20230316 - 00:05
The only Zen you find at the top of the mountain is the Zen you brought with you.
I dislike this quote, finding it trivial and shallow. While there certainly is a point to be made, and reiterated, that the journey is within, that the body is always there, this dismesses and even falsifies, even if unintentionally, the practice in its entirety.
If the Zen you find is the Zen you have, what is there to do? Why practice?
Certainly not an original question, the answer is of course that you need to start where you are at. As someone who still lives at the level of drama, life affects me. It is through life, through the drama, which I must start to find my way. This does not mean that you should fall prey to that common pitfall of ‘Spiritual Materialism’; confusing the drama for all that is. Thus I will travel to the top of the mountain, fully aware that what I am searching for is not to be found. Yet, the environment is conductive to my journey. The exoticness itself forces a certain attitude, necessity breeding surrender. The commitment that is implied acts like a chain, through which there is no escape. At least, this is the plan.