One moment at a time

Shunryu Suzuki was a Sōtō Zen monk and teacher who helped popularize Zen Buddhism in the United States, and is renowned for founding the first Buddhist monastery outside Asia (Tassajara Zen Mountain Center).

Suzuki is also well-known for his talks at a Zen center in Los Altos, California. A compilation of these talks (direct transcriptions) are recorded by his student Marian Derby. Some of his better known talks are edited and published in the book "Zen Mind, Beginners Mind". According to some, this has become a spiritual classic.

In one of his teachings he talks about "ichigyo-sanmai." (Pronounced: eet-see-gee-oh san-mai”), meaning to concentrate on one action at a time.

The practice of Mindfulness is really just that: a reminder to stay awake in the present moment, being aware one moment at a time. It is our tendency to get lost in our thoughts, our mind wandering around in the past or anticipating the future, when – in reality – the only thing happening is right here and now. The core of mindfulness practice is appreciating your life in this moment. One moment at a time.

In this teaching, Suzuki Roshi says: “in our (Zen) practice there is no special object of worship. No goal. But when we say there is no purpose in our practice people don't know what to do. But there is a way.

When we practice zazen, we practice being awake. We do it by limiting our activity to the smallest extent.

So whatever object you have, if your practice is directed toward some particular object or goal, that practice will not work; will not help you completely. Your practice will help you as long as you are directed to the goal, but when you resume to your everyday life it will not work.

Then how to stay awake and in the moment during your everyday life - is to limit our activity, or be concentrated on what we are doing at that moment. Instead of having some particular object, we should limit our activity.

If you limit your activity to the extent of what you can do just now, in this moment, then you can express fully the universal nature, the universal truth. So, when we practice zazen we limit our activity -- our practice -- to the smallest extent. Just to keep right posture and to be concentrated on sitting.

We concentrate on our activity: when you bow you should just bow; when you sit you have to sit; when you eat you eat. If you do so, the universal nature is there.

We call it "Samadhi on one act." "Samadhi in one act," or "one-act Samadhi." We say "ichigyo-sanmai." Samadhi is concentration. Ichigyo -- one-practice -- one-practice Samadhi.”