By Andrew Shugyo Daijo Bonnici, Ph.D. · Doctor of Humanistic Depth Psychology · Master Zen Teacher and Counselor
All Rights Reserved by Dr. Andrew Shugyo Bonnici · DrB@ZenDoctor.Com
When any human being sits down to practice zazen meditation, he or she is exactly the living body of Original Faith — a preconscious conviction or deep inner confidence that One Vast Creative Wisdom simultaneously penetrates the physical body and the Infinite Universe as a Whole.
As we sit in zazen meditation as the Body of Original Faith, each of us has the opportunity to completely rest in the "experiential grace" known as jijuyu-zanmai — the Japanese word that makes reference to Shakyamuni Buddha's felt experience of peace as he rested in the ease and joy of zazen meditation, the authentic practice body of living enlightenment itself. Jijuyu-zanmai is exactly Buddha's body in intimate experiential communion with the One Vast Wisdom Nature that creates and upholds the infinite realities of all life and all death.
However, the historical Buddha showed us by his own lived example that jijuyu-zanmai is essentially a precursor to his devoted practice of living Enlightenment in the world of human affairs and interpersonal relationships. During his deep tranquil absorption in jijuyu-zanmai, Shakyamuni Buddha experienced the emergence of a deeply empathic and compassionate interconnectedness with all human beings — and it was out of that empathic identification that he made his historical and loving commitment as the first Bodhisattva.
The word "Bodhisattva" makes reference to a loving and caring Being who gives up the tranquility, aloneness, and inner solitude of jijuyu-zanmai in order to passionately engage the world of relationships with the practice of personal integrity, compassionate action, and upright wisdom for the mutual benefit of all human beings.
Shakyamuni Buddha manifested the meaning of Bodhisattva heart/mind by relinquishing the seated repose and serenity of jijuyu-zanmai to wholeheartedly re-enter the "ocean of samsara" — a Vast Ocean of karmic human relationships endlessly tossed about by waves of ignorance, craving, greed, aggression, desire, impermanence, and suffering.
Shakyamuni's caring and compassion for others began with the unconditional embrace of his own embodied humanness and extended itself from there to include all human beings. He embodied the Bodhisattva way of life precisely because he identified with and embraced the full range of those joys, sufferings, frailties, strengths, and vulnerabilities which he shared with all human beings.
In actuality, Shakyamuni's loving care for all sentient beings is a reflection of a Bodhisattva's capacity to realize the transparency and insubstantiality of a separate personal identity while acknowledging and unconditionally embracing the totality of his/her own inner samsaric world of endlessly arising thoughts, feelings, needs, and desires. Without the humble acknowledgment of his shared humanness and his unconditional embrace of the full range of his own felt human experience, Shakyamuni's loving compassion for all sentient beings would not have been aroused.
Shakyamuni's example reveals to us that when we make the daily commitment to relinquish the tranquility of jijuyu-zanmai and wholeheartedly arise from the body of zazen meditation to engage in human relationships, we are essentially manifesting the vow to live the Bodhisattva Way — a Way which recognizes the insubstantial nature of individual personality while honoring the experiential integrity and wisdom of one's own bodymind functioning and the bodymind functioning of others.
Thus, we are all called by Shakyamuni's own example to daily relinquish the repose and tranquility of zazen meditation, rise up in the body of Original Faith, intimately embrace our own felt experience of humanness, and endlessly practice the "Bodhisattva Path" as our devoted engagement in authentic relationships and genuine human intimacy for the benefit of all sentient beings.
As our historical exemplar, Shakyamuni Buddha embraced the full range of his felt human experience with unconditional compassion, sat zazen meditation as the Body of Original Faith, reposed in the peace and joy of jijuyu-zanmai, relinquished his seated tranquility, and arose to live the Bodhisattva Way for the benefit of all sentient beings.
Shakyamuni's own process of practicing and living enlightenment encourages us to honestly face the Truth in ourselves while compassionately embracing the full range of our own felt experience in each passing moment. He calls us to arouse the heart/mind of Original Faith, to sit down completely in the grace of jijuyu-zanmai and the body of living enlightenment, and to fully enter and embrace our life and our relationships according to the Bodhisattva Way.
Simply stated, Shakyamuni showed us that we have to sit down as Buddha before we can enter the way of Bodhisattva life. If we are to follow Shakyamuni Buddha's own experiential progression, we must recognize that the arousal of Original Faith and the embodiment of seated Buddhahood without gain are necessary precursors to the flowering of Bodhisattva practice in everyday life.
Shakyamuni showed us the rhythm of Living Enlightenment by being fully amongst others, perpetually returning to zazen as the seated embodiment of Original Faith, daily nourishing himself in jijuyu-zanmai, and forever arising to practice the Bodhisattva Way in the world of samsaric relationships and human intimacy.
Shakyamuni could not endlessly extend himself to others as a Bodhisattva if he did not continue to nourish himself daily in the seated embodiment of Original Faith and the pervasive tranquility and repose of jijuyu-zanmai and Innate Buddhahood without gain. By expressing self-care as his ever returning in zazen meditation to the Compassionate Root and Wisdom Source of his life, Shakyamuni showed us that we need to always nourish ourselves in the heartfelt repose and experiential grace of jijuyu-zanmai before we arise to engage in the fullness of Bodhisattva Action for the benefit of all sentient beings.
Our felt experience of Original Faith in the midst of the ever present demands of daily living and social interactions would not be possible without the daily embodiment of that Faith as exactly the body of zazen meditation itself. This felt embodiment of Original Faith as zazen meditation and the sincere practice of that Faith in the world of our immediate daily life and relationships — this is the Bodhisattva Way.
The Bodhisattva Way is not reserved for monastics or advanced practitioners. It is available to every human being who sits down, breathes, and makes the commitment to engage their life and relationships with genuine care, honest self-inquiry, and unconditional compassion. Every time you return to your breath in the midst of difficulty, you are living the Bodhisattva Way. Every act of genuine care for another, rooted in your own honest self-compassion, is the Bodhisattva Way.
Dr. Bonnici's counseling helps you nourish jijuyu-zanmai and extend Bodhisattva care in your relationships and daily life.