With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
The morning moon is stunning against a black sky the fullness of which takes my breath away. Standing on the edge of darkness has that effect.
Darkness gets a bad rep. I remember a moment in childhood standing on the edge of an ocean. I could not see a thing. But I could feel. That vast expanse of emptiness is deep. I remember feeling awestruck.
As a child I did a dance both loving and fearing this vast darkness. As an adult, I know that we spend our lives trying to avoid it or meekly throw light at it or pretend it isn’t what it is. Open mystery.
Turn off your lights and go outside in the dark. Walk under the trees, under the stars, and open your heart to the universe. It is there to accept you.
Holiness is on such an edge. It is the point between light and dark, the edge of awareness, where taking any step with throw you off balance and into seeming oblivion. If you know it, it is not it, you must know it as a deep and abiding part of you.
Like a warm enfolding blanket, the Infinite embraces. It’s no wonder we humans love our robes be they simple shawls, tallit, or kesas. We wrap ourselves with the edge of holiness, and reside in wonder.
Be well
Monday, February 08, 2010
Sunday, February 07, 2010
Sacred
With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
Last night we lit the havdallah candle and passed the spice box, marking the close of the Sabbath and the entering of a new week. While a beautiful ceremony, this whole notion of marking the sacred and profane is annoying. On the one hand, we invest in a time and space, creating a dualism, on the other hand we come to realize there is no place or time where the Infinite is not. Everything is. Simple.
Yet, here we are, even in Zen, lighting candles, bowing, treating this as somehow invested with meaning and that as not.
Perhaps we must: a sacred life would be a life lived with no automatic pilot. No rest. No letting go. A sacred life would be a life without meaning. When everything is sacred, nothing is.
The very definition of sacred demands a separation of one thing from another, investing holiness through mindful attention.
On the other hand, nothing can be profane as everything matters. Everything is deeply and intimately interconnected. One is many, many is one.
Only when we look to the function of ceremony do we begin to understand. Ceremony does not mark, create, or underscore anything at all. Ceremony invites us to recognize what already is. A mindfulness bell does not create our true home, it invites us to open ourselves to it as it is with us always.
Our place is our heart: wherever we go, there we are. We might consider relaxing into it.
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
Last night we lit the havdallah candle and passed the spice box, marking the close of the Sabbath and the entering of a new week. While a beautiful ceremony, this whole notion of marking the sacred and profane is annoying. On the one hand, we invest in a time and space, creating a dualism, on the other hand we come to realize there is no place or time where the Infinite is not. Everything is. Simple.
Yet, here we are, even in Zen, lighting candles, bowing, treating this as somehow invested with meaning and that as not.
Perhaps we must: a sacred life would be a life lived with no automatic pilot. No rest. No letting go. A sacred life would be a life without meaning. When everything is sacred, nothing is.
The very definition of sacred demands a separation of one thing from another, investing holiness through mindful attention.
On the other hand, nothing can be profane as everything matters. Everything is deeply and intimately interconnected. One is many, many is one.
Only when we look to the function of ceremony do we begin to understand. Ceremony does not mark, create, or underscore anything at all. Ceremony invites us to recognize what already is. A mindfulness bell does not create our true home, it invites us to open ourselves to it as it is with us always.
Our place is our heart: wherever we go, there we are. We might consider relaxing into it.
Be well.
Saturday, February 06, 2010
Re-Enchantment
With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
Study is one of the dharma gates I enter often. Last night was Erev Shabbat and we stopped what we were doing to light candles, say blessings, and welcome a day of rest and holiness with a family dinner. The thing is, what I was doing was an expression of that very thing. I was studying and writing. My paper’s working title is the Sacralization of Reform Judaism.
As a Buddhist priest and a Jewish lay religious teacher/student, I practice to keep my dharma eye open to see such expressions and as an expression of holiness itself. I know, I know…words can be serious obstacles. What holiness is is another topic.
Anyway, I am noticing a tension between the rational, linear processes utilized in study and my willingness to open my heart to the sacred itself in that very process. Study requires a ‘what’s this in relation to that?’ sort of thinking. Holiness requires entering both this and that at the same time. It’s an immersion.
In Buddhist and Jewish traditions we have prayers for both entering study and wrapping ourselves in the sacred. In the end, we should come to understand they are not separate at all as we discover everything is sacred, everything is holy.
Unfortunately today, both study and the holy are either tortured or eschewed. Study has become a fact finding process with brain cells storing as much as possible while the holy is rarely encountered in our post-modern conscience. And if it is, we see it as anachronistic. Therein, the tension. We want holiness.
Such tension is a shadow, though, of our mind at play in multilayered playgrounds. These playgrounds are built as a result of our moving away from the natural, the powerful dark, edges of things. In the light we see the sacred is everywhere in everything. Non-duality dispels such a tension. Religion today seems to be rolling along that track. People seem to need a way to touch the sacred in their lives. We want to get to the edge and take a step.
A flower is opening.
That a religious group like Reform Judaism, born in the Age of Enlightenment and wedded to the principles of universality, science, and reason has itself begun to ask itself how to be an avenue to the holy for its members is testimony to this third millennia blossom.
Zen, often cold and indifferent feeling, has taken on a similar thrust. Our Order was created to take us out of the cold monastic walls of Japanese tradition and into the warm light of engaged practice with the world. We are in a place where our task is to re-enchant the world. It is best to do this by beginning with ourselves.
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
Study is one of the dharma gates I enter often. Last night was Erev Shabbat and we stopped what we were doing to light candles, say blessings, and welcome a day of rest and holiness with a family dinner. The thing is, what I was doing was an expression of that very thing. I was studying and writing. My paper’s working title is the Sacralization of Reform Judaism.
As a Buddhist priest and a Jewish lay religious teacher/student, I practice to keep my dharma eye open to see such expressions and as an expression of holiness itself. I know, I know…words can be serious obstacles. What holiness is is another topic.
Anyway, I am noticing a tension between the rational, linear processes utilized in study and my willingness to open my heart to the sacred itself in that very process. Study requires a ‘what’s this in relation to that?’ sort of thinking. Holiness requires entering both this and that at the same time. It’s an immersion.
In Buddhist and Jewish traditions we have prayers for both entering study and wrapping ourselves in the sacred. In the end, we should come to understand they are not separate at all as we discover everything is sacred, everything is holy.
Unfortunately today, both study and the holy are either tortured or eschewed. Study has become a fact finding process with brain cells storing as much as possible while the holy is rarely encountered in our post-modern conscience. And if it is, we see it as anachronistic. Therein, the tension. We want holiness.
Such tension is a shadow, though, of our mind at play in multilayered playgrounds. These playgrounds are built as a result of our moving away from the natural, the powerful dark, edges of things. In the light we see the sacred is everywhere in everything. Non-duality dispels such a tension. Religion today seems to be rolling along that track. People seem to need a way to touch the sacred in their lives. We want to get to the edge and take a step.
A flower is opening.
That a religious group like Reform Judaism, born in the Age of Enlightenment and wedded to the principles of universality, science, and reason has itself begun to ask itself how to be an avenue to the holy for its members is testimony to this third millennia blossom.
Zen, often cold and indifferent feeling, has taken on a similar thrust. Our Order was created to take us out of the cold monastic walls of Japanese tradition and into the warm light of engaged practice with the world. We are in a place where our task is to re-enchant the world. It is best to do this by beginning with ourselves.
Be well.
Friday, February 05, 2010
Karma
With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
Chan practitioner JM recently posted a note to ZenLiving at YahooGroups regarding Karma. I would like to add my three cents. Karma is often misunderstood; it seems to me, as a sort of punishment/reward system or something akin to fate. It is neither.
Karma is simply cause and effect, that’s it. If we look at a living system such as a pond, it may have a karmic balance we might call homeostasis. This is cause and effect in action. If the system goes into disequilibrium, that process is also a cause and effect. This is also cause and effect in action. Now, both equilibrium and disequilibrium are mental constructs. We add our understanding of these to what we experience in the pond. We make discriminations about them: balance good, imbalance, bad, and so on. Yet, in the grand scheme and the long view, no problem. This pond is temporary and is part of the whole environmental system, also temporary, and part of the Earth, also temporary, and so on. Everything changes.
