An honest heart is your training ground ～Zen for Beginner 02～

A Zen student asked his master, “Master, where can I find the place to learn and grow?”

The master replied, “Where you stand, there is your dojo, your training ground.”

The student, confused, looked around and said, “But Master, this is just an ordinary place.”

The master smiled and said, “Exactly. Anywhere can be your dojo if you keep a honest and strong heart.”

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直心是道場(Jikishin kore dojo) ～ An honest heart is your training ground～

The Zen saying “Jikishin kore dojo” is a lot like saying “The place where you are right now is your training ground.” But sometimes people think, “How can this ordinary place be my training ground?” or “If I stay here, I’m sure I’ll fail.”

But what this saying really means is that no matter where we are, if we keep a honest and strong heart and think of our place as a training ground, then it can be anywhere – our house, our school, or our neighborhood. It can help us grow and become better.

Sometimes, when people don’t like where they are, they want to leave before even thinking of it as a training ground. In some situations, like a really bad school or home, it might be better to leave. But how do we know when it’s better to stay or leave? Here, the idea of “Jikishin,” which means a honest and strong heart, can guide us. It means we should try our best, with a true heart, right where we are.

If we really try our best with an honest heart, we’ll feel deep inside if we should stay or leave. Our heart will tell us. Once we decide, we won’t be unsure later, and we’ll feel like we did our best. But if we’re still unsure, it might mean we still have more to try. This unsure feeling means we should stay as we are for now.

“Jikishin kore dojo” means that we should accept our place right now as our training ground with a honest and strong heart.

Even if people say mean words to us, if we think of our place as a training ground, it’s a good place to practice. With a honest and strong heart, we should try to protect ourselves, and keep calm no matter what. If we can do this, it’s like getting a high rank in martial arts.

If we can think of our everyday life as a training ground with a honest and strong heart, we’ll be really lucky!