Let Go, Entrust, and Surrender

Sitting ZEN is not about effort or control, but perhaps about trust. All that’s needed is to allow what appears and disappears to be, just as it is, simply.

This reflection invites you into the quiet fulfillment of just sitting, by gently attuning to the natural unfolding of experience through the six senses.

Following the Unfolding

Thoughts arise and fade,

then arise and fade again—like waves upon the sea.

Their movement reflects the ever-changing nature of the universe.

So when I sit,

I simply entrust myself to what appears and gently dissolves.

To the natural functioning of the six senses,

already present within me,

I quietly offer both body and mind.

Through these senses,

I place myself into the great current of change.

The six senses—roku-kon—are: eyes (gen), ears (ni), nose (bi), tongue (zetsu), body (shin), and mind (i). They correspond to sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, and the mental faculty that governs thought and recognition. Through these senses, we are in constant contact with the world, receiving the impermanent flow of all things as they arise and pass away.

So just sit, entrusting yourself to the quiet work of the senses. That is the true nature of self. And in that alone, you may realize: you are already complete.

We are a part of nature.

Words and Photo by K E I K O