by Stephen Lau
Zen is The Way and the Way of Zen is simple: Go back to the beginning, be a child again, and have a beginner’s mind for Zen.
What exactly is a beginner’s mind?
According to Plato, life is a process of “forgetting.” We have forgotten what we were, what we used to be. Therefore, we need to go back to the beginning — children have no past and no future, and everything ispresent to them. This simple mental state is The Way of Zen! To intuit this mentality, cultivate a beginner’s mind for Zen.
In Zen, you remember where you came from, who you are, and where you are heading. In real life, however, many rush through their lives without knowing who they are, where they are going; they pursue one goal after another, and in their pursuit they lose their true purpose of living. That is not The Way of Zen, which alone can instill deep peace internalized. Zen symbolizes internal calm and tranquility — the art of living well.
Zen is The Way, which is intuiting the profound wisdom of “not knowing” anything; ignorance may be bliss.
Go back to the beginning. Have a child-like mind to re-claim the excitement, joy, and adventurous spirit that have been lost amidst the hustle and bustle of modern living. Based on your own experiences in life, you have become who and what you are, , and they have become your perceptions and your “reality.” But these perceptions may not be “real.” However, these perceptions in your subconscious mind may control your conscious mind — how you think and how you act. In Zen meditation, you go deep into your subconscious mind to find out for yourself how “real” are these perceptions to you. In other words, you begin to have a beginner’s mind. Like children, you begin to see things in their simple and unadulterated manner.
A beginner’s mind enables you to make your life simple. Have a simple healthy lifestyle. Do away all the clutters in your life. Clutters of the past may clutter your present and your future life. Live only at thepresent moment, and only that very present moment is important to you. That is the Way of Zen at the simplest!
Zen begins at where you live. Creating empty space in your physical world simultaneously creates empty and open space in your life.
Secrets to Eliminate Clutter: It provides tips to help you free yourself of clutters conducive to stress, thereby creating space necessary for Zen healthy living. It helps you get rid of the clutters even before you “get organized.” Getting rid of clutters can make a difference to the energy of your home — which is, by the way, good feng shui. You can always apply quick and easy feng shui secrets to your newly de-cluttered home.
Zen is The Way and the Way of Zen is to stop craving more and more! Let life tell you what you NEED, not what you WANT.
Your wants are your imaginary needs, which can never be fulfilled. Even if they were satisfied, you would crave more and more. Not only do you want everything in life, but you also want to hold onto it forever.
But Zen focuses on the present moment, and each moment remains with that moment. In this respect, the universe is forever changing. Therefore, any attachment is futile and unnatural. Imaginary needs only beget delusions, which precipitate confusion and distress in life.
“All things in the universe are illusory and impermanent, yet the individual craves and cleaves to them. This very fundamental Ignorance is called ‘Wu-ming’, which is non-enlightenment.” Chang Chan
Stop craving more and more. And you will then become enlightened: your deepest need in life is to be who you really are, and all other things in life are just dispensable extras and non-essentials.
“The five colors cause one’s eyes to be bold.
The five tones cause one’s ears to be deaf.
The five flavors cause one’s palate to be spoiled.
Racing and hunting cause one’s mind to be mad.
Goods that are hard to get cause one’s heart to be restless.”
Lao Tzu
Zen is The Way: Empty your cup, and find out what is most valuable in your life. In a changing world, any attachment to anything is no more than “false” security that perpetuates the self-delusion.
Copyright© by Stephen Lau
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