Now, in the relative world, if I add something good to the pond, something good ripples out. If I add something bad to the pond, something bad ripples out. If I expect to use the pond, and I have added something bad, I will receive bad karmic effect. This effect may take on dimensions I do not foresee. Perhaps my children will want to swim in the pond and now they are sick. Or perhaps someone finds out I have done this and puts me in jail. Or perhaps, I recognize I did something wrong and offer amends…each action has a reaction and this reaction ripples out. But, here’s the thing, we are in the ripples and these ripples change us and as we change others change and so on and so on…
So, on the one hand, the Big Mind hand, everything is as it should be and nothing is this or that; on the other hand, in the Small Mind hand, everything happens because everything else happens and we are in the water when it does.
Is there karma or not?
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
Chan practitioner JM recently posted a note to ZenLiving at YahooGroups regarding Karma. I would like to add my three cents. Karma is often misunderstood; it seems to me, as a sort of punishment/reward system or something akin to fate. It is neither.
Karma is simply cause and effect, that’s it. If we look at a living system such as a pond, it may have a karmic balance we might call homeostasis. This is cause and effect in action. If the system goes into disequilibrium, that process is also a cause and effect. This is also cause and effect in action. Now, both equilibrium and disequilibrium are mental constructs. We add our understanding of these to what we experience in the pond. We make discriminations about them: balance good, imbalance, bad, and so on. Yet, in the grand scheme and the long view, no problem. This pond is temporary and is part of the whole environmental system, also temporary, and part of the Earth, also temporary, and so on. Everything changes.
Now, in the relative world, if I add something good to the pond, something good ripples out. If I add something bad to the pond, something bad ripples out. If I expect to use the pond, and I have added something bad, I will receive bad karmic effect. This effect may take on dimensions I do not foresee. Perhaps my children will want to swim in the pond and now they are sick. Or perhaps someone finds out I have done this and puts me in jail. Or perhaps, I recognize I did something wrong and offer amends…each action has a reaction and this reaction ripples out. But, here’s the thing, we are in the ripples and these ripples change us and as we change others change and so on and so on…
So, on the one hand, the Big Mind hand, everything is as it should be and nothing is this or that; on the other hand, in the Small Mind hand, everything happens because everything else happens and we are in the water when it does.
Is there karma or not?
Be well.
Thursday, February 04, 2010
Coping
With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
There is no sense in crying about the world, it has enough crying in it. There is no sense in worry, things are what they are. There is no sense in coping, it just gets us through the night. What is crucial is our willingness to deal with what is presented to us.
Dealing with something is quite different from coping with something. I do not like the notions contained in the phrase “coping skills” as these amount to Ora-gel for a toothache or a shot of whiskey when tense: Just soothers of nerve-endings, nothing more.
We rise and face our world, a world of our own construction, and ask it meet our expectations. We fail to realize our expectations are our fantasies, and the world we create reflects our lack of skill, our desire, and our lack of vision. We add to the world our problems, usually defined as unmet expectations, lack of basic needs or even higher needs. And go about kvetching.
Nike had it right, “Just do it”. Elegant. Direct. To the point. We practice Engaged Zen in his Order. Our way is to meet the world directly, offering what we can, withholding when necessary, and working through, hand in hand with those affected, the issues that confront them.
“Working through” is an old ego-psychology term and our lack of understanding it reflects our social norms. It is not a quick fix, instant karma, or salve. To work through something is to enter it. Like a entering a koan, we drop away the expectation of a solution and live with paradox or contradiction, duality or powerlessness. We experience our feelings, letting our grip on them open so they may slip away eventually, but not before processing their relation to our thoughts and perceptions.
We do. We suck it up. We “gird our loins” in biblical terms. Diligence is a necessary ally in our work. We experience frustration like a duck floating on water. Nibble here, nibble there, float on.
So today, experience your world as it is, not as you wish it to be. Notice. Process. Do. Enjoy. But watch out for the inclination to cope.
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
There is no sense in crying about the world, it has enough crying in it. There is no sense in worry, things are what they are. There is no sense in coping, it just gets us through the night. What is crucial is our willingness to deal with what is presented to us.
Dealing with something is quite different from coping with something. I do not like the notions contained in the phrase “coping skills” as these amount to Ora-gel for a toothache or a shot of whiskey when tense: Just soothers of nerve-endings, nothing more.
We rise and face our world, a world of our own construction, and ask it meet our expectations. We fail to realize our expectations are our fantasies, and the world we create reflects our lack of skill, our desire, and our lack of vision. We add to the world our problems, usually defined as unmet expectations, lack of basic needs or even higher needs. And go about kvetching.
Nike had it right, “Just do it”. Elegant. Direct. To the point. We practice Engaged Zen in his Order. Our way is to meet the world directly, offering what we can, withholding when necessary, and working through, hand in hand with those affected, the issues that confront them.
“Working through” is an old ego-psychology term and our lack of understanding it reflects our social norms. It is not a quick fix, instant karma, or salve. To work through something is to enter it. Like a entering a koan, we drop away the expectation of a solution and live with paradox or contradiction, duality or powerlessness. We experience our feelings, letting our grip on them open so they may slip away eventually, but not before processing their relation to our thoughts and perceptions.
We do. We suck it up. We “gird our loins” in biblical terms. Diligence is a necessary ally in our work. We experience frustration like a duck floating on water. Nibble here, nibble there, float on.
So today, experience your world as it is, not as you wish it to be. Notice. Process. Do. Enjoy. But watch out for the inclination to cope.
Be well.
Wednesday, February 03, 2010
Culture
With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
The sky is wet this morning. I sit in the Zendo with my mini notebook and coffee waiting for any early morning students. Wednesday morning I open my Zendo to the public for practice. Not the “public” at large, mind you, but to my small sangha here in Las Cruces.
My morning practice actually starts late. 6:30 AM is nearly midday at some practice centers, but we are Americans and this is not a practice center, but my home. We are not affiliated with Soto Shu in Japan, nor do we wish to be. We are our own Order here in the United States.
Rev. Soyu Matsuoka-roshi , my Dharma Grandfather, did not bother to register most of his disciples with Soto Shu. He actually did what other Japanese Zen Teachers said should be done, let the Japanese recede and allow our own cultural elements to arise to be integrated. Sensei, according to my Teacher, taught his heirs to be open to the Americanization of Zen. Later developments have created an impulse to re-align with Soto Shu and many centers now eschew a more relaxed Center practice, in favor of the far more stylized Japanese monastic style. Most people attending such centers believe there is a “right” way and this way is the Japanese way.
I strongly disagree. Right is not external or culturally specific. Right is internal, an orientation of mind, body, and environment. Zen is not about the bells and whistles, the robes, or whether we bow at this word or that. Although these are important to the order and flow of a service composed of a variety of people, it is not Zen, per se.
Practice should consider environment. It is in an environmental, cultural context, that meanings arise and make sense. When we vow to cease doing evil, we understand evil in a cultural context, doing good also in such a context, and clearly creating conditions for addressing the cries of the world is a cultural phenomenon. We reside in an environment that is specific to us. Zen practice attempts to crack these wide open. Bringing in a foreign culture can lead to a false sense of specialness. And works against this necessity. Teachers who use choppy English can be perceived as somehow more esoteric, mystical, or “enlightened”. Koromos are more “elegant” and high class than scrubs or jeans and a t-shirt.
The Order I have established is less about form than about mindful, compassionate presence. Although form is important, (it does, after all provide the container), it is not the thing itself. I am more inclined to celebrate the use of a hammer than reside placidly in specialness.
Be well,
Good Morning Everyone,
The sky is wet this morning. I sit in the Zendo with my mini notebook and coffee waiting for any early morning students. Wednesday morning I open my Zendo to the public for practice. Not the “public” at large, mind you, but to my small sangha here in Las Cruces.
My morning practice actually starts late. 6:30 AM is nearly midday at some practice centers, but we are Americans and this is not a practice center, but my home. We are not affiliated with Soto Shu in Japan, nor do we wish to be. We are our own Order here in the United States.
Rev. Soyu Matsuoka-roshi , my Dharma Grandfather, did not bother to register most of his disciples with Soto Shu. He actually did what other Japanese Zen Teachers said should be done, let the Japanese recede and allow our own cultural elements to arise to be integrated. Sensei, according to my Teacher, taught his heirs to be open to the Americanization of Zen. Later developments have created an impulse to re-align with Soto Shu and many centers now eschew a more relaxed Center practice, in favor of the far more stylized Japanese monastic style. Most people attending such centers believe there is a “right” way and this way is the Japanese way.
I strongly disagree. Right is not external or culturally specific. Right is internal, an orientation of mind, body, and environment. Zen is not about the bells and whistles, the robes, or whether we bow at this word or that. Although these are important to the order and flow of a service composed of a variety of people, it is not Zen, per se.
