Reflections on Katsuki Sekida’s Book, Zen Training: Methods and Philosophy

By Samatalis Haille

I shall comment on this book, Zen Training: Methods and Philosophy, a book written by Katsuki Sekida and edited by A.V. Grimstone in 1985, on the basis of my own experiences and reflections spanning over 7 year-period.

This reflection is done by a student who studied, practiced and reflected upon the book for four years in an extensive fashion.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Jul 1, 2013
• ISBN: 9781304188625

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Reflections on Katsuki Sekida’s Book, Zen Training: Methods and Philosophy

Commentary on Zen Training: Methods and Philosophy

Introduction

1-       I shall comment on this book, Zen Training: Methods and Philosophy, a book written by Katsuki Sekida and edited by A.V. Grimstone in 1985, on the basis of my own experiences and reflections spanning over 7 year-period.

2-     This book contains 8 chapters. The title of each chapter indicates which chapter from Sekida’s book I am commenting about. Where this is not the case, I added few words to the title of the chapter in this book. I did not comment on some chapters, others I have combined them: insights that I can offer informed this organization.

3-      Chapter one is a general discussion. Chapters 2, 3 and 4 are exercises. The rest of the chapters are reflections on these practices. I then apply some of the ideas that become clear, presently, in many important areas of life, such as earning a living from a suitable work and so on.

4-     Get Sekida's book to follow the discussion in this book.

5-     I aim to present the exercises recommended in the book in more organized fashion, so as to make them easier to practice. At this time, they appear to be scattered in different parts of the book.

6-     Ego, a fundamental concept in the book and in life too, according to the author, is a succession of physical and mental events or pressures, which appear momentarily and as quickly pass away. Sekida and Grimstone 1985, 34. This image of the ego contradicts the image that we have about ego. We generally think of it as something stable, but it is not so based on my own meditative practices and reflections, rather it is something, as the author says, that comes and goes away quickly. The process, however, of coming momentarily and going away quickly appears to be stable, at least on a given lifetime. It is for this reason that Zen and Sufis, and others too, aim to extinguish the egos again and again, until doing so becomes a second nature. We are, so to speak, in the business of extinguishing egos.

7-     Here is an example of what I think ego is. Sometimes one feels as if his head is circled with a firm grip, especially the top part of the head. Simultaneously, one feels pressure on the lower part of the body. Thus, one looks with firm intension to anything that has a potentiality to satisfy his desires.

8-     Satisfaction, presently, is less likely because his mind is not working to figure out something. The mind at this very moment is held with a firm grip.

9-     Inability to satisfy his desires leads him to act aggressively or to make himself more powerful. His behaviors towards others may provoke similar reactions; hence, more power- centered and aggressive relationships may develop.

10-  The basis of this cycle, as some say, is bad-commanding ego, that which to start arrests the intellect and stimulates lust.

11-    From Buddhist point of view, the cycle represents Samsara, where lust, aggression and power are traversed states of existence. This may become self-stimulating and self-sustaining cycle.

12-   It receives recurring fresh impetus out of its gazing towards its object of desire and counter gazing or ignoring. That is why not looking around denies the