So far as I understand it, Zen is pretty much an attitude towards life as it is life itself. What it means is you just go with the flow while at the same time not having any preconceive idea of where you going.
You just be. Let yourself go. Do not prejudge and do not have any expectation. When you cook you just cook. In my case when I write I just write. Don't think too much about what I write. In a sense Suzuki Roshi is asking us to surrender to our inner self. Let it take us to wherever our Path leads.
This concept of flow is pretty much about letting nature takes it course. There is no dualism (he kept on repeating that). Therefore don't fight the current. Just let the Path takes it's course.
There are some good take away points. While it is good to leave everything to its course (he talked about the railroad track, later he said there is no railroad track), I think it is good for us to be soft when needed to be soft and hard when we need to be hard.
I personally think that although I thrive in ambiguity, the real strength for me is knowing when to push and when to pull. However I look at the whole thing in terms of options rather than the only choice for me.
I will surrender to the Path but I still want to push myself to the limit. As I said although I am Sisyphus I still be Icarus and push to the brink. Rather than float freely following the current downstream I still want to steer with oars. For sure I will not paddle against the current but while I am flowing I certainly want to have control of the situation.
In the case of Suzuki Roshi, he let go completely, free falling with the flow. So back to his analogy of cooking, I don't just cook I am also doing the laundry and setting up the table. Still I can flow because my mind is focused on the tasks at hand. Same thing if I am taking a rubber raft going downstream. I can still go with the flow but I am making informed decision based on how the river flows.
I bet Suzuki Roshi spent most of his time in zazen. In real life zazen can be anything as long as you attain bliss. It could be sitting on the toilet bowl for that matter. Is it blissful? Then it is zazen.
As I said, I don't want to follow his footsteps. I want to walk by his side. The reason being, his experience is uniquely his and my experience is mine. It will be good if my aim is to sit in zazen the whole day (or even an hour for that matter) but that is nor my intention. What I am looking for is the key learning points so that I can apply in my situation.
I don't think Suzuki Roshi ever run and thus he will not see that running too is a zazen.
A novice martial artist will try to follow every step to the dot. But once you reach mastery, you role is different. You will want to look at the common denominators and synchronize so that you can create synergy.
Too much emphasis is made on fitting into a specific mold that we forget that the mold is just a mean. The end product is what is inside the mold itself.
What do you want to achieve? To me it is Nothingness. By our definition that is the Unconscious Competent Mind.
So as a Shokunin, I will take different molds and fashion my own mold. That mold is the Niten Ichi School of Nothingness. Just like Bruce Lee who took various martial arts practices and formed Jet Kun Do, I too will not subscribe to only one path. What I am doing is t[he] synthesize these various models and create a unified platform that suits me.
Remember this:
Will it work? I think so. I have the depth and the breadth of the subject matter. Consider me as the subject matter expert on Nothingness (Mushin No Shin or Unconscious Competence).
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OK baby, that it for the day. Here is your lullaby:
Hahaha Goodnight baby... I never get tired of saying I love you so so much.
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