Practicing the Dharma

• "Practicing the Dharma. The Dharma is the truth that all natures are pure. By this truth, all appearances are empty.* Defilement and attachment, subject and object don't exist. The sutra says, 'The Dharma includes no being because it's free from the impurity of being; and, the Dharma includes no self because it's free from the impurity of self.' Those wise enough to believe and understand this truth are bound to practice according to the Dharma. And since that which is real includes nothing worth begrudging, they give their body, life, and property in charity, without regret, without the vanity of giver, gift, or recipient, and without bias or attachment. And, to eliminate impurity, they teach others, but without becoming attached to form. Thus, through their own practice, they're able to help others and glorify the Way of Enlightenment. And as with charity, they also practice the other virtues. But while practicing the six virtues to eliminate delusion, they practice nothing at all. This is what's meant by practicing the Dharma."
  [From The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma, translated by Red Pine]

Working with a teacher can be a daunting prospect. When one is serious about meditation, it's strongly suggested to find a teacher for several very sound reasons. Then there is the question as to whether someone is trustworthy, or "legitimate," or has genuine motivations. The thought of trusting another human being enough to be open with what we consider sacred, i.e., our heart and mind, brings up insecurities. Even if the notion is exciting and we are eager to grow, self-consciousness can compound feelings of inadequacy and incite fears of judgment or manipulation. Further, perceptions of a certain power differential and the intimacy of communicating without familiar patterns can put one on edge.

A resulting anxiety can exercise familiar grooves, even in imagined mental conversations, where we resort to the role of child to the parent, or patient to the therapist. It's hard to imagine that a teacher can't see right through you, especially someone who is a recognized "Zen master," for instance. We may have deep patterns of wanting approval or being good enough. Or, we may have other rigid walls of self-defense to guard against exposure.

Of course, just like any other similar scenario, if we unpacked it logically, the teacher was in your position once, too. So, they're not judging. But, in "what's meant by practicing the Dharma," Bodhidharma diffuses the ticking bomb of our neurosis. He has the uncanny skill of exploding our preconceptions we didn't even realize existed, no less to what degree we relied upon them.

A teacher, being human, is not necessarily "free from the impurity of self." But the Dharma that we practice, whether as guest or host, teacher or student, is free of the impurity of self. We are not meant to rely upon the teacher, but to rely upon the Dharma. "Subject and object don't exist." A teacher, bonified by the Dharma, teaches others without becoming attached to form. "Thus, through their own practice, they're able to help others and (magnify) the Way of Enlightenment."

If you've got hold of a Dharma-bonafied teacher, they're not biased nor attached to any elements that you would be judged by. On the other hand, if it turns out they're not worth their weight in salt, there's no reason for you to be attached to form. Either way, the fears are empty.

"That which is real includes nothing worth begrudging." Therefore, give it over to the Dharma, open-heartedly, not to the teacher, to yourself. To practice the Dharma is to allow oneself to experience that which is before you without the obfuscation of concept or prejudice. This isn't to say that harm can't be done, and that people can't be manipulated. But it is to say that we are practicing the Dharma by abandoning our fixations surrounding "teacher and student," "self and other."

*If you are new to Zen Buddhism, the English word "empty" or emptiness" can throw us off. It is a translation of sunyata in Sanskrit. It should not imply a sense of poverty, like an empty wallet or a punch in the gut, but a quality of being without a distinctive, inherent essence or power.
** "Form" refers to anything that can be conceived of, whether tangible or abstract.