Why Living An Ordinary Life Is More Beautiful - Philosophy Of Zen Buddhism

Once upon a time, a new monk approached an older,  more experienced zen buddhist monk and said, “I have just entered the monastery.  Please teach me everything you know. ” The older monk asked, “Have  you eaten your rice porridge?

” “Yes,” the younger monk said, “I have eaten. ” The older monk replied, “Then  you better wash your bowl. ” That told the younger monk all he needed to know.

We all want an extraordinary life -  and this want, this burning desire, is what makes us miserable. Zen Buddhism  can teach you how to be happy and satisfied, but only if you learn to appreciate the ordinary. ‘Zen’ is a term derived from the Japanese  pronunciation of the Middle Chinese word, chán, which means ‘meditation.

’ It is also a form of  Buddhism that distinguishes itself with its almost exclusive focus on personhood and the present.  Rather than meditations on life, death, religion, or the world, ‘Zen’ urges you to focus inwards  and on the ordinary only. Like all other forms and practices of Buddhism, Zen is not an  ideology or belief, but rather a way of life.

Buddhism was created in India but gradually  travelled through Asia throughout the centuries - and in every country, it spawned  multiple sub-sections of Buddhism. The Zen subsection of Buddhism was created in China,  leading to the Chinese School of Zen Buddhism becoming the most successful school of Buddhism in  the entirety of China, Korea, Japan and Vietnam. One of the ways to become a ‘Zen person’  is by ‘shikan taza’, which translates to: ‘just sitting.

’ It means to meditate without any distractions nor egotistical interests or  concerns. How to ‘just sit’, focus on yourself, on the present, on the ordinary, and more  - will all be discussed in this video. Zen’s focus on the little things and its  disregarding of external factors leads to lots of insightful lessons, but the biggest  benefit is that you will realise you don’t need the extraordinary to be happy - you  just need yourself, and your ordinary life.

Since Zen Buddhism is a practice  not created by a singular person, there will be quotes from  multiple Zen Monks. These are: BASO DŌITSU DŌGEN ZENJI RYŌKAN TAIGU KŌDŌ SAWAKI SHUNRYŪ SUZUKI , and SHŌHAKU OKUMURA In this video we will teach you how  to start appreciating ordinary life, and how doing so can transform you and your  life into the very best versions of themselves. The secret is all in the simplicity of  washing your bowl after eating from it.

Meditate Kodo Sawaki says “The more you  meditate, the less you need. ” The very first practice that Zen Buddhism  recommends is often meditating. ‘Zazen’ in the practice of Zen Buddhism, is the word  for ‘sitting meditation.

’ Zazen embraces a range of sitting positions, but the most  general posture is sitting crosslegged, hands folded in your lap, and your spine upright  but relaxed. Try it out. Close your eyes.

When meditating, it is helpful to  focus on three aspects, in order: The body Breathing Mind Focusing on the body means focusing on your  position. But it also extends beyond that: you need to keep your body well by feeding it  right, moving it enough, granting it the sleep it needs, and helping it achieve anything else it  might require to thrive. Your body is like a plant you have to take good care of: An unhealthy or  unhappy body can greatly distract from meditation.

Then, there is your breathing. Zen  does not believe in intense or intense breathing exercises that some forms  of meditation or sport might use, but rather encourages you to pay attention  to the way you normally breathe. Count the number of breaths you take.

Observe how long  you breathe in for, how long you hold it, and how long you breathe out for. Doing so  will not only allow your body to find a pace of breathing that suits you best, but it also  calms the mind and brings you into the moment. Emotions influence your breathing: when  feeling intense emotions - such as anger, joy, or fear - you breathe quicker,  rougher, and less deeply than in other situations.

Focusing on your breathing  and guiding it back to its normal, calm pace is incredibly beneficial to calm down  from heavy emotions and still your thoughts. Then, when your body and breathing are calm and  observed, and have identified your calm it is time to adjust the mind. Your mind is filled to the  brim with thoughts, knowledge, memories, and most of all: concerns about your daily life.

That fight  you had at work, your visit to your grandfather tomorrow, your meetup for a friend’s birthday, and  more… it’s all constantly on the forefront of your unconscious and conscious mind. So are temporary  worries, fears, and even joys. Your mind can’t just stop all these thoughts simply by having  you command it to do so: it would just result in your mind fighting itself, like trying not  to think of a pink elephant… See…?

