With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
Zazenkai today. This is a day to spend in mindful silence. This is a day to allow the peace that resides within you to unfold. Each of has this peace. It is the stillness that resides in the space before thought. Our thinking mind is an oar in the water. It tells us to row and with each stroke, soft or no, our water is disturbed. Zazen is the cessation of rowing. And Zazenkai is a day of stopping.
If you are unable to come to Zazenkai, home practice is an excellent opportunity. Chose a time, sit in front of a blank wall, and breathe. First, however, you must settle things. Ensure you will have no intrusions or disturbances. Shut off cell phones. No radio, stereo, or TV. The length of time you sit is not as important as the quality of the time you sit. By quality we mean being awake, aware, and steady. No moving. No getting up and wandering around. No scratching. No stretching. Just sitting still.
In the event you can only do this five minutes, then you have five minutes “buddha.” Spend the rest of your day in mindfulness. This means orienting yourself to be completely aware of everything you are doing and how it feels to do it without holding on to any feeling or thought whatever. Picking up a coffee cup, you are aware that you are picking up a coffee cup. Putting down a coffee cup, you are aware that you are putting down a coffee cup. And so on.
What is the point? Serene reflection. Serenity. Peace. How hard is that?
Good Morning Everyone,
Zazenkai today. This is a day to spend in mindful silence. This is a day to allow the peace that resides within you to unfold. Each of has this peace. It is the stillness that resides in the space before thought. Our thinking mind is an oar in the water. It tells us to row and with each stroke, soft or no, our water is disturbed. Zazen is the cessation of rowing. And Zazenkai is a day of stopping.
If you are unable to come to Zazenkai, home practice is an excellent opportunity. Chose a time, sit in front of a blank wall, and breathe. First, however, you must settle things. Ensure you will have no intrusions or disturbances. Shut off cell phones. No radio, stereo, or TV. The length of time you sit is not as important as the quality of the time you sit. By quality we mean being awake, aware, and steady. No moving. No getting up and wandering around. No scratching. No stretching. Just sitting still.
In the event you can only do this five minutes, then you have five minutes “buddha.” Spend the rest of your day in mindfulness. This means orienting yourself to be completely aware of everything you are doing and how it feels to do it without holding on to any feeling or thought whatever. Picking up a coffee cup, you are aware that you are picking up a coffee cup. Putting down a coffee cup, you are aware that you are putting down a coffee cup. And so on.
What is the point? Serene reflection. Serenity. Peace. How hard is that?
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