SydneyJimI grew up in a culture that feared the human #body. In my childhood home, if there was any sexual intimacy on television, the screen went black in an instant. It was called “filth,” “dirt,” “sin.” This wasn’t just my parents’ belief, it was the social fabric of #Australia at the time. A pious façade hid a dark undercurrent: unmarried mothers imprisoned in “homes,” their children stolen, & their labour exploited by so-called ‘moral’ institutions. (1/16)
Behind closed doors, the same system that preached purity enabled abuse, silenced victims, & protected predators. Both church & state conspired to keep the shame hidden. While the #body was publicly condemned, secret obsession & violence thrived in the shadows. There was no public acknowledgement of homosexuality, no access to contraception, no possibility of divorce or abortion. The suffering that came from this hatred of the #body was vast & silent. (2/16)
In such theology, the #body was seen as an obstacle to purity, the world a fallen place to escape from. This lie fractured generations. When the #body is treated as dirty, it becomes alien, a stranger we inhabit but never know. The consequences are everywhere: anxiety, repression, addiction, & guilt. We are taught to live in our heads, not in our skin. Schools trained our intellects but ignored our bodies. The #mind was glorified, the flesh forgotten. (3/16)
#Mukyōhō begins where this alienation ends. It reclaims the #body as sacred ground for #awareness. In this #Zen, #meditation is not escape from the #body, it is entry into it. Every practice begins #naked, without fabric or façade. To remove clothing is to remove hierarchy, status, & illusion. What remains is #equality, simplicity, & #truth. The #naked #body becomes the teacher; it speaks through sensation, breath, & stillness. (4/16)
We begin by quietly undressing, one layer at a time, bringing attention to the #body as it is. We scan it from head to toe, feeling warmth, pressure, movement, or stillness. This is grounding practice, direct, physical, real. #Meditation here is not an abstract idea or intellectual puzzle. It is the full presence of being. The #body breathes, the #mind follows, & #awareness becomes whole. Every pulse, every inhalation is part of the practice. (5/16)
In #Mukyōhō, breathing is an act of union with #nature. As we breathe, the world breathes through us. The air that enters our lungs is not separate, it was made by trees, shaped by wind, cooled by oceans. When we #meditate with another, we see this life moving in them too: shoulders rising, chest expanding, breath joining the world’s rhythm. There is no division between #body & #nature, between breath & wind. Everything is one flow. (6/16)
Through this #awareness, calmness arises naturally. This is samatha, the settling of the #mind that the #Buddha taught in the Anapanasati Sutta. It is not mystical, it is deeply human. To feel our breath, to be fully present in our skin, is to experience life directly. The #naked #body teaches that #truth does not hide in temples or scriptures, it lives in the ordinary miracle of being alive. (7/16)
Even within #Buddhist cultures, especially where touched by missionary shame, the #body has often been dismissed as impure. Some teachings focus only on decay & #impermanence, forgetting beauty. The #body is indeed transient, but that does not make it vile. It is precious because it is fleeting. #Mukyōhō honours this #impermanence, not to reject the #body, but to love it fully while it lasts. (8/16)
Hatred of the #body is hatred of life itself. It breeds oppression disguised as virtue. Women & children have long suffered under its weight. When a religion turns its back on the #body, it turns its back on the Earth. Life-affirming practice must restore the #body’s dignity. To love the #body is to love life; to honour its #natural state is to honour truth. #Mukyōhō stands in defence of that #truth. (9/16)
There is a #Zen story that illustrates this perfectly. It was written by the monk Mujū Dōkyō in 1283, in his Shasekishū (“Collection of Stone & Sand”). Two monks were travelling together, one young & strict, the other older & wise. They came to a river where a young woman stood, afraid to cross. The current was strong, & she asked for help. The monks hesitated, they had vowed never to touch a woman. (10/16)
Without hesitation, the older monk lifted her onto his back, carried her safely across, & continued on his way. The young monk followed, fuming in silence. An hour later, he finally burst out, “We took vows not to touch women! How could you do that?” The old monk replied calmly, “I carried her across the river, & set her down. But you, my friend, are still carrying her.” (11/16)
This story is the heart of #Mukyōhō. To carry our ideas of purity, shame, or sin is to remain imprisoned. The older monk’s compassion was real; the younger monk’s purity was imaginary. When we shed our clothing & our conditioning, we cross that same river. The #body is not a burden but the bridge. Through it, we #awaken to what has always been free. (12/16)
In #Mukyōhō, the #naked #body is a statement of #liberation. It is the moment we stop carrying the woman across the river, the moment we drop all ideas of shame & purity. To be #naked is to meet the world honestly, with no masks or pretence. The #body reveals our shared humanity; its vulnerability is its #truth. Nothing about it is impure. It is through the skin that #awareness touches #reality. (13/16)
When we stand #naked in #nature, we see that we are not separate from it. The breeze moves across our skin as it moves across the sea. Sunlight warms us as it warms the earth. The human #body is #nature perceiving itself, breathing, & returning to balance. In this state, #meditation is not something we do, it is what we are. #Nakedness is not exhibition; it is authenticity stripped of illusion. (14/16)
#Mukyōhō teaches that the #body is the path. It is where #awakening begins & ends. Each heartbeat, each breath, each movement expresses truth beyond words. When we truly see this, we no longer worship ideals, we live #reality. The so-called “ordinary” #body is extraordinary. It is transient, yes, but within its #impermanence lies #freedom. To honour the #body is to honour the world that gives rise to it. (15/16)
So, when we sit, stand, or walk #naked in #Mukyōhō practice, we are not denying anything. We are embracing everything. The #body, once shamed & suppressed, becomes the temple of #awareness. Through it, the wind speaks, the breath flows, & the world awakens within us. To be #naked is not to be exposed, it is to be whole. This is the living truth of #Mukyōhō: #freedom without division, #equality without form. (16/16)