“Enlightenment comes from practice, thus enlightenment is limitless; practice comes from enlightenment, thus practice has no beginning.”
Dogen Zenji
Sitting is the foundation of Buddhist practice and what we bring to our daily sitting is our own enlightenment, even if we do not feel or think of ourselves as particularly enlightened. What we build on that foundation is both limitless and entirely dependant on what we bring to each of our daily sittings. Since the only thing possible to bring to sitting is what is right here, right now, in the present moment of sitting, and since no two moments are the same, the foundation of our daily practice is constantly shifting.
Among other things this suggests that what we normally mean by the word ‘foundation’ is something both very different and much less substantial, while at the same time being much the same and just as durable, as the foundation of a solid house. One way of approaching this apparent contradiction is by substituting the word ‘foundation’ for the word ‘form’ in the Heart Sutra, chanted by Buddhists throughout the world. That is, “Foundation is emptiness, emptiness is also foundation.” What we bring to each sitting is our own foundation, our own form, our own emptiness in the present moment.
We bring the present moment to the present sitting and no two moments and no two sittings are the same, and today’s sitting practice is not built on yesterday’s in the same sense that the breath you are taking at this moment is not built on the one before it and is a completely different one than the next one to come. Each breath, each sitting, each moment in life is unique, limitless and without beginning. Our practice is determined by the commitment we bring to the awareness of each moment and there is no beginning to that limitless practice.
In a commentary on the Heart Sutra, Thich Nhat Hahn explains, “In Buddhist meditation we do not struggle for the kind of enlightenment that will happen five or ten years from now. We practice so that each moment of our life becomes real life. And, therefore, when we meditate, we sit for sitting; we don’t sit for something else. If we sit for twenty minutes, those twenty minutes should bring us joy, life. If we practice walking meditation, we walk just for walking, not to arrive. The same kind of mindfulness can be practiced when we eat breakfast, or when we hold a child in our arms. Hugging is a Western custom, but we from the East would like to contribute the practice of conscious breathing to it. When you hold a child in your arms, or hug your mother, or your husband, or your friend, breathe in and out three times and your happiness will be multiplied by at least tenfold. And when you look at someone, really look at them with mindfulness, and practice conscious breathing.”
This commentary of Thich Nhat Hahn’s gently but without hesitation suggests that what we bring to sitting, daily practice, to every act and thought of our lives is total mindfulness in the present moment. Past and future do not exist. There may (or may not) be more to enlightenment than total mindfulness in the present moment but that is surely its essence.
At the end of that same commentary Thich Nhat Hahn concludes, “Understanding is the fruit of meditation. Understanding is the basis of everything.
“Each breath we take, each step we make, each smile we realize is a positive contribution to peace, a necessary step in the direction of peace for the world. In the light of interbeing, peace and happiness in your daily life means peace and happiness in the world.”
Think of that….“peace and happiness in your daily life means peace and happiness in the world.”
That’s what we bring to sitting.