How To Practice ZenThe Precepts
Finding the Footprints
Along the riverbank under the trees,
I discover footprints.
Even under the fragrant grass,
I see his prints.
Deep in remote mountains
they are found.
These traces can no more be hidden
than one's nose, looking
heavenward.
Emptying the cup (dropping opinions) is not easy. Reciting the Hsin Hsin Ming is easy; carrying it into practice is not. Who can admit that the mental clutter we all have that "explains" the world to us is so much hooey?
Emptying the cup requires the dropping of all opinions. Not just routine, mundane, every day opinions. The big ones. The biggest ones. Even the ones so big they seem to be irrefutable truths. Every irrefutable truth we cling to is absolutely refutable.
Again, if we can truly empty our cup, as the visitor was able to do, we will wake up and the rest of this course will be of no interest. But that requires a great wisdom, a wisdom that few, if any, have.
The second step towards establishing an authentic Zen practice includes memorizing and following The Ten Cardinal Precepts, usually referred to as The Precepts.
In the commentary for the ox-herding pictures, the second step of Finding the Footprints is referred to as "Finding a path to follow." The precepts are indeed a path to follow.
Precepts are commandments, not suggestions. A Buddha follows the commandments perfectly and without effort; the rest of us work at it, i.e., practice, until we can do the same. We do not take The Precepts flippantly as mere suggestions unworthy of our deepest consideration.
However, the Sanskrit word that is translated as "precepts" means "calming" or "soothing." Thus, following precepts is soothing, calming. Rejecting the precepts means that one chooses to be unsoothed, uncalmed. Rejecting the precepts means that one chooses not to awaken.
Those who spend many hours in meditation but who reject The Precepts are indistinguishable from those who spend no time in meditation and who also reject The Precepts. If meditation has no manifestation in our daily life, it is meditation without wisdom and is utterly meaningless. If we live heedlessly, behaving just like a non-meditator, why meditate at all?
The first precept, for most people, is the hardest.
The first five of these precepts are the "lay" precepts; monks and nuns follow hundreds more. They date back to the time of the Buddha and before; the first five, for example, were practiced by the Brahmans long before the advent of the Buddha.
But first, a little background. The ancient Buddhist masters tell us that there are ten Dharma Realms. The first four are heavenly realms and the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Arhats/Arahants of those four realms can never be reborn into the six lower realms.
Chinese masters teach that keeping the first five precepts ensures that the precept-keeper will at least be reborn in human form, which is better than being reborn in the animal realm which is one rung down from the human realm, the realm of hungry ghosts which is below the animal realm, or the realm of hell dweller which is a rung down from the hungry ghosts.
They further teach that keeping all ten of the precepts ensures rebirth in the Pure Land. The Pure Land is a dharma realm conducive to spiritual practice, unlike the human realm which is not. Once the Pure Land has been attained, there can be no further rebirths in the six lower realms and enlightenment is guaranteed. It therefore makes sense to follow all ten precepts.
When the Virgin Mary became infinitely pure, she gave birth to the Christ. Western theologians can argue at length about whether the conception was immaculate, why God in his infinite power could not just create a Christ from a lump of clay as he did Adam, thereby not requiring the services of Mary, but Buddhists understand that purity produces perfection and that is the true meaning of the Bible story.
Whenever a person practices the Ten Cardinal Precepts to perfection, the Pure Land appears, a Christ appears, a Buddha arises. Different cultures use different words and symbols, but perfection is made manifest when purity is attained and attainment of purity flows from following the ten cardinal precepts.
As enunciated in modern terms by the late Roshi Philip Kapleau, author of The Three Pillars of Zen: Teaching, Practice, and Enlightenment and founder of the Rochester Zen Center, here are The Ten Cardinal Precepts:
1. I resolve not to kill, but to cherish all life.
2. I resolve not to take what is not given, but to respect the things of others.
3. I resolve not to engage in improper sexuality, but to lead a life of purity and self-restraint.
4. I resolve not to lie but to speak the truth.
5. I resolve not to cause others to take substances that impair the mind, nor to do so myself, but to keep the mind clear.
6. I resolve not to speak of the faults of others, but to be understanding and sympathetic.
7. I resolve not to praise myself and disparage others, but to overcome my own shortcomings.
8. I resolve not to withhold spiritual or material aid, but to give them freely where needed.
9. I resolve not to indulge in anger, but to exercise restraint.
10. I resolve not to revile the Three Treasures (Buddha, Dharma and Sangha) but to cherish and uphold them.
The first precept, the one that drives many people away from Zen practice because they can't keep it, is a call for not killing.
It doesn't say not to kill people. It says not to kill, period.
Again, following a precept results in a calm, soothed mind. The average vegetarian is a little less agitated, a little slower to anger than the average meat-eater.
People who eat animals argue that vegetarians also kill carrots, bacteria, etc. and that, therefore, no living being can avoid killing.
True, but there is a difference between killing a sentient being with a central nervous system that can feel pain and killing a carrot that has no central nervous system and that therefore has no means for feeling pain.
Meat-eaters like to say: "You can't hear the broccoli scream," as if killing a broccoli plant is the same as killing a cow or a human being. Nice try, but a broccoli plant is not a sentient being.
So the meat-eaters argue that Buddhism teaches that all things are one, that there are no distinctions between life and death, killing and non-killing, and so on.
They argue that a liberated mind could kill a human without karmic retribution, by maintaining a pure mind, just like killing an ant as one walks down a sidewalk absorbed in meditation and generating thoughts of goodwill towards all living things.
That is what Japanese Buddhists practiced during the Rape of Nanking. They beheaded people with "the life-giving sword." They were merely sending the Chinese off to a better world. "We kill them because we love them so much," said a Japanese general.