Practice should consider environment. It is in an environmental, cultural context, that meanings arise and make sense. When we vow to cease doing evil, we understand evil in a cultural context, doing good also in such a context, and clearly creating conditions for addressing the cries of the world is a cultural phenomenon. We reside in an environment that is specific to us. Zen practice attempts to crack these wide open. Bringing in a foreign culture can lead to a false sense of specialness. And works against this necessity. Teachers who use choppy English can be perceived as somehow more esoteric, mystical, or “enlightened”. Koromos are more “elegant” and high class than scrubs or jeans and a t-shirt.
The Order I have established is less about form than about mindful, compassionate presence. Although form is important, (it does, after all provide the container), it is not the thing itself. I am more inclined to celebrate the use of a hammer than reside placidly in specialness.
Be well,
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
When the Ceiling is the Ground
With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
If we lay down on the floor and look up, we get an entirely different view of our environment. Furnishing seem larger, their undersides are exposed, the ceiling seems like the floor with lights sprouting up from it. We are resting in the sky.
I do this often, lay on the floor, and it is both refreshing as a reminder of the power of perspective, and as a healing for my body.
Take an opportunity and lay down on the floor, better if outside, perceive the sky, the ceiling, the underside of things. Experience the Earth supporting you. Be thankful.
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
If we lay down on the floor and look up, we get an entirely different view of our environment. Furnishing seem larger, their undersides are exposed, the ceiling seems like the floor with lights sprouting up from it. We are resting in the sky.
I do this often, lay on the floor, and it is both refreshing as a reminder of the power of perspective, and as a healing for my body.
Take an opportunity and lay down on the floor, better if outside, perceive the sky, the ceiling, the underside of things. Experience the Earth supporting you. Be thankful.
Be well.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
At this moment...
With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
At this moment,
I woke from a dream
and can no longer see
heaven.
The ladder has lifted.
Or maybe was never there.
(We can never be sure.)
The voice is silent:
I am left to sit alone
In its echo.
This is the ground
of being itself
and I sit upon it
with no fear.
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
At this moment,
I woke from a dream
and can no longer see
heaven.
The ladder has lifted.
Or maybe was never there.
(We can never be sure.)
The voice is silent:
I am left to sit alone
In its echo.
This is the ground
of being itself
and I sit upon it
with no fear.
Be well.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Entering the Way
With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
The language of the spirit is not to be assigned the particular, but must remain in the universal. This means matters of spirit are not masculine or feminine. They are not Jewish or Christian, Muslim or Buddhist. Spiritual is by definition of everything and therefore completely universal. In a very real way, taking up the path of spiritual journey requires a shift in orientation away from the particular. It requires leaving home.
Assignment of gender or ethnicity or religion or social class of anything leads to separation.separation to valuation, valuation to discrimination, discrimination to suffering. Assignment leads to being stuck in a view and considering that view reality.
Reality is none of that and a true Bodhisattva Warrior lives without the assignment of, and alignment of, labels, classes, categories, or hierarchies. A Zen Buddhist is not a Zen Buddhist, but a being connected with the universe assisting others to realize that same connection. We wear our robe not to separate, but to unite.
The literal robe is just pieces of cloth sewn together as peoples are sewn together. Yet, it is, itself, just pieces of cloth. The true robe is the formless field of benefaction residing in non-duality and the non-assignment of linguistic categories.
Our practice is to drop away, drop away, in order to allow the Universal room to bloom within us.
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
The language of the spirit is not to be assigned the particular, but must remain in the universal. This means matters of spirit are not masculine or feminine. They are not Jewish or Christian, Muslim or Buddhist. Spiritual is by definition of everything and therefore completely universal. In a very real way, taking up the path of spiritual journey requires a shift in orientation away from the particular. It requires leaving home.
Assignment of gender or ethnicity or religion or social class of anything leads to separation.separation to valuation, valuation to discrimination, discrimination to suffering. Assignment leads to being stuck in a view and considering that view reality.
Reality is none of that and a true Bodhisattva Warrior lives without the assignment of, and alignment of, labels, classes, categories, or hierarchies. A Zen Buddhist is not a Zen Buddhist, but a being connected with the universe assisting others to realize that same connection. We wear our robe not to separate, but to unite.
The literal robe is just pieces of cloth sewn together as peoples are sewn together. Yet, it is, itself, just pieces of cloth. The true robe is the formless field of benefaction residing in non-duality and the non-assignment of linguistic categories.
Our practice is to drop away, drop away, in order to allow the Universal room to bloom within us.
Be well.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Drop Away, Drop Away
With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
It is a cool morning with water in the air. A beautiful dark sky. Awake!
Student Kate told me she had practiced "Dropping Away Zen" at Tassajara during a summer retreat. She wondered about instruction regarding attention to the breath.
which she has heard from me.
We Westerners are not oriented correctly for Zen practice. We are pragmatists. We seek outcomes, think linearly, use the scientific method and so on. We want results. Zen practice is both means and end together. There is no "end" that already is not present. Very challenging to those who want, as being is seemingly just not enough.
When I give instruction for practice, it is stepwise. It is like the liturgy in Judaism. There are opening practices which orient oneself, then there is the practice itself, i.e., union with the Infinite.. Attention to breath, breath counting, are means of orientation. Orientation is my aim.
Thus, my aim is how I am oriented, my goal, on the other hand, is to what I am seeking. There is a vast difference. A goal is outside of reality. It is a thought even if it is about something concrete, and sets an expectation. An aim is an internal orientation in the goal's direction. To have an excellent aim is to already be the goal. This is shikantaza.
We cannot sit and think drop away self. We sit and the self drops away of its own accord in its own time, once body, mind, and environment are in accord, that is, oriented.
Attention to breath is a warm-up, counting is a warm-up. Once warmed-up, once oriented, relax the count, open the grip of thought, and be without being.
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
It is a cool morning with water in the air. A beautiful dark sky. Awake!
Student Kate told me she had practiced "Dropping Away Zen" at Tassajara during a summer retreat. She wondered about instruction regarding attention to the breath.
which she has heard from me.
We Westerners are not oriented correctly for Zen practice. We are pragmatists. We seek outcomes, think linearly, use the scientific method and so on. We want results. Zen practice is both means and end together. There is no "end" that already is not present. Very challenging to those who want, as being is seemingly just not enough.
When I give instruction for practice, it is stepwise. It is like the liturgy in Judaism. There are opening practices which orient oneself, then there is the practice itself, i.e., union with the Infinite.. Attention to breath, breath counting, are means of orientation. Orientation is my aim.
Thus, my aim is how I am oriented, my goal, on the other hand, is to what I am seeking. There is a vast difference. A goal is outside of reality. It is a thought even if it is about something concrete, and sets an expectation. An aim is an internal orientation in the goal's direction. To have an excellent aim is to already be the goal. This is shikantaza.
We cannot sit and think drop away self. We sit and the self drops away of its own accord in its own time, once body, mind, and environment are in accord, that is, oriented.
Attention to breath is a warm-up, counting is a warm-up. Once warmed-up, once oriented, relax the count, open the grip of thought, and be without being.
Be well.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Lost
With palms together,
Good Morning All,
Being lost. Feeling as if there is nothing familiar --- or that the familiar is slipping away and cannot be grasped ---, this is in the pit of our stomach yuk. We avoid such places. We want desperately for solid ground. Its only natural.
However, all is not lost, ever. We are. We are not individuals. New does not happen without a dropping away of old. And creation is always on-going. Far from nihilism, Zen resides in eternal change.
Any effort to open our eyes when lost will reveal new wonders. Lost just means we feel the loss of our cradle. Step out. Stand up. Be alive.
Be well.
Good Morning All,
Being lost. Feeling as if there is nothing familiar --- or that the familiar is slipping away and cannot be grasped ---, this is in the pit of our stomach yuk. We avoid such places. We want desperately for solid ground. Its only natural.
However, all is not lost, ever. We are. We are not individuals. New does not happen without a dropping away of old. And creation is always on-going. Far from nihilism, Zen resides in eternal change.
Any effort to open our eyes when lost will reveal new wonders. Lost just means we feel the loss of our cradle. Step out. Stand up. Be alive.
Be well.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Change
With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
Our lives are full of mysteries and we organize them into what makes sense and what does not, what we accept and what we do not, what we fear, love, hate, and just plain will not admit to. Its all very natural. Its all very challenging. So, we pretend or hope or pray. And one day it all comes crashing down. The paradigm no longer tolerates the cracks.
The world took a long time to accept the planet was not flat...some still believe it to be so. The new paradigm takes time to settle in, to gain acceptance, and for us to throw off the old.
