What Zen actually is and why it is useful for Daoists

This is continued from a post below made by Chris.
I wanted to clarify what Zen is really about, because
most people who don’t do it or haven’t taken training
in it, have the complete wrong idea about what you are doing.

First a couple of responsive comments to Chris’s post,
followed by a discussion of what Zen actually is, and
why it is useful for Daoists to do, even though they
have chosen Daoism (alchemical) as their primary practice.

>>>I just lost track of all my thoughts, its all your fault.

That’s a good start 🙂

Sorry, but I had to note the subtle irony in your comment ^_^

>>>To me, the yin resting phase of alchemy is still dynamic,
>>>and doesn’t have anything to do with following the breath
>>>or letting go of thoughts. It’s about experiencing the
>>>qualities of energy that are in process, being more
>>>”deeply in process”. This also implies that there is an
>>>awareness that is aware of that experience, and is more
>>>deeply embodied.

It is a mistake to think that Zen is about trying to
get rid of thoughts or trying to reach a neutral “still” point.
It’s more about devaluing the importance of them, of seeing
them as only thoughts and nothing more, of not allowing
such things to pull you out of the present moment.

It’s also a mistake to think that Zen is “transcendent”,
of being escapist. It’s very much embodied, despite
what a lot of people think. The point is to be completely
in your body in the present moment and have full awareness
from inside your body–and not your head–of being alive.
“Be here. Right now.”

Following the breath is simply an “anchor” or “tool” that
is used in the practice to help a person stay fully
in the present moment and in your body, and to not
let thoughts take you away from the present moment.
The breathing is done to the “tan-tien” (i.e. dantian)
area with the idea of bringing your consciousness more
deeply into your body’s breathing. i.e. it’s done
*to remain* in your body and to not become lost in your mind.

In other words, despite misconceptions, it is a VERY embodied
practice . . . and quite the opposite from trying to escape
from something . . . almost as if you are training yourself
to avoid being *seduced by escapism*!!

So it is exactly what you describe about being in
process as in alchemy.

I only consider to be MORE YIN than resting in alchemy, because
in alchemical meditation (or at least I should say in my case,
but I suspect that others have this as well) that oftentimes
the mind can intervene and try to attach stories to what
is going on in process or try to take over and run the show.
Thus the Zen training has as an effect that it
trains the mind to NOT get involved or disrupt the sensation
of being embodied.

Thus, if you are an academic or if you have a very busy mind
(like myself), it is ESSENTIAL practice to supplement the
alchemy, and helps you to go deeper when you actually do do
alchemy, because you notice that your mind starts to
interfere less and you can be “more in your body”.

In other words, Zen training helps the alchemy work better.
This, plus the training of being more in the present and
less in your mind is beneficial for its own reward.

Steven