"Step by step, walk the thousand-mile road."
After 30 years of life-shattering depressions and constant underachieving, I have finally been able to take charge of my life and have begun reassembling myself, piece by piece, to become the man I always thought I would be. In this blog, I will talk about the journey that I have now begun.
... so, where does one begin?
For me, the concept of time has been a key factor in both my downfall and my recovery. When I discovered Buddhism, it was its approach to time that turned my life around for the better. Buddhism insists that we do our utmost to be present in each and every passing moment, never letting our minds stray backward to the past, or forward to the future. In fact, it proclaims, there is no such thing as past or future, other than in our imaginations. A human life consists of one moment stacked upon another. The present moment is always taking place right here, right now.
The Indian philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti also talks in great length about time, and how important it is - or rather, how dangerous it is. It is our thoughts that create the notion of past, present and future. Once our thoughts have created the notion of the present moment, the moment has already passed and another one is taking place. The present moment is timeless. Our thoughts, on the other hand, are created through time.
In the introduction to Katsuki Sekida's 'Zen Training', the editor suggests that the point of Zen training is as much the correction, or eradication, of an already existing faulty mode of functioning, as the development of latent capacities. Among the so-called faulty modes of functioning, he goes on to mention our verbal hold on the world. Unconsciously, we come to suppose that to give something a name is to gain some measure of control over it. If we can define it, we can understand it.
Thus, Zen is not a process toward something, rather it is an expression of the original condition. We are not becoming, we are. All we have to do is open our eyes. It's the simplest thing imaginable, yet the hardest thing to do.
Where do I start? The first step of the ladder will be to:
- Learn how to do Zazen properly, and start practicing meditation on a daily basis.
- Improve your physical fitness on a daily basis. A healthy mind in a healthy body is not just an empty phrase. It is very hard to create a healthy mind if your body isn't healthy as well. Improve strength, endurance and flexibility.
- Study every day. Never let your mind lose its vitality.
- Keep a close watch on how your thoughts arise, and guard yourself against self-destructive and negative thinking. These thoughts occur through time, which makes it a process that can be observed and thus prevented. Try to focus on the here and now.