We have a view of things, perhaps from childhood, perhaps from an experience so penetrating that its memory always remains fresh, or perhaps from a social convention: what to do when this view no longer works?
As John Bingham is fond of saying regarding running, "There's No Need for Speed". Patience is a necessary partner in this process, as are all the other paramitas. A wise person does not rush in to change the world. Nor does he tarry along the way. Nor does he throw the baby out with the bathwater. We rarely know what the change needs to be, what direction it should take, or how far it should go.
Life offers us many opportunities to address change, as change is like the elephant in the room no one seems willing to seriously address. Religious views change, social practices and norms change, our essential understanding of ourselves changes. all the while we hold on, put off, deny, or otherwise fail to deal.
An open heart, an open mind, and a compassionate hand go a long way in this process Change is difficult, not changing in the face of a need for change can be tragic.
We waddle on.
Be well
Good Morning Everyone,
Our lives are full of mysteries and we organize them into what makes sense and what does not, what we accept and what we do not, what we fear, love, hate, and just plain will not admit to. Its all very natural. Its all very challenging. So, we pretend or hope or pray. And one day it all comes crashing down. The paradigm no longer tolerates the cracks.
The world took a long time to accept the planet was not flat...some still believe it to be so. The new paradigm takes time to settle in, to gain acceptance, and for us to throw off the old.
We have a view of things, perhaps from childhood, perhaps from an experience so penetrating that its memory always remains fresh, or perhaps from a social convention: what to do when this view no longer works?
As John Bingham is fond of saying regarding running, "There's No Need for Speed". Patience is a necessary partner in this process, as are all the other paramitas. A wise person does not rush in to change the world. Nor does he tarry along the way. Nor does he throw the baby out with the bathwater. We rarely know what the change needs to be, what direction it should take, or how far it should go.
Life offers us many opportunities to address change, as change is like the elephant in the room no one seems willing to seriously address. Religious views change, social practices and norms change, our essential understanding of ourselves changes. all the while we hold on, put off, deny, or otherwise fail to deal.
An open heart, an open mind, and a compassionate hand go a long way in this process Change is difficult, not changing in the face of a need for change can be tragic.
We waddle on.
Be well
Monday, January 25, 2010
One Step
With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,,
Today, Zazen at 6:30 AM at Roshi's residence; streetZen at 10:30 at Veteran's Park; Mediation at 3:00 and Study Group at 4:00 at Roshi's residence..
Yesterday I tried to take a walk with friends Allen and Eve through the desert park. Could only go half way and had t return. My Left Foot was having none of it.Perhaps it is time now to use kinhin as my walking style.
Kinhin is a deliberate, slow, mindful walking too often wrongly understood as a break from Zazen.Kinhin is meditation, it is Zen in motion. Mindful, it embraces body in motion in environment. Balance, touch, breath, forward motion, and empty mind abide there.
Slow, like Tai Chi, there is no where to get to where one has not already been.. The universe in each step. Infinity and ground meet. Spirit moves across the face of the deep. With each breath our universe is crated and maintained.
It's the Zen One Step.
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,,
Today, Zazen at 6:30 AM at Roshi's residence; streetZen at 10:30 at Veteran's Park; Mediation at 3:00 and Study Group at 4:00 at Roshi's residence..
Yesterday I tried to take a walk with friends Allen and Eve through the desert park. Could only go half way and had t return. My Left Foot was having none of it.Perhaps it is time now to use kinhin as my walking style.
Kinhin is a deliberate, slow, mindful walking too often wrongly understood as a break from Zazen.Kinhin is meditation, it is Zen in motion. Mindful, it embraces body in motion in environment. Balance, touch, breath, forward motion, and empty mind abide there.
Slow, like Tai Chi, there is no where to get to where one has not already been.. The universe in each step. Infinity and ground meet. Spirit moves across the face of the deep. With each breath our universe is crated and maintained.
It's the Zen One Step.
Be well.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
May We Be a Blessing
With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
Morning of the only day there is
opens in silence.
My breath is slow and steady.
My heart opens to you.
Breathing in, I take in our suffering,
breathing out, I offer us my love.
But there is so very much suffering
and yet I am serene.
Last night
at a Rabbi's house
We said a blessing,
ate a lovely meal,
and settled in to watch.
a film
.
It was about an IED unit in Iraq.
And demanded recall:
war is far more than a nasty word...
The energy of deep compassion
Set a-swirl, like the stars in the sky
in a drunken night...i chant,
Everything is precious.
All my past and harmful karma...
Born from beginningless greed, hate, and delusion,
Through body, speech, and mind,
I now fully avow...
Scotch helps.
As does zazen.
Breathing in,
breathing out.
It is morning.
and I have not slept much.
I sit in the zendo and listen.
The sky is still dark
But the swirls have
become gentle streams.
Vast wings
enfold all beings
and I release myself
into them.
Let war be no more, let love be your light.
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
Morning of the only day there is
opens in silence.
My breath is slow and steady.
My heart opens to you.
Breathing in, I take in our suffering,
breathing out, I offer us my love.
But there is so very much suffering
and yet I am serene.
Last night
at a Rabbi's house
We said a blessing,
ate a lovely meal,
and settled in to watch.
a film
.
It was about an IED unit in Iraq.
And demanded recall:
war is far more than a nasty word...
The energy of deep compassion
Set a-swirl, like the stars in the sky
in a drunken night...i chant,
Everything is precious.
All my past and harmful karma...
Born from beginningless greed, hate, and delusion,
Through body, speech, and mind,
I now fully avow...
Scotch helps.
As does zazen.
Breathing in,
breathing out.
It is morning.
and I have not slept much.
I sit in the zendo and listen.
The sky is still dark
But the swirls have
become gentle streams.
Vast wings
enfold all beings
and I release myself
into them.
Let war be no more, let love be your light.
Be well.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Dance
With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
Senzaki-roshi says, "The old timers in a religious group consider themselves to have reached the top, and then jump from where they are, leaving the very principles of that religion. They are poor fish who cannot swim in the water."
When our eyes are open, there is no question, we swim because it is what we do. An open eye is a completely integrated eye, therefore eye and no eye at once.
When about to face a question, we cannot answer. We answer only when the question is asked and we do so without pointing.
As Leonard Cohen says, dance me till the end of love.
And if love is the essential, core, complete and total reality?
Dance on...
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
Senzaki-roshi says, "The old timers in a religious group consider themselves to have reached the top, and then jump from where they are, leaving the very principles of that religion. They are poor fish who cannot swim in the water."
When our eyes are open, there is no question, we swim because it is what we do. An open eye is a completely integrated eye, therefore eye and no eye at once.
When about to face a question, we cannot answer. We answer only when the question is asked and we do so without pointing.
As Leonard Cohen says, dance me till the end of love.
And if love is the essential, core, complete and total reality?
Dance on...
Be well.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Awe
With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
The morning brings desert wind and small splatters of rain. I imagine the desert floor is being swept by the Infinite. I remember once while climbing the Organ Mountains, a storm came out of the southwest. From my elevation, I could see it rolling across the valley toward the mountains. The feeling was a sweet combination of fear and utter awe.
Such moments enter one's body like a shotgun to the stomach.
Over time, this feeling lays in wait. It can open and spread, like a pool of honey being fed by that Infinite Wellspring or it can remain a puddle being stepped over by those of us who are busy.
This morning as I walked outside, my feet refused to move. My eyes were fixed on clouds rolling down the slopes of the Organs. I was transfixed.
Whatever the Infinite is, it is here.
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
The morning brings desert wind and small splatters of rain. I imagine the desert floor is being swept by the Infinite. I remember once while climbing the Organ Mountains, a storm came out of the southwest. From my elevation, I could see it rolling across the valley toward the mountains. The feeling was a sweet combination of fear and utter awe.
Such moments enter one's body like a shotgun to the stomach.
Over time, this feeling lays in wait. It can open and spread, like a pool of honey being fed by that Infinite Wellspring or it can remain a puddle being stepped over by those of us who are busy.
This morning as I walked outside, my feet refused to move. My eyes were fixed on clouds rolling down the slopes of the Organs. I was transfixed.
Whatever the Infinite is, it is here.
Be well.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
What Next?
With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
This morning came too soon and not soon enough. Too soon in the sense that I had a late night with Study Group followed by dinner and long conversation with my close friend friend and psychiatrist, Abe. Not soon enough in that life is so short and there is so much to do.