You just did! Instead, the adjustment of your physical position  as well as your breathing serves as the first distraction from your day-to-day worries. Then,  when you’re well and focused on your breathing, you slowly start to drift.

When you observe  your breath for long enough, it will stabilise, after which you’ll calm down. Your  mind will stabilise. You’ll be at rest.

Of course your mind will not be completely empty,  that’s literally impossible, but if all goes well, you will be focused enough to observe your  thoughts without interacting with them. In other words, the words, ideas, or images that pop up in  your mind are like the trees you pass on a walk: you know they are there, you might acknowledge  their existence, but you don’t walk up to touch them. They’re just decoration.

As Shunryu Suzuki  says, “In zazen, leave your front door and your back door open. Let thoughts come and go. Don't  just serve them tea.

” Or, as Ryokan Taigu says: “The mind is like a clear mirror, reflecting  everything, but not clinging to anything. ” When you experience this, you’re meditating.  You will end up truly ‘seeing’ yourself; witnessing your own nature.

You will acknowledge  and recognize what is usually unconscious, find the source of thoughts that may have always  puzzled you, and witness your deepest desires, motivations, and fears. Most importantly, as a  result of getting to know yourself intimately, you will realise that you can be at peace despite your  worries, your criticisms, your disappointments, or anything else. Your concerns fade away  in the light of the internal power and strength that you possess.

You now know  you don’t need anything but yourself, your body to sit, your lungs to breathe, and  your mind to flow in its own, unique way. 2. Recognize Your Ignorance Dogen Zenji says, “The true purpose of Zen is to see things as they are, to observe things  as they are, and to let everything go as it goes.

” The water does not flow, the bridge does.  Now, this statement might seem like a riddle: Everything you know about water or  bridges goes against this statement, and you probably find it hard to even imagine what  this could look like. But this is just ignorance.

Your ignorance is a fact: all humans are ignorant  in some way and it is impossible to eliminate all ignorance. You will never know everything,  understand yourself completely, or live a flawless life. In fact, Zen Buddhism is of the opinion  that our reasoning minds can never understand the totality of reality.

Just like fish don’t  understand maths or dogs can’t study history, there are many things the human brain  will not be able to reach or comprehend. As a result, Zen embraces that reality can seem  absurd, contradictory, and unpredictable. As Shrunryu Suzuki says, “In the practice  of Zen, we do not seek to find answers, but to let go of our questions.

”  One way to learn how to do this is by embracing the concept of ‘sunyata. ’ Sunyata means ‘nothingness’ or ‘emptiness. ’ It means that everything that exists, exists  without clear explanation, purpose, or causation: there will always be confusion or ignorance about  everything.

Our bodies, existence, lives, and that of everything around us, is all incredibly  complex. There is no way to explain everything. In our everyday lives, we think in terms of  oppositionals.

Something is either there or not there. It exists or it does not exist. While  functional in daily life, Zen Buddhism considers these binary views to be un-meditational.

When  meditating, one will experience a non-binary world: one that is infinitely deep, complex,  and contains multitudes upon multitudes. Zen Buddhism’s non-oppositional views  are often expressed in the word ‘no’, or more often, ‘nothing. ’ To the binary  question: ‘Am I a buddhist or not?

’, the correct answer would be ‘No’ or ‘Nothing. ’  This means that a Buddhist is not something you can be or not be. It is something that  you can be in some ways and not in others, and those things you can be  sometimes, but not always.

Thus, embracing nothing means  embracing the nuance of life: the fact that everything can be multiple things  at once, serve multiple purposes at once, that things can be oppositional,  and things can be incomprehensible. In other words: the way to battle  your ignorance is to recognize, accept, and admit it. By realising  that you will never know everything, you will also learn how to be okay with  the idea of not knowing everything.

It is our inability to understand our conclusions  or boil them down to a binary scenario that can often make us miserable: when something is  not ‘good,’ we label it ‘bad. ’ If the party was not ‘fun,’ it was ‘boring. ’ If your job is  not ‘fulfilling,’ it is ‘unfulfilling’ and thus ‘bad.

