Zen and Now

Written by Jason Shields

For whatever reason, I have been rereading the basic tenets and precepts of Zen Buddhism. One of the main tenets that students are taught is to constantly be aware of the Present Moment, to be in the Now. As I write this, for the first time in a long time, I am fully aware of the smooth touch of the keys on the keyboard as they click over and over. I am aware of the warmth of the morning sun shining upon my desk, illuminating my favorite quartz crystal. There is someone mowing their lawn as the hum of their mower vibrates in through my office window. This is what is known as living Zen; being fully immersed in the present moment.

As a child, growing up with cerebral palsy and Asperger's did have its disadvantages, but I also learned to see the beauty of the other side of things, the advantages of being aware, of being alive. Even now, when my right foot tends to tense a little from the small spasms created by the cerebral palsy, I have learned to use it as a meditation tool. Zen teaches that we are to be detached to our feelings and thoughts. It does not imply that we ignore thoughts and feelings, but rather to acknowledge that they are presently there and simply observe them without attaching any further meaning to them. As a child, before the advent of medication for muscular spasms, I had to learn how to deal with the constant tightness of my muscles, particularly on my right side. I learned that the more I fought to relax the muscle, the greater it tensed up.

Now, thanks to Zen practice, I have learned to embrace the tightness, become one with it as an experience in the now and inevitably, the tension dissipates on its own. If it does not dissipate, I remain with it, simply experiencing it as part of life. As long as I do not allow frustration, which are thoughts of attachment and assumption to set in, the once “tense” experience becomes merely an experience. True Zen living means remaining conscious and alert in the moment. As you read this article, if you are truly present with it, you would not be thinking, “how far down do I have to read to get to the point?” or “I have so many things to do today, I have no idea how I am going to get everything accomplished.” Sound familiar. Or, you could agree with me that you have been present with reading my words all along, but were you really? What were you doing before you clicked on the link to this article? Who did you talk to? What did you eat for breakfast or lunch or dinner today?

The point I am trying to make is that if you are not fully aware and engaged in each present moment in life, you are not fully alive and conscious. Instead, you are constantly engaged in a mental dialogue with the past and the future always running to and fro from the past to the future and back again: guilt, regret, anxiety, expectation, etc. With all of this running back and forth, you are missing Life. Life happens now, not in the past and certainly not in the future.

Zen living forces you to answer the question, “Who am I?” Who are you really? Humans have been struggling with this question for eons, which is why so many “self-help” books are so popular. People are not satisfied with their lives; they think they can become something better than what they are. “You can be whatever and whomever you want to be,” quotes the latest gurus. Is this true or are we being duped? Are we simply stuck with what we have? Or are we asking the wrong question entirely?

You can not and will never become something new. Society encourages people to focus their entire lives on becoming something they are not. Is this realistic? Is it possible? How many times have you tried to change and been successful at it? For a day or two (an hour or two)? You inevitably slip back into your old habits feeling even more defeated prior to beginning.

Living Zen means giving up the idea, the promises, that the present will get you what you want in the future as long as you do the right thing, behave the right way, say the right words, feel the right emotions, look a certain way. I have two things for you to ponder:

1. How do you know what you will want in the future, or who you want to be? How do you know your intellectualized solution will work and make you happy or be any better than you are right now?
2. Is it really in your control to do anything you wish with your life?

May I suggest the following answers:

1. You don't know.
2. It isn't.

Before you start getting depressed and hopeless at my answers, you have to understand and get a true grasp on the nature of Zen. Zen goes beyond the dualities of optimism and pessimism because both of these states of mind are presuming to make judgments about the future. You don't know who you will be tomorrow and you certainly cannot control everything that happens to you in your life. And that is just fine! It doesn't matter! Why?

Because you are already who you are, and you are already everything you need to be.

In this present moment, you are complete. Don't misunderstand me; you can have goals in life and you can still work toward creating changes in your life. However, if you are scurrying desperately toward some ultimate idea or persona of you that is somehow better than who you are now, someone who is superior, stronger, and improved, you will not get there. Dear friend, you must see how complete you are right now before you can make plans for a different direction in your life.

These plans must be tentative though; because as we live each moment, the world continues to spin on its axis and all kinds of events happen and change to determine what will happen next. We must deal and face the unexpected from time to time. You cannot control the unexpected or how you feel about it. All you can do is continue in your general direction and go with the flow.

And what about your goal? Your goal is to be, right now. What's the point of your journey? To be, right now. To help you become aware and awakened to the present moment, do the following exercise:

Everyone washes their hands, at least I hope they do, before a meal. Zen teaches that the ordinary, routine things we do everyday can become an extraordinary experience of learning to be in the present moment. When you arrive at the sink, engage all five senses. Feel the touch of the faucet handle. Is it smooth? It is cold to the touch. Turn the handle and listen to the sounds. Does the handle squeak? Can you hear the rush of the water coming seconds prior to it gushing out of the faucet? Wait a few seconds for the water to become warm and like you did when you were a child, place your fingers in the stream. Allow the water to filter through the spaces of your fingers as you feel it getting warmer and warmer. Pump out a little dab of soap on your hands and smell its fragrance as you lather it through both hands and feel your hands as they touch one another. As you rinse off the soap, notice how the bubbles gently swirl around the basin of the sink and down the drain. Feel the comfort and warmth of the towel you use to dry off your hands. See? I knew you could do it! You've just experienced the present moment! Welcome to Life! You can do this exercise with anything, any chore, any activity during your day.

So, Who are You? I, or should I say “you” will answer that next week.

Namaste!