Shundo David Haye – Zen Priest

‘Whether practicing in daily life or zazen, there is no way to conceive of being a buddha or being enlightened. There is no way we can judge ourselves because we cannot step outside of ourselves into objectivity. This is so because there is no separation between subject and object in the actualization of reality. So without worrying about becoming a buddha or attaining enlightenment, we just keep trying to settle ourselves more deeply into immeasurable reality.

Zazen itself is this immeasurable reality that is the foundation for our practice in the zendo and in daily life. In zazen we don’t grasp or engage anything; we just are as we are, that’s all. Through the practice of shikantaza, we simply sit without doing anything, and there is no way to judge whether the zazen I sit today is good or the zazen I sat yesterday was bad. Whether the mind is busy or calm, we just keep letting go of whatever comes up. We keep the same posture through all mental conditions without being pulled this way or that, so there is no good or bad zazen. Zazen is always zazen.’ (Realizing Genjokoan)