Clear Mind Zen

With palms together,

Good Morning Everyone,

The world is still doing what it do. The sun will be rising any minute now, as I see it’s traces over the mountains to the east: just a hint of morning light in the coolness of this fall day.

I have been working through my thoughts regarding the direction of the Order of Clear Mind Zen. I think it is important to address some basics. First, we are not a individual center. Our Order is a collective of practitioners working together to bring dharma into the world. We are an Order that sometimes retreats into monastic forms, but typically resides in the world of the everyday. We are not Soto, but arise from Soto through the courageous teaching and innovation of the Rev. Dr. Soyu Matsuoka-roshi, a pioneer of Zen who came to the United states in 1939, created several Zen Centers single-handedly and broke with the traditions of Japanese Soto monastic practice.

Like Matsuoka-roshi, I want to see Zen be relevant to everyday life. I want to see Zen practitioners be agents of change in our society. I want to hear Zen teachers teach students to be socially responsible and engaged members of the human community. At this stage of my practice, I am of the mind that we need to simplify and make more visceral our practices. I want students and teachers who understand the difference between the forest and the trees.

Second, I am noticing that in my concern for our alignment or lack of alignment with the greater Zen world, I have been negligent in addressing our Order’s actual reason for being, which is decidedly not the practice of forms and ceremonies, but is rather the practice of waking up and caring for both sentient beings and their environment. This point was driven home to me by the knocking on our door by a homeless woman during sesshin. I set aside hearing the teaching on how oryoki should properly be done in order to feed her and make sure she was made to feel comfortable and welcome in our Zendo. For me, the priorities of our vows trump the priorities of forms and ceremonies every time. I suggest that we step toward an independent, American Zen, as was initially suggested by my Dharma Grandfather, Matsuoka-roshi. We have our forms, taught to us by him, but we also have a legacy of socially engaged concern and practice. We will practice with simplicity and great diligence. Our forms, though minimal, must be practiced with great care and deep respect. We will retain what we do, practice to do it better, and work hard to practice in a way that brings about abundant good for all beings.

We are the Order of Clear Mind Zen, an independent Order, with a focus on engaged Zen practice to fulfill the Three Pure Precepts.

Let us practice together.

Be well.