KOKORODO

KOKORODO

This morning we began the first of what will be monthly extended walks, a practice called kokorodo. The intent of this practice is to push the form of our walking beyond the slow circular one we are familiar with in the zendo. That form, called kinhin is “just walking” and is itself a moving version of zazen, our sitting practice. Kokorodo isn’t just a pleasant walk over natural trails, it too is an extension of other practices, like zazen and kinhin.
In Japanese, kokoro means something like spirit or heart. In fact, our Heart of Whitewater group in Pembroke was named using a Zen phrase “heart like water” (mizo no kokoro), which describes someone whose heart or spirit is free to flow where it will, unencumbered by worldly concerns. So, our kokoro-do, that is the practice of kokoro, is a fluid wandering over our natural landscape, released from and unimpeded by our usual worldly concerns.
Kokorodo is another opportunity to transform an ordinary activity into a practice experience, where we can immerse ourselves in the larger flow of the natural world, without an agenda or plan. As with our indoor practices, we bring nothing special to it and take nothing away from it. We allow the practice to transform us without a scheme or strategy. Kokorodo does not require a map or end-point, it is a process of engagement, one where we open our own hearts to the heart of the world.

Yours in the Dharma,                          
from Akashaloka,                  
Innen, doshu
om namo amida butsu