Questions to Master Deshimaru

Question

Is it possible, sitting in zazen, to sever attachment and desires through control of the mind and posture?

Answer

Yes; but not after a single sesshin. That is why you must go on practicing. It is no easy matter to sever attachment. Attachment represents karma that has not been manifested. Intellectually, one can understand that one must sever attachment, but in practice it is extremely hard to do. If you continue zazen, unconsciously, naturally, automatically, your attachments diminish and in the end, even if you want to attach yourself to something you can no longer do it. Satori. One of my disciples said to me, "I've got a fiancee and I'm very attached to her. How can I sever that attachment?" I told him, "Have two, three, a dozen fiance's. By that means your attachment will change, become divided, and decrease. In the end you'll be worn out and not at all attached anymore!" When you continue to practice zazen your willpower, your deliberate intentions, cease to operate. Unconsciously, you become peaceful. When you practice zazen you enter your coffin, where nothing is very important anymore and there is no need for any attachment. When you are attached to things your actions cannot be balanced because you act with your emotions ... But through zazen subjective attachments disappear, you can become strong, act firmly and surely, and in harmony. Your inner mind becomes completely calm.