Body and Mind Are One in Zazen

Text

In zazen, body and mind are not separate. When you straighten the spine, you straighten the mind. When you let the breath settle naturally, the thoughts settle naturally. This is why Dogen placed such emphasis on the posture—not as a physical exercise, but as the concrete expression of awakening. The body sitting in zazen is not the container of the mind; it is the mind itself, made visible. To sit with the correct posture, in complete presence, is to realize the unity of body and mind that we call Buddha.

license: fair_use

Attribution

• Attributed To
  Roland Rech

Lineage: Sōtō

By Roland Rech

• Letting Go Is Not Giving Upproverb
• Zazen Is a Mirrorproverb
• Always Returning to the Present Momentsaying
• Association Bouddhiste Zen d'Europe (ABZE) — abzen.euwork

From Kusen of Roland Rech

• Letting Go Is Not Giving Up
• Zazen Is a Mirror
• Always Returning to the Present Moment

Sources

• contentWikisource — English-language free library

  Kusen of Roland Rech, oral teaching during zazen

  Kusen of Roland Rech: Body and Mind Are One in Zazen