With palms together
Good Morning Everyone,
For whatever reason, I went to bed very early this evening and now woke at 11:00 thinking it was morning and feeling as though I had slept the night. Oh well, I’m sure if I slip back into that nice warm bed sleep will once again grace me with its restorative powers.
A student has been writing a lot about compassion and mindfulness. A good thing, as we all need to bear in mind that being present and being compassionate are true gifts for all beings. From a Zen point of view, compassion and mindfulness naturally arise from our non-dualistic state of being. When in a state of duality, sympathy is the more likely experience. If I practice mindfulness by saying, “picking up the cup, I am aware that I am picking up the cup,” I am practicing mindfulness, but not being mindful. In a true state of mindfulness, there is no separation between the “subject” and the “object” of our practice, there will be just the direct and intimate experience of the moment as it is.
To be compassionate means we are “with” “suffering.” This “with” is interesting. We might take the practice of compassion to be the practice of being with the suffering of others, but I don’t believe this would be in accordance with the Buddha Way. Why? Because to be with the suffering of others means we have an idea born in duality. (For a thorough treatment of this please review The Diamond Sutra.) We have created a “me and you” situation where I am somehow different from, or apart from, you. I am not. (And thus, according to the Buddha, I am not a bodhisattva.) To be truly compassionate we must be suffering, that is, “with” suffering. To me, this means doing practice which helps to develop mirror neurons (those brain cells that enable us to “mirror” the feelings of others). We call this process “empathy,” a process that enables us to experience our oneness with others.
Thus, compassion and mindfulness are rather radical realities, not concepts, which reflect our true nature, the nature interdependence and interconnection: the nature of oneness.
___
Our Rohatsu sesshin will begin Thursday, December 6th, and conclude Sunday, December 9th. We will practice 3 hours each weekday night beginning at 6:00 PM, from 6:00 AM through 9:00 PM on Saturday, and 6:00 AM through 12:00 PM on Sunday. Lunch on Saturday will be oryoki. Our practice schedule will be rigorous, but will include bodywork, art practice, and study practice. We ask for a small donation of $30.00 to offset expenses. Please let Rev. Soku Shin know if you are planning to attend any one day or all days of this opportunity for intensive practice.
Be well
Good Morning Everyone,
For whatever reason, I went to bed very early this evening and now woke at 11:00 thinking it was morning and feeling as though I had slept the night. Oh well, I’m sure if I slip back into that nice warm bed sleep will once again grace me with its restorative powers.
A student has been writing a lot about compassion and mindfulness. A good thing, as we all need to bear in mind that being present and being compassionate are true gifts for all beings. From a Zen point of view, compassion and mindfulness naturally arise from our non-dualistic state of being. When in a state of duality, sympathy is the more likely experience. If I practice mindfulness by saying, “picking up the cup, I am aware that I am picking up the cup,” I am practicing mindfulness, but not being mindful. In a true state of mindfulness, there is no separation between the “subject” and the “object” of our practice, there will be just the direct and intimate experience of the moment as it is.
To be compassionate means we are “with” “suffering.” This “with” is interesting. We might take the practice of compassion to be the practice of being with the suffering of others, but I don’t believe this would be in accordance with the Buddha Way. Why? Because to be with the suffering of others means we have an idea born in duality. (For a thorough treatment of this please review The Diamond Sutra.) We have created a “me and you” situation where I am somehow different from, or apart from, you. I am not. (And thus, according to the Buddha, I am not a bodhisattva.) To be truly compassionate we must be suffering, that is, “with” suffering. To me, this means doing practice which helps to develop mirror neurons (those brain cells that enable us to “mirror” the feelings of others). We call this process “empathy,” a process that enables us to experience our oneness with others.
Thus, compassion and mindfulness are rather radical realities, not concepts, which reflect our true nature, the nature interdependence and interconnection: the nature of oneness.
___
Our Rohatsu sesshin will begin Thursday, December 6th, and conclude Sunday, December 9th. We will practice 3 hours each weekday night beginning at 6:00 PM, from 6:00 AM through 9:00 PM on Saturday, and 6:00 AM through 12:00 PM on Sunday. Lunch on Saturday will be oryoki. Our practice schedule will be rigorous, but will include bodywork, art practice, and study practice. We ask for a small donation of $30.00 to offset expenses. Please let Rev. Soku Shin know if you are planning to attend any one day or all days of this opportunity for intensive practice.
Be well
1 comment:
Nice post. Empathy... :D
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