Wednesday, July 28, 2010

breath-counting

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In Zen practice, there is breath-counting...counting the exhalations from one to ten and beginning again.

What could be simpler? What could be more personal? What could be more accurate?

Beginners find themselves stymied again and again. They don't yet know that experts are in precisely the same boat. In breath-counting, experts and tyros collapse in the same heap.

Breath-counting. I don't praise it to the exclusion of anything else, but for those with the determination and courage, what could be better? What could be more direct?

Let others talk and believe and hope and dissect.
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1 comment:

  1. There is great strength in keeping any practice direct and very simple.

    Artists strive for this fluid elegance also. It eludes and eludes until .... it's present for a moment or an hour or a day.

    What joy is found in this moment!

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