We discussed a sort of midrash in group. Midrash is a story offering a back-story to a biblical tale. This midrash was about what happened after Jacob discovered God was everywhere and he saw the ladder to heaven. God asks Jacob to go up the ladder and Jacob refused. The question then becomes quite existential.
I likened this to the Zen koan about having attained the top of the hundred foot pole to only be asked, "What is your next step?"
If the top of the pole signifies awakening, then what? Buddha faced this on the morning of his awakening. Jesus likely faced it in the desert after his dance with the devil.
Is this all there is?
How do I face my future? If I am One, then what is the meaning and role of two?
Am I a hero or a coward? Which is to ask, am I authentic or a fraud?
Even with awakening, God in our heart, Jesus on our shoulder, and direct connection with Everything, we still must live.
How?
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
This morning came too soon and not soon enough. Too soon in the sense that I had a late night with Study Group followed by dinner and long conversation with my close friend friend and psychiatrist, Abe. Not soon enough in that life is so short and there is so much to do.
We discussed a sort of midrash in group. Midrash is a story offering a back-story to a biblical tale. This midrash was about what happened after Jacob discovered God was everywhere and he saw the ladder to heaven. God asks Jacob to go up the ladder and Jacob refused. The question then becomes quite existential.
I likened this to the Zen koan about having attained the top of the hundred foot pole to only be asked, "What is your next step?"
If the top of the pole signifies awakening, then what? Buddha faced this on the morning of his awakening. Jesus likely faced it in the desert after his dance with the devil.
Is this all there is?
How do I face my future? If I am One, then what is the meaning and role of two?
Am I a hero or a coward? Which is to ask, am I authentic or a fraud?
Even with awakening, God in our heart, Jesus on our shoulder, and direct connection with Everything, we still must live.
How?
Be well.
Monday, January 18, 2010
The Cosmic Egg
With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
There are living opportunities hidden in each moment regardless of time or space. The ground of our lives is fertile. When we reach out, risk, invite, embrace, or express, we transform seed into seedling. Life unfolds through us and our creative spirit moves across its face. The Infinite is in Everything. Allow awe to enfold you, then speak its name.
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
There are living opportunities hidden in each moment regardless of time or space. The ground of our lives is fertile. When we reach out, risk, invite, embrace, or express, we transform seed into seedling. Life unfolds through us and our creative spirit moves across its face. The Infinite is in Everything. Allow awe to enfold you, then speak its name.
Be well.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
An Evening
With palms together,
Good Morning Everyman,
Last night was very good to my heart. Children descended on our house. We had a neighbor join us. We enjoyed pizza, a delicious eggplant dish, Buffalo wings (for those who eat such things and son Jacob made a marvelous desert. Granddaughter Livvie played with Pappa's iPhone, son Jacob played a guitar, and at various times, the music of either Jacob or Leonard Cohen.
Laughter was a prominent feature.
After everyone left, I sat for a few moment and enjoyed the silence.
It was a beautiful evening. I am sorry My Little Honey wasn't here to enjoy it. But she is enjoying daughter Sam and grandson Tate in Memphis.
So, after a bit, I decided to put my laundry in the washer, get the dishes done, and take a late night walk under the desert stars. I walked 3/4 of a mile. It was chilly. The sky was expansive and deep and full of starlight.
I walked briskly, stumbling once or twice, but finally getting My Left Foot not to drag. Its an exercise in mindfulness, that. But on the way back I could not help but stop and look a deeply as I possibly could into that velvet sky. We are so fortunate to live in such a way.
There is beauty everywhere because there is life everywhere. Even in the midst of witnessing a disaster such as that in Haiti, we are surrounded by the wonder of humanity and the natural world. When our focus is on the loss, we experience great sadness, but we should then shift our attention to those being in service: there is the practice opportunity. Witness it. Then we take our own next step.
Morning Zazen at 6:30 and 9:00. A Memorial Service for friend Bernie Lieberman at 3:00.
Be well.
Good Morning Everyman,
Last night was very good to my heart. Children descended on our house. We had a neighbor join us. We enjoyed pizza, a delicious eggplant dish, Buffalo wings (for those who eat such things and son Jacob made a marvelous desert. Granddaughter Livvie played with Pappa's iPhone, son Jacob played a guitar, and at various times, the music of either Jacob or Leonard Cohen.
Laughter was a prominent feature.
After everyone left, I sat for a few moment and enjoyed the silence.
It was a beautiful evening. I am sorry My Little Honey wasn't here to enjoy it. But she is enjoying daughter Sam and grandson Tate in Memphis.
So, after a bit, I decided to put my laundry in the washer, get the dishes done, and take a late night walk under the desert stars. I walked 3/4 of a mile. It was chilly. The sky was expansive and deep and full of starlight.
I walked briskly, stumbling once or twice, but finally getting My Left Foot not to drag. Its an exercise in mindfulness, that. But on the way back I could not help but stop and look a deeply as I possibly could into that velvet sky. We are so fortunate to live in such a way.
There is beauty everywhere because there is life everywhere. Even in the midst of witnessing a disaster such as that in Haiti, we are surrounded by the wonder of humanity and the natural world. When our focus is on the loss, we experience great sadness, but we should then shift our attention to those being in service: there is the practice opportunity. Witness it. Then we take our own next step.
Morning Zazen at 6:30 and 9:00. A Memorial Service for friend Bernie Lieberman at 3:00.
Be well.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Blessing
With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
Reader Michele wrote:
Harvey can you provide me with some insight on blessings. I need balance. I keep hearing from people that they are blessed because they were not part of the Haiti tragedy. I get sooo angry when I see or hear this...I know since I am not in the neutral zone upon hearing "I am blessed," I am not perceiving something......HELP. Please post. Thanks and apologies for the intrusion...
I replied briefly: No one is blessed by not being harmed when others are. If one blade of grass is harmed we are all harmed. Second, try to use your anger to energize you into action. The best way to deal with such things is to do something about them.
It is a human experience to feel relief that we slipped out of harm's way. It is delusion to believe that because you have, you are somehow one of God's "elect". A long time ago, people seemed to dwell obsessively on the question of where they resided in God's eye. Calvin put forth the notion that some of us were, indeed, God's "Elect". How to know? Well, it was easy, those who prospered were the elect, those who didn't weren't. It was the ultimate in dualistic discrimination.
From a Zen perspective, to be blessed is not something we are granted, it is something we experience. The Infinite does not, in our view, parcel out this or that, the Infinite is just that, Infinite. To feel blessed, on the other hand, is to feel gratitude.
All of life is a blessing, that is, an opportunity to experience deeply. We are blessed even in suffering, as suffering is like cold water on the skin on a hot day. Or the sound of an unexpected thunderclap. Suffering demands something of us. First, that we wake up to its existence and second that we experience it in a way that will release it.
On the other hand, none of are special in our experience. And no experience is better or worse than any other It is all life. To assign a meaning to a "good"experience is just as deluded as assigning a meaning to a bad experience. Experience is nothing other than itself.
When someone feels blessed for having escaped destruction, be happy for them. When someone feels special as a result, care for them.
People like Pat Robertson and Rush Limbaugh are suffering. If we respond with anger, we are not helping. Better to take the energy of anger and turn it into a source of power of transformation. In order to do this, though, we must examine it's source within ourselves.
Being open is a challenge,a it requires a degree of vulnerability we are not accustomed to, yet it is this precisely, which allows for the possibility of intimacy, something tragically missing in our culture.
Kannon taught, "the Bodhisattvas live this deepest wisdom with no hindrance in the mind, no hindrance therefore no fear.." In order to be intimate with each other,we need to feel safe. But most importantly,to feel safe we need to realize our True Nature Practice.
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
Reader Michele wrote:
Harvey can you provide me with some insight on blessings. I need balance. I keep hearing from people that they are blessed because they were not part of the Haiti tragedy. I get sooo angry when I see or hear this...I know since I am not in the neutral zone upon hearing "I am blessed," I am not perceiving something......HELP. Please post. Thanks and apologies for the intrusion...
I replied briefly: No one is blessed by not being harmed when others are. If one blade of grass is harmed we are all harmed. Second, try to use your anger to energize you into action. The best way to deal with such things is to do something about them.
It is a human experience to feel relief that we slipped out of harm's way. It is delusion to believe that because you have, you are somehow one of God's "elect". A long time ago, people seemed to dwell obsessively on the question of where they resided in God's eye. Calvin put forth the notion that some of us were, indeed, God's "Elect". How to know? Well, it was easy, those who prospered were the elect, those who didn't weren't. It was the ultimate in dualistic discrimination.
