u201d is wonderful. This, right here, is our wonderful life. <\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<div STYLE=\"text-align:right\"><a HREF=\"#inicio\"><font SIZE=\"2\">Topo<\/font><\/a><\/div>\n<p><a NAME=\"d\"><\/p>\n<div STYLE=\"text-align:center\"><font SIZE=\"4\"><b>\u201cYes\u201d to Life &#8211; Part 2 <\/b><\/font><\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<p>\nThe shock, the ache, the pain, of the World Trade Center and Pentagon killing and destruction are right here. It is nothing but our life practice, being this body-mind moment. In the midst of the events many responded directly, self-centeredness forgotten, the firemen assisting others, those funning from the burning, collapsing buildings. Being present is supported, even forced, by circumstances, and habits of self-centeredness may drop away. Unfortunately, in the wake of the events, habits of self-centeredness reassert themselves, sometimes with seeming vengeance, so that anger seems stronger, reactions and beliefs all the more solid. The pain and suffering which washes over us in the wake of the September 11th terrorist killings shakes up and reveals most starkly our solid sense of self, of &#8220;my world.&#8221; How do we face and take in the anger, violence and hatred of the terrorists and their actions?<\/p>\n<p>Experiencing the ways I am unable to embrace and respond as this moment of life, &#8220;I&#8221; bump into circumstances, the conditions of body-mind, of the whole universe. &#8220;I&#8221; may react, even fight with rage and anger, rather than embracing this moment, these circumstances, these aggregates. Our practice opportunity is right here. Can we allow the response of life to live us? In sitting, throughout activities, we ache in ways that we do not want; our body-mind, feelings and thoughts ache over the way it appears to be. We demand, &#8220;How could this be?&#8221; Practice is finding ways to notice what we are holding to, what we believe when it is hard to be life as it is &#8211; to be body-mind clinging, fighting conditions or demanding that conditions be my way. Not abstractly. This very immediate, concrete moment!<\/p>\n<p>&#8230;&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>Holding to preconceived notions of all sorts, right and wrong, we are unable to see clearly, unable to allow free functioning. All of us find this difficult. How is it difficult? We believe self-centeredness with our whole being &#8211; hold views about how others or we should act, speak. This is evident in our national response to the September 11th violence. Are we willing to be this moment and allow our national functioning, the world reality, to manifest our response? Many on the political left stress the failure of American foreign policy, criticizing imperialist or globalist tendencies, holding to their strongly held beliefs about American government and foreign policy. Many on the political right stress the need for forceful military actions which likewise incorporates their strongly held beliefs about how the United States should function. Can we as a nation and individually take the Dalai Lama&#8217;s words to heart, that &#8220;violence will only increase the cycle of violence. But how do we deal with hatred and anger, which are the root causes of such senseless violence? This is a very difficult question, especially when it concerns a nation and we have certain fixed conceptions of how to deal with such attacks.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8230;..<\/p>\n<p>Being at home each moment of life, anything that confronts us is ours. In practice we get to see the confusion, our confusion, which keeps us from taking care of it freely. Do we believe that the universe, little things or big things, hinder us, binds us? This is the very field of our practice, our zendo. The universe of endless dimension is exactly the people, circumstances and conditions of being that we meet.<\/p>\n<p>The practice effort is being this moment, uncomfortable and even forbidding as it seems, embodying life arising. Being this is body-mind in the midst of I, me, my, in the midst of preconceived notions, unstated and usually unnoticed. It is noticing reactions of anger, depression and the many specific, particular ways I close off this moment, protect me, my, I from this moment of life. In noticing, right here is the practice of being present. Noticing our habitual response is the springboard of opening to life, allowing life to respond us. This is our zazen over and over, sitting in the midst of this moment, embodying allowing sitting to sit sitting. This is zazen in action, being present in speaking with others, in functioning in crisis, in giving and receiving. Ongoing practice supports the life of this moment; there is no formula of what specific action is called for. In ancient China, when Governor Lu proposed to &#8220;govern the people through wisdom&#8221; Ch&#8217;an Master Nan-chuan said &#8220;If this is true, the people will suffer for it.&#8221; Not holding even to wisdom, Zazen is allowing compassion and wisdom that is who we are to manifest as the myriad forms of our life.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<div style=\"text-align:right\"><a href=\"#inicio\">Topo<\/a><\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>de Elihu Genmyo Smith Tradu\u00e7\u00e3o para o portugu\u00eas de Tenzin Namdrol Portugu\u00eas &#8211; Parte 1 Portugu\u00eas &#8211; Parte 2 Ingl\u00eas &#8211; Parte 1 Ingl\u00eas &#8211; Parte 2 &quot;SIM&quot; &Agrave; VIDA &#8211; PARTE 1 Temos empenho em manter uma pr&aacute;tica cont&iacute;nua, &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nossacasa.net\/shunya\/sim-a-vida\/\">Continue lendo <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6851,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25,40],"tags":[16],"class_list":["post-6850","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mestres","category-zen","tag-thich-nhat-hanh"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.nossacasa.net\/shunya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6850","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.nossacasa.net\/shunya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.nossacasa.net\/shunya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.nossacasa.net\/shunya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.nossacasa.net\/shunya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6850"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.nossacasa.net\/shunya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6850\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6854,"href":"http:\/\/www.nossacasa.net\/shunya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6850\/revisions\/6854"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.nossacasa.net\/shunya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6851"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.nossacasa.net\/shunya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6850"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.nossacasa.net\/shunya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6850"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.nossacasa.net\/shunya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6850"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}