’ Our lack of understanding of the complete  nature of something causes us to draw quick, inaccurate conclusions about that  something, which in turn can make us miserable, making the world seem so  much more negative than it actually is. Now, this is not to say that you should not seek  knowledge. Learning and reading is always good and beneficial.

Accepting your ignorance just  means acknowledging that whatever you learn, you will never know everything about a single  topic - Even Zen Buddhism! When somebody asks why they should practice Zen Buddhism, they would  probably not be met with an easy answer. Instead, the most likely answer would be the  following, as said by Dogen Zenji: “In the practice of Zen, there is no  goal.

The goal is in the practice itself. ” So let’s come back to this beautiful quote  from Dogen Zenji: “Water does not flow, but the bridge flows. ” In some ways, this  quote will remain incomprehensible to you.

That’s the point. However, Zenji says, this  statement is also the perfect metaphor for Zen Buddhists in meditation. When you  meditate well, you will find that the world around you is not the neverending flow  of chaos that it normally seems: instead, you find that the world is just what it is, and it  is your mind that can flow and improve your life.

Trying to eliminate all ignorance is an impossible  task - and trying to do it will make you miserable. Only when you realise that you won’t  ever understand or know everything can you start to flow and learn how to be happy with the way  things are. Life does not have to have a singular purpose, your day does not have to be ‘good,’ and  happiness is not something that can be found and kept all the time.

These realisations will help  you come to peace with your ordinary life and achievements just the way they are. 3. Get To Know Yourself Ryokan Taigu says “The ultimate truth is already  within you.

You just have to discover it. ” As reiterated, ignorance is permanent  and unavoidable - but there is still plenty of room to learn, especially  to learn more about yourself. One of the most important parts of Zen Buddhism  is the study of the self.

Paradoxically, Zen Buddhism recommends you do this  by thinking less about yourself. Most people spend a lot of time thinking about  who they think they are and want to be. Think of the woman who thinks being a good mother  is the most important part of her identity and spends all her time and energy living  up to this.

Or the man who thinks he will only be fulfilled when he is a CEO, or the  person who wants to be a famous painter, or the student who thinks they need to keep  getting the best grades of the class. These people all think that certain achievements  or lifestyles are essential to who they are, but in trying to achieve these goals  they actually focus on the wrong things. External achievements are not  essential to be who you are, and thinking so can actually result in you  getting lost.

You won’t feel like a person or complete until you’ve reached your goal -  your self-worth and identity is given away, tied to something external. Instead,  Zen Buddhism reasons, you should look inward - to your personality, to who you already  are, whatever your external circumstances. Zen Buddhism believes that, like everything, the  ‘self’ is nothing and bottomless.

Your urges, ideas, desires… they all come from  this pit. Zen does not believe that you are prone to deceiving yourself;  instead, if you just listen closely to your feelings and take the actions you feel  like taking, you will realise you’re a unique individual. So you will get to know  yourself the best when you do ordinary things.

When you meditate, when you are in the flow,  and when you do the same things everybody else does. Because during these moments, you  will find what distinguishes you from others. What kind of thoughts do you have?

Where do  you find joy in daily life? What are your likes and dislikes? What motivates you?

You  will find that you are already a complete, complex, and interesting person even in  the most uninteresting of circumstances. So when you learn how to observe yourself  casually, you will also learn that you don’t need anything else to be who you want to be. It  is already inside of you.

The less you think about what you want to have and be, the more you will be  satisfied with what you already have and are. Love The Ordinary Shunryu Suzuki says “Zen is  not some kind of excitement, but concentration on our usual everyday routine. ” Engaging in ordinary activities, as  mentioned before, is helpful for getting to know yourself.

But ‘the ordinary’ is much  more than that. According to Zen Buddhism, our ordinary mind is simple: we are naturally  calm and focused on just what is needed. This does not only offer insight into who  you are, but also calmness and serenity.

The chaos, confusion, and alienation we  experience in reality is a byproduct of external distractions. Yet most people feel  like their mind is a source of chaos, anxiety, and worries. So how is it that we’ve become so  disconnected from our ordinary, natural mind?

Well, this is because we seek out and  allow ourselves to be carried away by all forms of external distractions. In fact,  we often feel like distractions are good. We want to flee ordinary life; everybody wants to  experience and become something extraordinary, something special, something overwhelming. 

