Work Where You Are

We spend a lot of our lives trying to get somewhere. We imagine that there is some end to the to-do list. This seems like a simple mistake, but it is a costly one. When I started Aikido training, Shodan was at the end of the list. When I reached Shodan, there was Nidan; the new end of the list. When I started Zen practice, I had a huge list of things that had to happen before my practice became authentic: sit 20 minutes, sit every day, do retreats, have a meditation room.

Both situations contain the same fundamental error. Teaching Aikido to beginners and children, I am coming to see that every stage of practice is complete on its own (something that was easier to see in Zen practice). Each stage has its own challenges and difficulties. Doing that first roll is no less daunting for the white belt than doing that first freestyle is for the senior student. Each level requires its own set of skills, but the deeper solution always goes back to the same place. Posture, balance, and timing. It's one of the things I really like about Aikido, is that we all train together, encountering these challenges right where we are.

The development of my Zen practice has had a similar character, but it has been harder to see at times. The more rooted the practice becomes in my life, the easier it is to see the practice outside of the meditation room. With that expansion, a universe of challenges arises. All the bumps that I encounter in the day are seen as things about myself that I am sticking to. This makes for some brutally honest work. In the end, it too sends me back to the basics; Zazen.

Analogies are tricky things. They may seem brilliant at the time, but they are inherently limited. If I have to offer an analogy in place of the to-do list, it would be doing laundry. It does not end. The washing is complete and perfect, just like the drying, folding and putting away. How we approach it will determine if it is a chore or the natural, beautiful function of our daily lives.

Osu & Gassho