The Very Gradual A to Z guide to Zimmer Zen (Part One)

I've not posted here for over four months and I have a simple reason for that - I just forgot! I would like to pretend that I've been on a long retreat exploring the nature of forgetfulness but I would be breaking the fourth precept (telling porky pies) if I did, so I won't.

I've been giving some thought to "The Very Gradual A to Z guide to Zimmer Zen " that I promised to share and I offer this as a first installment. Make of it what you will...

This simple guide is offered to help those coming to Zimmer Zen (Zim-Zen) for the first time. On your own Buddhist journeys you will have come across these terms before but here I will be interpreting them in the dim light of the Zimmer Zen teachings and offer them as arthritic fingers pointing a way forward. It's a gradual path so please don't rush and do feel free to stop if you have to when the needs of your bladder become more important than the Zim-Zen teachings.

A is for Anicca or "impermanence"
Everything changes. Hair changes colour and may slowly disappear all on it's own as the years roll by, skin gets more wrinkly (botox just delays things), and teeth eventually fall out and are reincarnated as dentures. Basically, the body goes it's own way and to continue charting its changes here is just too depressing, so here's the bottom line - we change moment to moment and eventually wear out, period.

ZimZen Tip: Change the things you can (especially your underwear), accept the things you can't change (e.g. local bus timetables) and get on with your life as best you can.

B is for Buddha
Buddha means "to be awake" and a lot of emphasis is put on the importance of staying awake. Of course, as you get older staying awake can become much harder so here's a suggestion: take up the practice of what we in ZimZen call "power napping". This is an advanced practice but here's how it works: start by taking a 10 minute power nap and increase the time slowly until you can power nap for several hours.

ZimZen Tip: Put the Tupperware box you keep your sandwiches in on the top of your head during meditation and secure it with a piece of string. If it falls off when you are power napping you still have a long way to go. Other people might think you are a tad eccentric but the more you practice equanimity the less you'll care, and the more they practice compassion the more they'll mind their own business.

C is for Citta or "mind"
This is an important term for Buddhists and needs a lot of thought. According to the original Buddhist teachings the mind is supposed to be pure in it's original state but as we get older the minds that we live with change. More often than not I forget that the mind is pure (or even exists) but never mind - as we say in ZimZen "if you don't mind, then it don't matter".

ZimZen Tip: Take another power nap!

D is for Dharma or "the way it is"
Dharma also refers to the teachings of Sid Arthur-itis. But for the ZimZen ladies who first came across Buddhism in the late 1950s/early 1960s and may have read Jack Kerouac's book "The Dharma Bums" the answer is yes - your dharma bum does look good in ZimZen robes!

ZimZen Tip: If you are a man take another power nap!

More to follow if I remember to post!