With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
Last night was spent at a retreat for our city’s Peace Village Board and Staff. I was invited to join the Board and accepted. Clear Mind Zen Temple has been a part of Peace Village for four years now offering meditation instruction and practice to the children who attend. It has grown from a week to now a proposed three week camp which includes a wide variety of activity offerings. The retreat was an excellent experience and I look forward to completing the process today from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM.
I woke this morning with peace on my mind and wondered what exactly peace is, after all. Can we say it is an absence of violence or conflict without doing it a disservice? Defining things through negation does not assert anything at all. What can we assert about peace?
I believe peace is not a noun, but rather, it seems to me to be a verb. Peace is action, it is compassion and acceptance, mutual respect, generosity and patience, all rolled into one process unfolding with each breath we take.
More than anything, though, I think I value peace of mind. Peace of mind, serene reflection, allows for still water. Still water allows for accurate reflection. When we practice Zazen, our mind’s eye relaxes and we are able to see more clearly the ripples on the mind’s surface. Ripples we let go of as we witness their flow.
We generate this still water through our practice and willingness to allow the grip of our thoughts to open and body/mind to fall away. So, in a very real way, the Zazen of life itself is peace in action.
Be well; be peace.
Good Morning Everyone,
Last night was spent at a retreat for our city’s Peace Village Board and Staff. I was invited to join the Board and accepted. Clear Mind Zen Temple has been a part of Peace Village for four years now offering meditation instruction and practice to the children who attend. It has grown from a week to now a proposed three week camp which includes a wide variety of activity offerings. The retreat was an excellent experience and I look forward to completing the process today from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM.
I woke this morning with peace on my mind and wondered what exactly peace is, after all. Can we say it is an absence of violence or conflict without doing it a disservice? Defining things through negation does not assert anything at all. What can we assert about peace?
I believe peace is not a noun, but rather, it seems to me to be a verb. Peace is action, it is compassion and acceptance, mutual respect, generosity and patience, all rolled into one process unfolding with each breath we take.
More than anything, though, I think I value peace of mind. Peace of mind, serene reflection, allows for still water. Still water allows for accurate reflection. When we practice Zazen, our mind’s eye relaxes and we are able to see more clearly the ripples on the mind’s surface. Ripples we let go of as we witness their flow.
We generate this still water through our practice and willingness to allow the grip of our thoughts to open and body/mind to fall away. So, in a very real way, the Zazen of life itself is peace in action.
Be well; be peace.
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