Shundo David Haye – Zen Priest

You must realize that there is no ultimate thing other than your condition right now. The emotions that arise and disappear, along with all those conflicts that play themselves out in your mind, are part of that condition. This means you must practice zazen in such a way that when you are conflicted, you totally become one with this conflict.

But because you cannot endure this state of being, we have you hold on to something that seems like “the Way of the Buddha” or like “practice.” These are the various methods of zazen such as shikantaza and koan practice, including following and counting the breath. With your mind in a scattered condition, you must take up one of these methods as a way to concentrate.

In particular, sesshin is the practice of grinding up zazen by means of zazen. When I say, “Sit single-mindedly,” that means there must not be any zazen. One must completely grind up zazen and the method so that no trace remains. This is what it means to “sit single-mindedly.” If you are mistaken about this, you will acknowledge the existence of something like zazen and think that since your present condition isn’t satisfactory, you must increase your attempts to become one with it.

Your practice will forever be one in which you end up judging yourmethod in terms of good and bad, and you will go on thinking of zazen  in these terms. That’s definitely not how it should be. (Unfathomable Depths)