Zen Meditation 19

zazen after enlightenment enhances and deepens one's realization.

Yueh-shan Wei-yen (745-828), an enlightened monk, was doing zazen. His master Shih-t'ou asked him, "What are you doing zazen for?" Yueh-shan answered, "Not for anything." "That means you are sitting idly," said Shih-t'ou. Yueh-shan countered, "If this is idle sitting, then that would be for something." The master then said, "What is it that is not for anything!" The monk answered, "A thousand sages won't know." On the one hand, we say that persons who have had realization should continue to do zazen to enhance their enlightenment. On the other hand, we say the enlightened person sits without purpose. For the practitioner whose enlightenment is not deep, further zazen is necessary to deepen it; for one who is deeply enlightened, zazen is just part of daily life. Here we recall Hui-neng's conception of true zazen: it is not limited to sitting, and the mind does not abide in anything. The ultimate zazen is no zazen.

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