No Samadhi Installation

The installation of our community’s leader is an important event. We are called to approve by our witnessing the person's new status and the relationship we have with the institution and its common practices through that person. That transition is shared among all. Hopefully, we observers get some transmission, too.  Chanting with over a hundred schoolmates is powerful. The scheduled rituals at Providence also offered time for reflection. In my case, I noticed that my robe’s collar was wearing out and that moment of reflection was my transmission. After about 14 years, it makes sense. Now I have to think about ordering a new one. Reordering a short robe, or earning a long robe is a sign of commitment that needs some examination. Practice always requires examination. For me, there is also the grappling with kong-ans large and small, including the one from the Ten Gates that has stumped me for a long time.

The transmission took on another dimension due to something the new school Zen Master said during her Dharma talk. Zen Master Soeng Hyang said that Kwan Um School of Zen is not a Samadhi school. That is, our school does not emphasize intentionally created deep meditative states of mind. This surprised me because I came from a Samadhi oriented school and that affected my practice as well as my attitude towards our school. I never understood why the dantien or hara, the parts of the anatomy located below the navel and associated with Samadhi, are barely stressed here. It was an issue that nagged my practice since before I had my own robe. Perhaps others who have started in Samadhi-oriented schools of Zen have also suffered from my problem. The meditation instructions we get are not couched in terms of Samadhi. What color is the floor? Hit! Just that!  Nowadays, Samadhi-less practice is important to me because I have had lots of back and shoulder pain that has oriented me to the actual school practice: What Is This?