Hold one present moment as the whole of time
Take a single activity and consider that it is not a stop on the way to the next thing but the time, for now, in which you are.
Why it works
Roberts’s commentary on the Uji fascicle says Dōgen separates the two characters, u (being) and ji (time), and reassembles them as one word, uji, usually translated “being–time.” It notes that the everyday phrase they are usually read as, arutoki, means “for the time being” in conventional use, and that Dōgen’s use has a deeper meaning than “at this time.” The practice is a reflection on that phrase in a present moment. Whether it changes attention or mood is not studied, and the claim here is interpretive.
How to do it
- Before anything else, feel both feet on the floor and look slowly around the room.
- Choose one present activity, such as drinking tea or walking to a door.
- Silently say “for the time being” once as you begin it, and let the phrase point at this moment only.
- Ask what this moment is doing if it is not on the way to the next thing.
- Stay with the activity until it ends, and then notice where your attention went next.
Evidence
The meaning of Uji and the arutoki reading are from Roberts’s commentary. The practice is a reflective exercise built on that commentary, and it has not been studied. (anecdotal)
Uji is philosophically dense and commentators read it differently. A short reflective exercise cannot show what Dōgen meant in full. This practice is drawn from one source, Roberts’s commentary.
Sources
Common mistake
Treating Uji as a doctrine to understand before practising, and so postponing the moment while trying to grasp it. The text is meant to be tested in the moment it names.
Practice this with IX Coach
More practices for Shushō Ittō: Dōgen on Practice and Realization as One
- Practise without waiting for a result
Notice when you sit, study or work in order to arrive somewhere, and let the activity itself be the practice you are doing now.
- Study the self as it appears during an ordinary task
While doing something routine, notice the image of yourself you are trying to keep up, and let it loosen rather than defend it.
- Let an ordinary thing verify you
Rest attention on one everyday object until it, rather than you, seems to be doing the noticing for a few breaths.
- Cook one meal with the three minds of Tenzo Kyōkun
Prepare one meal with Joyful Mind, Nurturing Mind and Magnanimous Mind, the three qualities Dōgen names for the Zen cook.
- Read one line of Genjōkōan and stay with it
Take a single sentence of Dōgen’s Genjōkōan and read it slowly, without moving to the next line until something in it has been noticed.
Related concepts
- Shikantaza: Just Sitting
Dogen’s objectless meditation — how to sit, what to expect, and honest evidence
- Zen Buddhism: Its History, the Rinzai and Sōtō Schools, and How to Begin
The branch as a whole: where Zen came from, how its schools differ, and the practices of a Zen community
- Zen Practice (Zazen and Beyond)
Zazen, shikantaza, koans, and beginner’s mind — mechanisms and honest evidence
- Beginner's Mind (Shoshin), Made Practical
Shoshin — the Zen practice of not-knowing as a daily discipline
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