”Something” about my meditation practices at DDM IMG
I feel blessed and grateful. And, happy! Because in the hint of Buddha’s smile, deep down in my heart I know, that “something” would walk me through it all till the end of time. With a twinkle in the eye!
One Saturday morning, I had nothing to do, so I decided to give DDM IMG's meditation practice a try. It is situated in a crowded building on the most bustling downtown street. As I stepped into the room, the plain setting emitted a rather different vibe from the outside world. There was “something” quite refreshing that sparkled in the air. I followed the eight-form moving meditation, two-session zazen with a slow-walking meditation in between, watched Ven. Master Sheng Yen’s video clips, and had a group discussion at the end. On my way home, I found myself lighter than my arrival - I knew that the heaviness in me had just drifted away.
I went there several times again. However, my curiosity mounted, wondering what that “something” I felt, was about. Somehow, during the group practice, with the voices in my head: my thoughts, grudges, urges, and worries, were melting and vanishing. In rare moments, I noted myself centering in the midst of stillness and serenity. Everything was just so quiet then... Later on I noticed, it seemed that “something” was turning everything in me into “nothing.” I thought “nothingness” could be just emptiness as it appeared to be. But, I was wrong. Every time I went home after meditation practice, my family always thought me as being more stable, gentler, more alive, and having more love to give. Apparently, this "nothingness" created within me abundance. It became a source of everything to me.
I am only a beginner in Zen practice. I don’t know much about Dharma or sutra. For me, I have just taken a sip of Zen. But, once I taste it, the savor is beyond any word I can describe. It’s almost like bliss that you cannot find anywhere else on earth---So, I stopped searching. It is right here with me, with my attendance at the IMG. It is everywhere, in every step we take together, in every talk we engage, in every zazen we sit through, and in every video teaching of Ven. Master Sheng Yen. It is in the genuine care that we extend to each other, in the words of wisdom from participants, as well as in the provocative and essential questions raised by the group hosts during discussion; although those questions often leave me speechless and would probably spend a lifetime trying to answer. I have never met Ven. Master Sheng Yen in person. But I could just follow the footsteps left by the Dharma brothers and sisters here.
As I experience more, little by little, immersing in the nectar of Zen sooths my body, down to bones, into the veins, and to the marrow. All with ease!
I wonder what it is. Invisible, yet so powerful! I can’t help but wonder. Is it the energy, the vitality, the echoing of the body, or the essence of being? Where does it come from? What am I really experiencing? And, what is that fragrance that we share so much in IMG?
I don’t know. I don’t even know how far it would take me from here. But, I feel blessed and grateful. And, happy! Because in the hint of Buddha’s smile, deep down in my heart I know, that “something” would walk me through it all till the end of time. With a twinkle in the eye!