From a Zen perspective, to be blessed is not something we are granted, it is something we experience. The Infinite does not, in our view, parcel out this or that, the Infinite is just that, Infinite. To feel blessed, on the other hand, is to feel gratitude.
All of life is a blessing, that is, an opportunity to experience deeply. We are blessed even in suffering, as suffering is like cold water on the skin on a hot day. Or the sound of an unexpected thunderclap. Suffering demands something of us. First, that we wake up to its existence and second that we experience it in a way that will release it.
On the other hand, none of are special in our experience. And no experience is better or worse than any other It is all life. To assign a meaning to a "good"experience is just as deluded as assigning a meaning to a bad experience. Experience is nothing other than itself.
When someone feels blessed for having escaped destruction, be happy for them. When someone feels special as a result, care for them.
People like Pat Robertson and Rush Limbaugh are suffering. If we respond with anger, we are not helping. Better to take the energy of anger and turn it into a source of power of transformation. In order to do this, though, we must examine it's source within ourselves.
Being open is a challenge,a it requires a degree of vulnerability we are not accustomed to, yet it is this precisely, which allows for the possibility of intimacy, something tragically missing in our culture.
Kannon taught, "the Bodhisattvas live this deepest wisdom with no hindrance in the mind, no hindrance therefore no fear.." In order to be intimate with each other,we need to feel safe. But most importantly,to feel safe we need to realize our True Nature Practice.
Be well.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Heart
With palms together
Good Morning Everyone,
There are times when, like a tidal wave striking a shoreline of thatched huts, we are completely undone by an emotion. Such emotions are the great caps of the wave. We become so saturated that all things take on their feel.
It is catastrophic to a human being, as it separates us from others. The very essence of human being is social.
I have a dear friend who has been overwhelmed by anger. The hurt which caused it was like an earthquake. Everything he had worked all of his life for was rejected, the ground he walked on sank, and he found himself in a great darkness.
Responding to his pain with anger, he fanned its flames, colored nearly every event with its brush, and with each stroke, worried his friends.
In such catastrophic states, everything is made far too simple. Threat, no threat. Friend, foe. Its as if we are on a combat mission deep in a jungle all alone. Every sound is suspect.
As he suffers, I suffer. My love for my friend is deep and built through real life struggles. I sit in my Zendo and listen to my heart. I offer incense. I practice for him. This allows me to be open to his suffering, rather than to close it off in order to protect myself. The heart of our practice is in such a willingness.
Step out into the light.
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
There are times when, like a tidal wave striking a shoreline of thatched huts, we are completely undone by an emotion. Such emotions are the great caps of the wave. We become so saturated that all things take on their feel.
It is catastrophic to a human being, as it separates us from others. The very essence of human being is social.
I have a dear friend who has been overwhelmed by anger. The hurt which caused it was like an earthquake. Everything he had worked all of his life for was rejected, the ground he walked on sank, and he found himself in a great darkness.
Responding to his pain with anger, he fanned its flames, colored nearly every event with its brush, and with each stroke, worried his friends.
In such catastrophic states, everything is made far too simple. Threat, no threat. Friend, foe. Its as if we are on a combat mission deep in a jungle all alone. Every sound is suspect.
As he suffers, I suffer. My love for my friend is deep and built through real life struggles. I sit in my Zendo and listen to my heart. I offer incense. I practice for him. This allows me to be open to his suffering, rather than to close it off in order to protect myself. The heart of our practice is in such a willingness.
Step out into the light.
Be well.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
As it is...
With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
Do not pursue the past.
Do not lose yourself in the future.
The past no longer is.
The future has not yet come.
Looking deeply at life as it is
in the very here and now,
the practitioner dwells
in stability and freedom.
Buddha
As so many have said, the past is past. We cannot change it. We have done what we have done, responded as we responded, and are in this moment with its karmic results. Just so, the future has yet to happen and it amounts to a fantasy. Reside there and Walt Disney would marry you.
We abide in life as it is. Oh boy. Another pitch for 'the present moment'! Yet, what is life as it is?
For me it is creating this message as I wait for My Little Honey to get herself ready to fly to Memphis. Noticing the clock, noticing my mind. Taking a breath and releasing into it.
We do not displace the present for something other than what it is. If anxiety is there, it is there. If love is there, it is there. We are present with all the things and processes that brought us to this moment and allow ourselves to see the moments unfold, opening one to the next.
I am here, what can I do?
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
Do not pursue the past.
Do not lose yourself in the future.
The past no longer is.
The future has not yet come.
Looking deeply at life as it is
in the very here and now,
the practitioner dwells
in stability and freedom.
Buddha
As so many have said, the past is past. We cannot change it. We have done what we have done, responded as we responded, and are in this moment with its karmic results. Just so, the future has yet to happen and it amounts to a fantasy. Reside there and Walt Disney would marry you.
We abide in life as it is. Oh boy. Another pitch for 'the present moment'! Yet, what is life as it is?
For me it is creating this message as I wait for My Little Honey to get herself ready to fly to Memphis. Noticing the clock, noticing my mind. Taking a breath and releasing into it.
We do not displace the present for something other than what it is. If anxiety is there, it is there. If love is there, it is there. We are present with all the things and processes that brought us to this moment and allow ourselves to see the moments unfold, opening one to the next.
I am here, what can I do?
Be well.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Prayer
With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
The highest way to understand prayer is as union.
Reb Nachman says, "When a man goes out to the meadows to pray, every blade of grass, every plant and flower all enter his prayers and help him, putting power and strength into his words."
We should consider this. Sitting zazen out of doors is a very natural experience. We drop away the bells and whistles of the Zendo and open ourselves to Everything. Everything enters, embracing and supporting us. In turn we are embracing and supporting Everything. Somewhere, sometime, Everything is. It is at this point that prayer takes its power.
We realize we are not praying to anything for anything, we are integrating our hearts and minds with Everything for Everything.
May we each be blessings in the Universe.
Good Morning Everyone,
The highest way to understand prayer is as union.
Reb Nachman says, "When a man goes out to the meadows to pray, every blade of grass, every plant and flower all enter his prayers and help him, putting power and strength into his words."
We should consider this. Sitting zazen out of doors is a very natural experience. We drop away the bells and whistles of the Zendo and open ourselves to Everything. Everything enters, embracing and supporting us. In turn we are embracing and supporting Everything. Somewhere, sometime, Everything is. It is at this point that prayer takes its power.
We realize we are not praying to anything for anything, we are integrating our hearts and minds with Everything for Everything.
May we each be blessings in the Universe.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Tines
With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
Whatever I say,
it is not true,
as what I say
is a product of thought,
a simple reflection:
the image in the mirror
is not "me",
it is just an image.
Understand our words
as tines on a tiller.
Together, we dig in the dirt,
aerate the soil
and open ourselves
for the myriad things to grow.
_____________
Today: 9:00 AM meeting with Yoga Instructor, 4:00 PM Meditation & Yoga at Temple Beth-El.
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
Whatever I say,
it is not true,
as what I say
is a product of thought,
a simple reflection:
the image in the mirror
is not "me",
it is just an image.
Understand our words
as tines on a tiller.
Together, we dig in the dirt,
aerate the soil
and open ourselves
for the myriad things to grow.
_____________
Today: 9:00 AM meeting with Yoga Instructor, 4:00 PM Meditation & Yoga at Temple Beth-El.
Be well.
Monday, January 11, 2010
and No Religion, Too
With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
Last night I finally got some sleep. Going to bed early, slipping on a blindfold, and taking an Ambien helped. I am told by my doctors that sleep patterns change as we age and that sleep interruptions are common. I'll have none of that.
So, I slipped under the covers after a period of meditation and light yoga, practiced awareness of breathing, and then it was morning.
Ready now to step out of the Zendo into a new day, I am contemplation a bit on yesterday.
At a "Future Planning" meeting at Temple Beth El, I experienced a small awakening. Well...maybe just an insight. Everyone was happy to see me "back" at TBE. (I admit, I resigned many of my tasks and jobs there rather abruptly. Kind of like a kyosaku whack.)
Over the course of the meeting, people were talking about the need to live more "Jewishly" and wondering how the Temple might inspire such a thing. Identification with the people, the faith, the land, and all things Jewish seemed the order of the day.
I sat there, just out of Morning Zen Services, in my black robes and brown rakasu. Oh boy.
I don't feel like a cheerleader. I don't believe organizations can or should be Ra Ra Glee Clubs. My practice is personal and direct. Follow the Way; don't follow the Way.
