Lost Coin Zen

Doen Sensei discusses the real reasons why people seek spiritual knowledge, and bringing your complete self into your practice.

photo credit: Flowery *L*u*z*a*

In Lost Coin practice we talk about actions being “mechanical” happening on their own, without consciousness. It seems negative but it really isn’t. Because we are mechanical we have a wonderful opportunity for freedom. We do so much asleep imagine what we would do and realize if we just began to awake.

We have heard this  requires, knowledge, practice, a group to work with and a teacher. The teacher needs to be connected to a real source. Even if we find these things it isn’t easy but it is an objective way in which we can make real efforts and produce real results. We can run our lives rather than being the recipient or victim of our experience.

In our normal state its like being in an airplane that is on automatic pilot. The pilot has gotten used to this convenience so he is fast asleep. The airplanes destination has been decided a long time ago by conditioning, by others’ aims. The flight plan doesn’t include the pilots desires or deeper understandings of a meaningful destination.

We are these pilots. Some of us are fast asleep, some sleeping lightly, some just drowsing. The ones that are just drowsing have dreams in which they have lost or forgotten something, something important.

We have learned how to do things by thinking . . . and thinking can be a good tool.  It’s not the whole tool set.  When all you have is a hammer every problem tends to look like a nail.  We think, choose and act–well, sometimes.  A lot of the time we just think and then think some more.  Perhaps even more problematic is that what we call thought is often just a set of random associations based on the big thing we call fear, its smaller brother anxiety, then there are the cousins inertia and insecurity.

Practice differs from thought – it is practice in being and doing.  There is a place for thinking and analysis but there is another area that is very important in our training, development, and ability to do things – the cultivation of this area requires practice.

I would call this the area of “intent”.  Other related terms are will, commitment, focus, and spirit – the Chinese “Chi”.  Intent can cut through thought with both power and speed.  “I”s can be cultivated.  When people really want to develop or make something happen it is always there – it is not often spoken of.

Intent begins with the ability to wish.  You got to want it and you got to want it bad.  We can look at what we really want – then we can cultivate our intent.

Intent and spirit are not something we can understand.  They are forces.  They don’t seem to increase when we understand or think about them.  They do from practice.  They grow through focus and attention.  The cultivation of intent is a legacy in both the Zen and Fourth Way traditions.  Intent can be taught and cultivated.  Working in a group, or Sangha, can make efforts stronger.  It’s not really taught in words.  These words I’m writing are a song about intent.

Intent is a gift we all posses.  A lost coin.

Intent is not in the realm of thought and not to be understood.

Photo by JK***

Daniel Doen Silberberg Sensei talks about how collaboration in the practice is like collaboration of music. Zen practice will look different in the West than it did in Japan- that will take time, but Lost Coin can contribute by being a creative mix and influence.

Part 1
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2anxXwQBaXo

Part 2
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BN-N3kmPF80

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFCwRF_ujMk