Shosan: The Willpower to Dismiss Contrived Phenomena

There are many ways of approach in practice. There are those who, considering it difficult to know the Buddha’s intent without knowledge to begin with, take to extensive learning and read records of sayings and sacred teachings. Then there are those who like mountain forests, under the trees, and live on solitary peaks or recondite valleys, clarifying their minds in the bright moonlight and pure breeze, with drifting clouds and flowing waters for companions. Then there are those who keep precepts, taking kindness and compassion, honesty, desireless purity, harmony and tolerance for guidelines, practicing proper Buddhist conduct fearing even minor wrongs. Some practice invocation of the name of the Buddha of Infinite Light, guided by the fundamental vow of Other Power. Some practice contemplation, some practice sitting meditation and offer only meditation concentration, even to beginners. Some take pride in the lively techniques of the founding teachers, using transcendental sayings, and present seeing essential nature to realize Buddhahood even to lay men and women. There are many other approaches besides these, but those who practice based on the willpower to dismiss contrived phenomena and arrive at unexcelled enlightenment in accord with the original intent of Buddha are rare. ​

Genuine will for the Way properly means strongly maintaining detachment from the world from the outset, abiding in detachment from appearances and labels, cutting through the root of thoughts fixated on appearances, practicing merging with space. Anything extraordinary one may display beyond this will all be unreal. An ancient said, “If initial aspiration is not right, all practices are in vain.” Therefore even the ancients imbued with great strength speak of difficult practice and difficult understanding. In recent years, however, there are people with mistaken understanding who harm people by easily granting “enlightenment” to clergy and lay people.

-Shosan, taken from the book Zen Meditation, compiled by Thomas Cleary

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Jungle_Toad's commentary

Not knowledge. Not being alone in nature. Not being a good person. Not invoking the Buddha of Infinite Light. Not others. Not contemplation. Not meditation. Not quoting old masters. What then?

"Practice based on the willpower to dismiss contrived phenomena and arrive at unexcelled enlightenment in accord with the original intent of Buddha"

Everything to lose and nothing to gain. How do you like those odds? No, seriously, how do you learn to like that?

Also, is "willpower" included among the contrived phenomena? What about "enlightenment"? "intent"? "Buddha"?

Submitted February 04, 2020 at 03:14AM by jungle_toad https://ift.tt/37XWrCf