I don't believe we should live as anything but good human beings in service to the universe.. Jew? Buddhist? Christian? Muslim? Oy!
I am sooooo tired of that level of duality.It exhaust me, literally. It is one of the things I now realize I loathe about organized religion and probably a central reason for my embracing Zen. Religious practice, religion itself, should not be a means to an end, but an end in itself and that end is the realization that there is no beginning, no end, no this or that. Our religion should teach us ways to drop religion, not to encase it in gold and silver. Everyone needs cheerleader I suppose, but my aim is to cheer us on to universality, not to direct us toward enhancing demarcation lines an supporting boxes and labels, no matter how beautiful they are.
The Infinite does not have a religion, unless we call being everything is a religion. Maybe there is a deep and profound teaching there.
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
Last night I finally got some sleep. Going to bed early, slipping on a blindfold, and taking an Ambien helped. I am told by my doctors that sleep patterns change as we age and that sleep interruptions are common. I'll have none of that.
So, I slipped under the covers after a period of meditation and light yoga, practiced awareness of breathing, and then it was morning.
Ready now to step out of the Zendo into a new day, I am contemplation a bit on yesterday.
At a "Future Planning" meeting at Temple Beth El, I experienced a small awakening. Well...maybe just an insight. Everyone was happy to see me "back" at TBE. (I admit, I resigned many of my tasks and jobs there rather abruptly. Kind of like a kyosaku whack.)
Over the course of the meeting, people were talking about the need to live more "Jewishly" and wondering how the Temple might inspire such a thing. Identification with the people, the faith, the land, and all things Jewish seemed the order of the day.
I sat there, just out of Morning Zen Services, in my black robes and brown rakasu. Oh boy.
I don't feel like a cheerleader. I don't believe organizations can or should be Ra Ra Glee Clubs. My practice is personal and direct. Follow the Way; don't follow the Way.
I don't believe we should live as anything but good human beings in service to the universe.. Jew? Buddhist? Christian? Muslim? Oy!
I am sooooo tired of that level of duality.It exhaust me, literally. It is one of the things I now realize I loathe about organized religion and probably a central reason for my embracing Zen. Religious practice, religion itself, should not be a means to an end, but an end in itself and that end is the realization that there is no beginning, no end, no this or that. Our religion should teach us ways to drop religion, not to encase it in gold and silver. Everyone needs cheerleader I suppose, but my aim is to cheer us on to universality, not to direct us toward enhancing demarcation lines an supporting boxes and labels, no matter how beautiful they are.
The Infinite does not have a religion, unless we call being everything is a religion. Maybe there is a deep and profound teaching there.
Be well.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Our True Nature
With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
There are ten grave precepts, a sort of Buddhist Ten Commandments save the command part. We often discuss these as practice guides, principles, anything but rules. In fact they are our True Nature and reflect our compassion.
The grave part is twofold: first, to violate a precept is to violate oneself, hence the universe. Second, in some places and times, to violate one of these precepts got a monk out of a sangha.
As we unfold in our practice, our attention regarding precepts shifts from care for the morality of self to the nurturance of the universe. This leads in two directions it seems to me. First it asks us to examine how our conduct nurtures others. Second, and most importantly, is not to harm in the process. Ahimsa: do no harm.
It is not enough to nurture, we must also protect. I wonder if these are the same or different. Awareness is key. Can nurturance, for example, be harmful? Co-dependence suggests it is possible when one is acting for another to the point of harming oneself.
It is time for my bell to ring.
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
There are ten grave precepts, a sort of Buddhist Ten Commandments save the command part. We often discuss these as practice guides, principles, anything but rules. In fact they are our True Nature and reflect our compassion.
The grave part is twofold: first, to violate a precept is to violate oneself, hence the universe. Second, in some places and times, to violate one of these precepts got a monk out of a sangha.
As we unfold in our practice, our attention regarding precepts shifts from care for the morality of self to the nurturance of the universe. This leads in two directions it seems to me. First it asks us to examine how our conduct nurtures others. Second, and most importantly, is not to harm in the process. Ahimsa: do no harm.
It is not enough to nurture, we must also protect. I wonder if these are the same or different. Awareness is key. Can nurturance, for example, be harmful? Co-dependence suggests it is possible when one is acting for another to the point of harming oneself.
It is time for my bell to ring.
Be well.
Saturday, January 09, 2010
Nothing Special
With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
Lee Love, a friend in Japan, made a comment on my Face Book wall about a practice used by Tibetan followers of the Buddha Way. This practice, called "Tummo" is about deep concentration, a concentration that allows for the raising of body temperatures, reducing heartrate, blood pressure, metabolism, etc. The Dalai Lama was instrumental, and continues to be, in bringing Buddha's practices under the light of scientific investigation.
Much has been learned as a result. The text I am now reading (Buddha's Brain) is a practical guide that bases its work on such investigations. And while there is clearly much benefit from such practices and their study, I often wonder about what we take away from such efforts.
For one, I think many people see our practices as (maybe) sophisticated techniques and tools. The practice is eviscerated, gutted of its spiritual heart. Secondly, I think people think there is something special about the practices, Tibetans, or the East. Not so.
The entire aim of practice is to simply be awake and aware. As a consequence, heart awakens, body awakens, and our senses explore without grasping. It is nothing special. It is allowing the world to be as it is: in our hearts, minds, and bodies. Such practice leads to a complete awareness of the vast interconnectivity of everything. This is prayer in each moment. This makes every speck of sand, every bag of trash, every piece of toast or every sound, smell, taste, or touch, prayer. This is the heart of religion.
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
Lee Love, a friend in Japan, made a comment on my Face Book wall about a practice used by Tibetan followers of the Buddha Way. This practice, called "Tummo" is about deep concentration, a concentration that allows for the raising of body temperatures, reducing heartrate, blood pressure, metabolism, etc. The Dalai Lama was instrumental, and continues to be, in bringing Buddha's practices under the light of scientific investigation.
Much has been learned as a result. The text I am now reading (Buddha's Brain) is a practical guide that bases its work on such investigations. And while there is clearly much benefit from such practices and their study, I often wonder about what we take away from such efforts.
For one, I think many people see our practices as (maybe) sophisticated techniques and tools. The practice is eviscerated, gutted of its spiritual heart. Secondly, I think people think there is something special about the practices, Tibetans, or the East. Not so.
The entire aim of practice is to simply be awake and aware. As a consequence, heart awakens, body awakens, and our senses explore without grasping. It is nothing special. It is allowing the world to be as it is: in our hearts, minds, and bodies. Such practice leads to a complete awareness of the vast interconnectivity of everything. This is prayer in each moment. This makes every speck of sand, every bag of trash, every piece of toast or every sound, smell, taste, or touch, prayer. This is the heart of religion.
Be well.
Friday, January 08, 2010
Rest
With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
Cloudy skies greet the morning light. A threat of snow lingers. The land feels barren. Winter is like that, a natural break from the forces of growth. Rest is important to us all.
Last night I went to bed fairly early, fell asleep munching on some creamy chocolate, and woke this morning at 3:30 as Tripper wiggled and snorted, and snuggled, until I let him and his two brothers out. Too early to rise, back to bed for another hour or so.
Rest is, indeed, important.
Calm abiding in everyday life is rest in motion. Resisting nothing, enfolding everything, living things bend and yield. We practice to create a mind that is aware of the changing environment, as well as its own changing nature. Anger and frustration happen: yield to patience and compassion. Poverty and greed happen; yield to generosity and understanding. Alienated and isolated; yield to the deep wisdom of interdependence.
With each breath, a universe rises and falls. Keep nothing. Release everything. Our lives are ours to be lived.
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
Cloudy skies greet the morning light. A threat of snow lingers. The land feels barren. Winter is like that, a natural break from the forces of growth. Rest is important to us all.
Last night I went to bed fairly early, fell asleep munching on some creamy chocolate, and woke this morning at 3:30 as Tripper wiggled and snorted, and snuggled, until I let him and his two brothers out. Too early to rise, back to bed for another hour or so.
Rest is, indeed, important.
Calm abiding in everyday life is rest in motion. Resisting nothing, enfolding everything, living things bend and yield. We practice to create a mind that is aware of the changing environment, as well as its own changing nature. Anger and frustration happen: yield to patience and compassion. Poverty and greed happen; yield to generosity and understanding. Alienated and isolated; yield to the deep wisdom of interdependence.
With each breath, a universe rises and falls. Keep nothing. Release everything. Our lives are ours to be lived.
Be well.