But instead of being fulfilled by always trying to do more and more, we  become more and more dissatisfied. Now thats not to say that you should never  take a risk, change your job, travel, or any of that. Buddhism highly recommends seeing more  of the world and gaining new experiences.

But, whatever it is you’re doing, never forget  or neglect the ordinary as well! You might try out a new job during the day, but  don’t forget to cook yourself a nice and healthy meal in the evening. And you  might go out with friends on the weekends, but make sure to take the time to meditate, clean,  and take a walk, too.

How many people’s houses are a mess? How many people don’t like to cook for  themselves, or participate in sports, or never do anything creatively, ever? And how many of those  complain about being tired, uninspired, or down?

The ordinary represents the time and place  where your mind can rest and grow and so it is extremely important for your energy levels  and mental health to allow your mind that space. Everything in life should be a balance, and this  balance includes that all extraordinary things in life should be matched with ordinary activities  to enjoy. Moreover, according to Zen Buddhism, participating in ‘ordinary activities’ such  as cooking, cleaning, working, being creative, being active, taking a walk, and more - they can  result in achieving ‘flow.

’ Think back to that quote ‘the water does not flow, but the bridge  does. ’ Being in a sort of flow can look like this: effortlessly flowing forward, yet not passively  nor without power. Imagine it like this: You’re acting almost automatically, but not  mindlessly.

Your attention is effortlessly focused on the activity at hand, with little-to-no inner  monologue or distractions, you feel like you’re in control of the situation, time goes by quicker  or less-noticeably, you are neither bored nor overwhelmed, and the activity allows you to feel  a sense of achievement. However counterintuitive it might seem, it can be the most simple of  activities to allow you to get in the flow. Trying to cook a new recipe,  walking a new path, clean the house, things like that are all great choices.

Being  in flow is one of the most satisfactory and inspiring experiences one can have; it is  extremely good for your mind and body. So, everybody who wants to get the most out of their  life should, in fact, embrace the little things in their days. Focus on the ordinary, because the  extraordinary alone will never make you happy.

Live In The Here And Now In our final quote for this video, Shohaku Okumura says “We cannot expect any ecstasy greater  than right here, right now-our everyday lives. ” One of Zen Buddhist beliefs is that time  and space are necessarily connected and cannot be separated. Zen Buddhists don’t  say ‘live in the here and now’ because that implies you can live here but not  now, or now but not here.

Instead, a more logical phrase would be: ‘live  in the here-now. ’ Or, just: ‘Live now. ’ We often feel trapped in our circumstances  and fantasise about the freedom the future can offer.

We think in the future we will  be financially comfortable, creatively free, physically better, or anything else. Zen Buddhism  understands freedom a little differently: freedom, according to this practice, can be understood  as ‘purposeless purpose’ or ‘actionless action. ’ You are free when you are in  the flow, you get a sense of achievement from the things you  do, and you feel satisfied with the options you have - whether you had  the choice to do those things, or not.

Freedom means being free in your mind. Therefore,  according to Zen Buddhism, freedom can only be achieved in the here-now, and only if you set your  mind to the things you do. Many of these actions will concern the ordinary.

Your mind might not  constantly urge you to do something impressive or groundbreaking. In fact, these urges might  be rare if not entirely absent. Most of our desires focus on the details of everyday life;  eating a sandwich, going to bed, going for a run, expressing yourself creatively, working hard,  working less, and any other ordinary actions.

Zen monk Baso Doitsu famously said ‘the  mind as it is is the way. ’ You are free and satisfied when you allow yourself to be calm  and follow your mind. This can only be done in the here-now.

If you focus on the future, you are  not acting, and the same goes for the past. So, if you live in the here-now, you will find  that you are the most satisfied you could be. So, in conclusion, it’s a lack of focus on  the ordinary that makes us feel dissatisfied with life.

When you learn to focus on  the simple things in life - meditation, acceptance of ignorance, self-exploration,  and the present time - you will find that you don’t need anything you don’t  already have. It is all inside of you. If you enjoyed this video, please make  sure to check out our full philosophies for life playlist and for more videos to  help you find success and happiness using beautiful philosophical wisdom, don’t forget  to subscribe.

Thanks so much for watching.