03-11-2012, 12:00 AM
After I began practicing Zen meditation (zazen) I came to
regard this practice as the truest form of prayer. In zazen one settles
oneself openly in front of the Absolute, totally forgets the ego, and
enters a state of no-mind where not a single thought stirs. One utterly
surrenders oneself body and mind in the Absolute, so that self
and Absolute are fully one. Could there possibly be any higher
expression of prayer than this? In this clear, bright mind, pure as that
of an infant, there is not a speck of sentimentality, but only a full
immersion in the joyful union of the human and the divine.
This,
I believe, is the meaning of the famous beatitude, “Blessed are the
pure of heart, for they shall see God.” In purity of the heart, God is
present.
regard this practice as the truest form of prayer. In zazen one settles
oneself openly in front of the Absolute, totally forgets the ego, and
enters a state of no-mind where not a single thought stirs. One utterly
surrenders oneself body and mind in the Absolute, so that self
and Absolute are fully one. Could there possibly be any higher
expression of prayer than this? In this clear, bright mind, pure as that
of an infant, there is not a speck of sentimentality, but only a full
immersion in the joyful union of the human and the divine.
This,
I believe, is the meaning of the famous beatitude, “Blessed are the
pure of heart, for they shall see God.” In purity of the heart, God is
present.