The argument that it is OK to kill people because they are merely being sent to a better world has a major flaw. The same flaw exists in the argument that it is OK to kill animals for food because Buddhists are free of distinctions such as good and bad, right and wrong.
Only an enlightened Buddha has transcended right and wrong. The rest of us have not and therefore we have no license to kill. And no enlightened master chooses to kill people, animals, or insects.
But the Buddha ate meat! Sure; he was a beggar, a mendicant who ate whatever was placed into his bowl. He would not eat the body of an animal if it had been killed for him; he merely accepted whatever leftovers people gave him.
When we walk into a grocery store, we are not a beggar who has to go to the meat freezer in the back of the store.
Although it is true that a broccoli plant, like all plants, lacks a central nervous system and thus lacks the ability to feel pain (we hope), nothing in the universe, not even an inanimate object, is dead.
The Buddha taught that there are no two things - the life/death dichotomy, the form/emptiness dichotomy, simply doesn't exist. That is the meaning of the enigmatic Heart Sutra, perhaps the most famous of the Mahayana texts. The Heart Sutra is chanted daily in almost every Zen monastery, temple, or meditation practice center in the world.
In the early years of World War II, before U.S. involvement, the Japanese bombed many Chinese cities and towns. Master Hsu Yun (Empty Cloud), the teacher of master Hsuan Hua, founder of the Dharma Realm Buddhist Association, lived in one of those towns. Witnesses reported that bombs landing near the Master's house fell silently, like snow flakes. Not a single one exploded.
Even a bomb knows when it is in the presence of a Buddha.
Years later, after founding The City of Ten Thousand Buddhas near Ukiah, California, Master Hsuan Hua visited a student who neglected to tie up his vicious dog. The dog charged up to the Master, growling ferociously until he got close. He then came to a stop, bent his front legs and dropped his head, performing a bow.
Even a dog knows when it is in the presence of a Buddha.
When the venerable Dau Sheng spoke the Dharma, dull rocks nodded their heads.
When Zen masters advise us to shun meat and fish eating as a part of our compliance with the First Precept, we should at least be as smart as a bomb, a dog, or a dull rock.
Please refer to vegetarianism for more information on this vital topic.
The second, third and fourth precepts are self-explanatory and easily understood.
The fifth precept is closely related to the first because it also refers to what we ingest. In the fifth precept we find the Buddha’s instruction to refrain from taking substances that impair the mind such as intoxicating drinks or drugs.
Tea is the drink of Zen, but caffeine can disrupt meditation. (Is that a mere opinion to be dropped or a statement of fact?) We should find a good source of tea that has either been de-caffeinated or better yet, one that is without caffeine from the beginning, like Roibos (red tea from South Africa). If we drink caffeinated coffee, we can gradually change to decaf and after awhile, drop the coffee and focus on tea, soy, almond, or rice-based milk, fruit juices, and water. Let's break our soft drink habit if we have one. If we drink beer, we can switch to a non-alcoholic beer and then gradually cut it out as well so that we can live simply with water, tea, and other non-dairy drinks.
A smoker has a hard time practicing zazen as well; if we smoke, we must stop.
Those who eat animals, drink caffeinated products, smoke, or take drugs other than caffeine and nicotine cannot make it to the end of this program. A pure, undefiled mind cannot reside in a defiled body.
Even those who drink water and tea without caffeine have unstable, wildly veering minds that careen from one excitement to the next; caffeinated minds are even crazier. Those who imbibe caffeinated drinks and soft drinks and booze of any kind are just making a difficult situation worse.
Caffeine and nicotine, like alcohol, are drugs. As the Buddha always said, don't take anything I say in blind faith; always test it and see for yourself. The Buddha knew that those who take intoxicating drugs were setting up just another roadblock against awakening. So try it and see; as we transition from caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, and animal food, our sitting will become easier.
It may take a few weeks or even months to make the transition, but transition we must.
After we have emptied the cup, after we have learned the precepts by heart, and when we have made an authentic effort to follow them, then we must vow that we will always follow them.
If we feel that emptying the cup is too hard, or that the precepts present an almost insurmountable barrier, let's consider the heroic example of Tz'u-ming, a tenth century Chinese master. He would sit and meditate outdoors in the cold of northern China for days on end. When he felt drowsy, he would stab his thigh with a sharp tool known as a gimlet so that he could stay awake to meditate more. For Tz'u-ming, Zen was not a hobby to be casually approached or practiced half-heartedly.
We can follow the example of Tz'u-ming or the example of the average American Zennie who treats Zen practice as just one of the many things he or she likes to do. We can watch American Idol or we can sit in a snowy field and jab ourselves whenever our zeal fades.
Note that all ten of the Precepts include the word "not." They tell us what not to do. Recognizing that, Roshi Kapleau has added a positive step to each of them (animal food is not served at the Rochester Zen Center).
Intermediate Zen
We recite the ten precepts every day, and try to put all ten of them into action every day.
Advanced Zen
We recite the ten precepts every day, as well as The Six Perfections. Cultivation of the Six Perfections helps us put the precepts into action.
We are almost ready to begin a meditation practice, known as zazen. Za is Japanese for sitting and Zen means meditation so zazen means sitting meditation.
However, we can sit long hours in zazen for many years in absolute futility. We can follow the steps of this course half-heartedly and we will be no different from those who never followed the program. Practicing zazen without wisdom is like polishing a tile to make a mirror. Wisdom comes from following The Precepts. People who don't follow The Precepts can meditate all they want, but all they are doing is wearing out meditation cushions.
Three additional preparatory steps to zazen practice are introduced in Step Three. By stressing the first precept, we don't mean to devalue the others. It is just much easier to follow the final nine if the first one is followed.