Naked in the Zendo is now ready for purchase, but perhaps I have some explaining to do. Why “NAKED?” Am I suggesting some naked orgy as part of Zen practice? I’m sure this is a great way to expand the audience for formal Zen practice, but that is not exactly what I had in mind. I wanted to describe formal practice as a way of exposing self-serving performance tendencies. In other words, how do we practice to see our “selfing” in progress rather than practice as another activity at which we can excel?
Of course, we humans are programmed to build the ego–we want to be good at what we do. This was a necessary part of survival for those of us with tribal genes. Those of us who lived with tribes were more likely through natural selection to survive. We had a better chance of living through danger if we were part of a tribe. We wanted our tribe to like us, to see us as a valuable part of the tribe. Our tribal instincts worked to help us belong to a group that would include and protect us. Through wanting to be accepted and included, we automatically learned to strive to perform well at group activities.
Even though the ego is necessary for survival– because we do need to care for this body mind equipment–ego activity can automatically begin stuffing itself. Unsupervised, the ego can begin enveloping each and every activity to prove we are the very best performer. This pertains to Buddhist practice. How do we use the formal activities of the Zen meditation hall–such as asking questions, koan practice, chanting, bowing, conducting rituals, doing dharma interviews–without building the ego in the process? How do we use zendo activities to observe and become more aware instead of letting the ego steal that activity as a superior performance? I once noticed my ego hunting for supplies when I was collecting bowl rinsing water from oryoki (the Zendo meal ceremony). I had to see how ridiculous I was to be proud of collecting a larger volume of “spittle water” than my colleagues engaged in the same Zendo ritual water collecting activity.
So here is an excerpt from Naked in the Zendo, that answers these questions and describes how we can do formal zendo practice while keeping the ego-grabbing-mechanism in full view.
https://tricycle.org/trikedaily/zen-and-humiliation/
