This short essay called The Embrace was given as a talk at one of our Zen retreats here in Port Townsend a few years ago. People liked it but it also created some controversy which made for a lively discussion. I have thought of Zen practice as a type of embrace since passing a Koan with Sasaki Roshi many years ago. You can read about this in my essay A Life of Practice found on this site. Enjoy.
The Embrace
The Heart of Buddhism is the embrace. At its Heart is the embrace, for in the embrace the individual disappears, merges with the embraced and the Heart is felt. In the embrace we become one with everything from the smallest creatures to the whole Universe. In the embrace we become time and space, past and future, truth and illusion. Yet the embrace is truth not illusion. In the embrace everything is clear. In the embrace we discover our true nature.
The embrace is all inclusive, nothing is rejected. In the embrace we become one with both the loved and the despised, the pure and the impure, and recognize ourselves as both the loved and the despised, the pure and the impure.
The embrace is active not passive yet includes both activity and passivity. The embrace is the Buddha way but includes all forms of Religion. The embrace is joy but also include suffering. It is Nirvana but also includes Samsara. The embrace is life but also includes death.
In the embrace we discover that the other is in embrace with us and that there never was a two only a one, and this one includes the whole Universe.
In the embrace of one thing, the self is forgotten and we become all things.
From where does the embrace arise? The embrace is not an embrace of the intellect nor is it an embrace of the emotions and yet it does not necessarily exclude intellect and emotions. It comes before intellect and emotions and yet it frees intellect and emotions from the bondage of a small self view. The embrace is the primal embrace. It is the embrace of the eyes for what is to be seen, the ears for what is to be heard, the nose for what is to be smelled, the tongue for what is to be tasted, body for what is to be felt, and the mind for what is to be understood. The embrace naturally arises when head and heart join with clarity.
The fullness of the embrace precludes all thoughts of the individual self. The fullness of the embrace is the embrace of the universal self for the universal self. It is an expression of the Universe's self love.
The Embrace
The Heart of Buddhism is the embrace. At its Heart is the embrace, for in the embrace the individual disappears, merges with the embraced and the Heart is felt. In the embrace we become one with everything from the smallest creatures to the whole Universe. In the embrace we become time and space, past and future, truth and illusion. Yet the embrace is truth not illusion. In the embrace everything is clear. In the embrace we discover our true nature.
The embrace is all inclusive, nothing is rejected. In the embrace we become one with both the loved and the despised, the pure and the impure, and recognize ourselves as both the loved and the despised, the pure and the impure.
The embrace is active not passive yet includes both activity and passivity. The embrace is the Buddha way but includes all forms of Religion. The embrace is joy but also include suffering. It is Nirvana but also includes Samsara. The embrace is life but also includes death.
In the embrace we discover that the other is in embrace with us and that there never was a two only a one, and this one includes the whole Universe.
In the embrace of one thing, the self is forgotten and we become all things.
From where does the embrace arise? The embrace is not an embrace of the intellect nor is it an embrace of the emotions and yet it does not necessarily exclude intellect and emotions. It comes before intellect and emotions and yet it frees intellect and emotions from the bondage of a small self view. The embrace is the primal embrace. It is the embrace of the eyes for what is to be seen, the ears for what is to be heard, the nose for what is to be smelled, the tongue for what is to be tasted, body for what is to be felt, and the mind for what is to be understood. The embrace naturally arises when head and heart join with clarity.
The fullness of the embrace precludes all thoughts of the individual self. The fullness of the embrace is the embrace of the universal self for the universal self. It is an expression of the Universe's self love.
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