Water Zen
Water Zen is my name for the practice of using the element of water for meditation practice. The raw and direct experience of moment-to-moment reality is the foundation of Zen meditation practice. The word "Zen" comes from the Sanskrit word "dhyana", which means "absorption". We all know that absorption has everything to do with water! The other well-known fact is that our bodies are mostly water, and on our planet Earth water is the carrier of life. So, when we turn our inner attention to water, the great dissolver and creator of all forms, we have direct communication to the source of life.
The True Face of Water
Look at your reflection in a still pool
and see the true face of water.
The Body of Water
When we enter water, we are entering a small portion of the vast body of water. This large body of water is a cohesive and intelligent, living, functioning being.
When we enter water, we are entering a small portion of the vast body of water. This large body of water is a cohesive and intelligent, living, functioning being. It is the matrix of life for human beings as well as for the whole planet. Not only that, water is universal, found on distant planets, gas clouds, and other structures throughout the universe. So, water is our biocosmic body, existing both outside and inside the permeable border of our skin.
The Water of the Unborn
It all begins with an idea.
Water is the element of the Unborn, the pre-formal and pre-existent state. Immersion in warm water, above the surface and even more below the surface, is a direct experience of the unborn state. Absorption in this state dissolves the form making mind and allows the unborn mind to emerge. This is the territory of undifferentiated love, bliss, and true potency. Unforming the mind/body is the necessary first step for any transformation to occur. How easy it is to forget this and keep "working" at transformation. What a giant cosmic joke! So, I say let's abide in the unformed moment and get into "no shape".
The Thought Eraser
It all begins with an idea.
My thoughts form and dissolve
Like snowflakes landing on lake water
Schwenk on Water and Renunciation
It all begins with an idea.
"What enables water to accomplish this? By renouncing every self-quality it becomes the creative substance for the generation of all forms. By renouncing every life of its own it becomes the primal substance of all life. By renouncing every fixed substance it becomes the carrier of all substance transformation. By renouncing every rhythm of its own it becomes the carrier of each and every rhythm."
Theodor Schwenk