This very Body, the Body of Buddha

Actually, last Wednesday, we went in a completely different direction, sitting with the koan "This very body, the body of buddha". 

Frankly, I thought, "well, this is a short koan, and right there in the middle of the thing (not spatially), is this Buddha.  I don't know a damn thing about what I am supposed to think about the Buddha, I only know what I think about the Buddha.  Well, I wonder if that is what other people understand when they hear "Buddha"".  So the short game we played was simply that- What does this mean to you, this word "Buddha"? 

Because, well, frankly, its important to see what we are all bringing to the cushion.  Just like we settle down onto the cusion and feel our legs and back, its important to notice the mental conditions we bring.

So we talked.

People discussed how they pushed Buddha as a religious symbol out of their minds; some noticed how they just put that aside.  Others still mentioned how the golden Buddha was a notion they liked to avoid, and just leave.  Others still noted how they longed to sit as still and well and look content. 

I did a poor job of remembering all the discussion, but it seemed important to talk about it.