One of Zen Master Seung Sahn\u2019s foundational teachings was the Zen Circle.\u00a0 It highlights different experiences and approaches to cultivation and serves as a compass for our practice.\u00a0 He broke the circle into 0\u00b0, 90\u00b0, 180\u00b0, 270\u00b0, and 360\u00b0.<\/p>\n
0\u00b0 represents our \u201cbefore practicing\u201d condition.\u00a0 In Buddhism this perspective is characterized by discomfort (dukkha) & delusion (samsara).\u00a0 In Daoism it is characterized by vulnerability to qi-disorder.\u00a0 This condition is our everyday \u201cmonkey-mind\u201d, associated with animal consciousness and basic survival.<\/p>\n
90\u00b0 represents striving to improve ourselves, to gain understanding, or to find relief from suffering.\u00a0 This includes self-improvement paths such as fitness & martial arts\u00a0striving to achieve excellence; therapeutic paths working to release our issues; and philosophical paths ruminating to understand reality.\u00a0 In Daoism these approaches are referred to as laying the foundation \u2013 they can be an important step in rectifying discomfort & delusion to prepare us for internal cultivation.\u00a0 This perspective separates human beings from other animals, but it offers limited fruition if we don\u2019t progress to other parts of the circle.<\/p>\n
180\u00b0 represents emptiness, samadhi \u2013 a direct encounter with our original nature.\u00a0 In Daoism this is referred to as infinity (wuji), pre-heaven (xiantian), or original spirit (yuanshen).\u00a0 The experience of wuji transcends paths of fitness, therapy, & rumination \u2013 these paths may or may not lead to 180\u00b0.\u00a0 Laozi refers to 180\u00b0 as \u201creturning radiance\u201d \u2013 turning the light of awareness around to shine upon itself. \u00a0Gazing into the source.\u00a0 This is the direction of alchemy practice.\u00a0 Daoist alchemy isn\u2019t just gazing with the mind but turning all of our qi around to flow back into the unborn origin.\u00a0 There are physiological changes.\u00a0 But this fruition too is incomplete \u2013 it\u2019s a phase, similar to sleep or death.\u00a0 Dao continues to generate myriad worlds & creatures, so if we are to abide in\u00a0complete reality we need to not fixate on samadhi.<\/p>\n
270\u00b0 represents the realm of magic and miracles.\u00a0 Playing with pre-celestial qi.\u00a0 This is the realm of Daoist ritual practice, tantric Buddhism, and some kinds of yoga. \u00a0It differs from 90\u00b0 because we are channeling pre-celestial qi, so it is much more subtle.\u00a0 Magical practices usually focus on refining qi, improving conditions for ourselves or others, or actively treating karmic conditions to bring them to resolution.\u00a0 While such \u201cgetting what you want\u201d practices may improve conditions, they ultimately don\u2019t offer any lasting end to discomfort and struggle.<\/p>\n
360\u00b0 represents complete reality \u2013 things-as-they-are.\u00a0 Laozi, like Zen, starts and ends here.\u00a0 From this perspective, there is really no need to struggle for survival, to strive for fitness, release, or understanding, to focus inward, or to play with magic.\u00a0 Letting ourselves be just as we are, without distortion, without spiritual ornamentation, and without effort is wuweidao.\u00a0 This means responding to things as they arise.\u00a0 Importantly, 360\u00b0 is located in the same position as 0\u00b0.\u00a0 This is the nature of \u201csudden\u201d paths \u2013 we don\u2019t have to gradually progress along any path in order to arrive, as the destination is always at hand if we only open our eyes.\u00a0 All of the other points on the circle take time to ripen.<\/p>\n
People often misunderstand Laozi as being a philosopher, alchemist, or sorcerer, but none of these are entirely correct.\u00a0 \u201cThe great Dao is wide-open, but people like narrow-paths\u201d (DDJ 53). \u00a0Narrow-paths are 90\u00b0, 180\u00b0, and 270\u00b0.\u00a0 Once we have a wide-open 360\u00b0-view, we see\u00a0these paths in\u00a0a larger context.\u00a0 We can see their benefits and limitations.\u00a0 We can engage in them without becoming entrenched in them \u2013 our motives are different because our view is different.\u00a0 Laozi\u2019s adepts may or may not practice the myriad methods \u2013 none are required or prohibited.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy way is easy, but no one can practice it\u201d (DDJ 70).\u00a0 Pragmatically speaking, it may be difficult for us to accept that our before-practicing condition is truly complete.\u00a0 We may feel the need to practice narrow-paths to experience their limited fruition before we are ready to trust 360\u00b0. \u00a0Go for it. \u00a0At 360\u00b0 there is no need for self-improvement, transcendence, or magic.\u00a0 There is simply a profound appreciation of our natural experience.\u00a0 Zen Master Seung Sahn summed up his experience in this wonderful poem about wuwei:<\/p>\n
Your original nature is always shining and clear;<\/p>\n
Human beings make something and enter the ocean of suffering;<\/p>\n
But if you don\u2019t make anything, you are already complete;<\/p>\n
The high mountain is always blue, white clouds coming and going.<\/p>\n
_\/\\_<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
One of Zen Master Seung Sahn\u2019s foundational teachings was the Zen Circle.\u00a0 It highlights different experiences and approaches to cultivation and serves as a compass for our practice.\u00a0 He broke the circle into 0\u00b0, 90\u00b0, 180\u00b0, 270\u00b0, and 360\u00b0. 0\u00b0 represents our \u201cbefore practicing\u201d condition.\u00a0 In Buddhism this perspective is characterized by discomfort (dukkha) & … Continue reading “Wuwei & The Zen Circle of Zen Master Seung Sahn”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[12,8,13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/oldoakdao.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/oldoakdao.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/oldoakdao.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oldoakdao.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oldoakdao.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/oldoakdao.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":139,"href":"https:\/\/oldoakdao.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103\/revisions\/139"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/oldoakdao.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oldoakdao.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oldoakdao.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}