Thursday, January 07, 2010
Rules
With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
Our Study Group has been dancing for awhile now, cutting a pretty mean 'rug', some might say. Cutting through things is important practice. What's at the core? What is being said? Understood? Done?
Yet, I am finding that if we really like something, we will find a way to make it not only "OK", but downright necessary to do. We will then weave a new rug spun from threads grown of either desire or necessity. Yet woven in such a way as to make what was once understood one way, now understood in another way. The new way is on the one hand closer to the Infinite (we convince ourselves) and on the other hand, something we really wanted to do in the first place (more truthful).
An article on the question of Yoga's place in Judaism set off a whole chain of thoughts in this regard, as the author, an Orthodox Jewish woman, clearly struggled with archaic notions foisted upon her by her rigid theology. In the end she seemingly came to no conclusion, yet continued her yoga practice. As my yoga teacher said last night of this, "she liked it!"
We are a species of rationalizers and once we discern a rationalization, we seem to think we have found a blemish in the sterling nature of a position. I am not convinced.
Reframing an old position in order to come to terms with new circumstances is an evolutionary and highly adaptive practice. It suggests principle rather than rule.
We are far more than our rules. We (and our continuation as a interdependent species) are the reason for the rules in the first place.
When looking at a precept, do not see a rule, see a principle. As one of my old friends and a social wok pioneer used to say, we needed "principles for living." Rules are not principles, they are ruts. Getting stuck in one disallows fresh energy to enter us and so we wilt.
To live in the present moment requires a willingness to live within immediate touch of the ultimate meaning of our lives. If I say, 'do not kill' I am also saying "support and nurture life". As fearless bodhisattva warrior, we should practice to use ourselves toward this aim.
In a world of One, there is no Christian, no Jewish, no Muslim, no Hindu, no Naive American: there are just practices, gates if you will, which invite us closer to the Infinite. Like fingers pointing to it, please don't mistake them for the moon.
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
Our Study Group has been dancing for awhile now, cutting a pretty mean 'rug', some might say. Cutting through things is important practice. What's at the core? What is being said? Understood? Done?
Yet, I am finding that if we really like something, we will find a way to make it not only "OK", but downright necessary to do. We will then weave a new rug spun from threads grown of either desire or necessity. Yet woven in such a way as to make what was once understood one way, now understood in another way. The new way is on the one hand closer to the Infinite (we convince ourselves) and on the other hand, something we really wanted to do in the first place (more truthful).
An article on the question of Yoga's place in Judaism set off a whole chain of thoughts in this regard, as the author, an Orthodox Jewish woman, clearly struggled with archaic notions foisted upon her by her rigid theology. In the end she seemingly came to no conclusion, yet continued her yoga practice. As my yoga teacher said last night of this, "she liked it!"
We are a species of rationalizers and once we discern a rationalization, we seem to think we have found a blemish in the sterling nature of a position. I am not convinced.
Reframing an old position in order to come to terms with new circumstances is an evolutionary and highly adaptive practice. It suggests principle rather than rule.
We are far more than our rules. We (and our continuation as a interdependent species) are the reason for the rules in the first place.
When looking at a precept, do not see a rule, see a principle. As one of my old friends and a social wok pioneer used to say, we needed "principles for living." Rules are not principles, they are ruts. Getting stuck in one disallows fresh energy to enter us and so we wilt.
To live in the present moment requires a willingness to live within immediate touch of the ultimate meaning of our lives. If I say, 'do not kill' I am also saying "support and nurture life". As fearless bodhisattva warrior, we should practice to use ourselves toward this aim.
In a world of One, there is no Christian, no Jewish, no Muslim, no Hindu, no Naive American: there are just practices, gates if you will, which invite us closer to the Infinite. Like fingers pointing to it, please don't mistake them for the moon.
Be well.
Wednesday, January 06, 2010
Wednesday Notes
With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
The day today is full. Breakfast Discussion Group, Torah class, lunch with friends, meeting with my Teacher Hogaku-roshi, meditation, yoga, and finally Journey's Class. Somewhere in there I need to do a walk.
Such days remind me of my working life when every 30 minutes from 5:00 AM to 10:00 PM were accounted for in a huge professional office calendar.Need time to just look at the sky? Better block it in!
Sometimes this is a very good thing. If we are not so very well disciplined, a calendar is a wonderful tool. We should not, however, obsess over it! People are often surprised by how much time is actually spent in mindlessness. No time to practice zazen? BS! Got time to pee? Of course. Well?
Discipline has gotten such a bad rep. It is far too often placed in opposition to freedom and creativity. Big mistake. Its like responsibility. No responsibility, no freedom. No morning, no evening. As sleep walkers we can get away with this. But as bodhisattvas, it is impossible.
Discipline offers s a form within which we are free. Freedom within form is delicious. Freedom without form is chaos. Just keep in mind, both form and emptiness are one in the same.
Be well
PS., I found a time to walk.
Good Morning Everyone,
The day today is full. Breakfast Discussion Group, Torah class, lunch with friends, meeting with my Teacher Hogaku-roshi, meditation, yoga, and finally Journey's Class. Somewhere in there I need to do a walk.
Such days remind me of my working life when every 30 minutes from 5:00 AM to 10:00 PM were accounted for in a huge professional office calendar.Need time to just look at the sky? Better block it in!
Sometimes this is a very good thing. If we are not so very well disciplined, a calendar is a wonderful tool. We should not, however, obsess over it! People are often surprised by how much time is actually spent in mindlessness. No time to practice zazen? BS! Got time to pee? Of course. Well?
Discipline has gotten such a bad rep. It is far too often placed in opposition to freedom and creativity. Big mistake. Its like responsibility. No responsibility, no freedom. No morning, no evening. As sleep walkers we can get away with this. But as bodhisattvas, it is impossible.
Discipline offers s a form within which we are free. Freedom within form is delicious. Freedom without form is chaos. Just keep in mind, both form and emptiness are one in the same.
Be well
PS., I found a time to walk.
Tuesday, January 05, 2010
The Kannon Sutra
With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
The Kannon Sutra:
"Kanzeon,
Praise to Buddha,
All are one with Buddha,
All awake to Buddha,
Buddha, Dharma, Sangha,
Eternal joyous selfless pure,
Through the day
Kanzeon,
Through the night
Kanzeon,
This moment arises from Mind,
This moment itself is Mind."
This little piece is powerful. Kanzeon or Kannon is the Bodhisattva of Compassion. A Bodhisattva is an "awakened being" (or one devoted to, and on the path to, awakening). Kannon hears the cries of the world. She/he responds with myriad hands. We should not think of Kannon as a God-being. Kannon is us, each one of us. Kannon is our own compassion.
When we chant this sutra, we are inviting our own compassion to emerge. We are acknowledging the beauty of being awake, the complete unity of the universe, and expressing a base fact: nothing is not as it should be. Everything is because everything is, all deeply connected through both time and space.
So, we open ourselves and create a willingness to hear the suffering of beings, of ourselves, as we go through the various proceses of living and dying. Night and day, and we place our attention on a compassionate reply.
Eternity is nothing. It is a concept. This moment arises from a concept of Mind. What is, is Mind, yet, even this, when named, dies.
Here is the thing. Forget about it. This sutra, delightfully simple and straight forward, shows us how. Its all about placing our attention on what is most important, our love for everything.
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
The Kannon Sutra:
"Kanzeon,
Praise to Buddha,
All are one with Buddha,
All awake to Buddha,
Buddha, Dharma, Sangha,
Eternal joyous selfless pure,
Through the day
Kanzeon,
Through the night
Kanzeon,
This moment arises from Mind,
This moment itself is Mind."
This little piece is powerful. Kanzeon or Kannon is the Bodhisattva of Compassion. A Bodhisattva is an "awakened being" (or one devoted to, and on the path to, awakening). Kannon hears the cries of the world. She/he responds with myriad hands. We should not think of Kannon as a God-being. Kannon is us, each one of us. Kannon is our own compassion.
When we chant this sutra, we are inviting our own compassion to emerge. We are acknowledging the beauty of being awake, the complete unity of the universe, and expressing a base fact: nothing is not as it should be. Everything is because everything is, all deeply connected through both time and space.
So, we open ourselves and create a willingness to hear the suffering of beings, of ourselves, as we go through the various proceses of living and dying. Night and day, and we place our attention on a compassionate reply.
Eternity is nothing. It is a concept. This moment arises from a concept of Mind. What is, is Mind, yet, even this, when named, dies.
Here is the thing. Forget about it. This sutra, delightfully simple and straight forward, shows us how. Its all about placing our attention on what is most important, our love for everything.
Be well.
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