The Coming End

Facing the coming end
Of my years, I wonder
What I’ve accomplished
And how I could have
Lived my life better.

I suppose its natural
To investigate myself,
An elderly man
Coming closer to his end.

Yet, it seems a pointless task
As there is no way to change a thing once done
And I realize nothing I can do today
Will matter much in the end.

I do hope I have been of service
I hope I will be fondly remembered
although I don’t know why that seems important,
Yet it goes.

There is no other life but this one
And perhaps its meaning
was nothing more or less than that.
Just to live in this body till it is no more.

What Is It?

What Is It?

In the morning
When all is quiet
I sit alone outside
Under the stars.

Coyotes howl in the desert
But, they sometimes bark.
And once in awhile
A falling star falls.

Is there a meaning
To all of this?
The natural order of things?
Perhaps...

I sometimes doubt it
Things often are just
as they are
For us to witness.

Wondering about it
Makes no sense
Better, I have found
To just enjoy.

The Way

The Way is not difficult, although at times it can be. We often feel as though we have to be like Buddha or Jesus or our rabbi’s of old, yet that attempt will fail as we would be pretending. Our true face, the face we sometimes hide, the face we are afraid to show, that is our being. It is also our teacher. Anytime we step away from it, try to turn it into something it is not, we are disingenuous. 

The Way is a challenge for the weak, although if the weak attempt to followit, they will become stronger.They will do so because that is the natural outcome of struggle. 

While we ought not seek out struggle, life is what it is, and conflicts will arise. We may wish they wouldn’t. We may desire a life of serenity and ease, but that is not living, that feels to me like vegetating. 

For some of us, we believe all we each need do is smile and walk slowly and softly and everything will be peaceful. Perhaps for you, but the world around us is often on fire and no amount of smiling and soft walking will put it out.

As the fueko suggests, we do not practice Zen for ourselves, but rather for those who cannot practice with us. We practice to re-discover or, perhaps, uncover, that true face for the sake of all beings. This takes strength and commitment, what we in Zen refer to as “joriki.” 

Such strength doesn’t come easy or without cost. While the Way itself is not difficult, our willingness to live it is. The struggles in life are ours, no one else's. They are for us to engage, work through, and resolve. In doing so we move from the “weak,” the “victim,” to the strength of a survivor and in doing so we have the potential to inspire. 

Gassho

Eternal Life

Zen is eternal life says Kennet-Roshi. Now why would she say that? To realize the truth of her statement one must practice to see a much larger picture of life and death. Master Dogen says this is the most important practice for practitioners. Why? 

To realize the truth of life and death is to realize there is no life and death and yet there is life and death. Wherefore? 

The subject and object, the past present and future, are not separate, but are one. In such a case, what is life and death? 

This question should resonate in your consciousness night and day. 

Gassho

Announcing our weekly radio show

Our weekly radio call in show, "Take on Faith" with co-host Brian Harrison, will begin broadcasting at 10:00AM each Saturday morning. The station is 101.5 in Las Cruces, NM, but can be streamed on line through Ktal's website.

http://www.lccommunityradio.org/

Las Cruces Community Radio

Las Cruces Community Radio's station KTAL-LP

LCCOMMUNITYRADIO.ORG

Teaching

Hello All,  

A few changes coming down the pike. Most importantly is I’ve decided to once again take on formally  teaching Zen. If anyone wishes to engage this practice and you are not a student of another Zen teacher, please feel free to contact me at harveyhilbert@yahoo.com.  I will initiate a group study as well using “Living by Vow” by Rev Okumora Roshi.  Classes will begin on Monday evening at 6:00 PM at my residence.

Zen

With respect, 

I haven't talked much about Zen of late. Too bad, talking about Zen is lots of fun. Its the practice that's the hard part. I believe the difference between talking and doing is like the distance between this galaxy and the next. They are incredibly far apart. Yet, we often convince ourselves that they really are the same. No, they are not.

To practice Zen is to not "practice," but to be "Zen." Which is to say, being selfless. How hard is that? How many times a day do we say "I"? Much like when Master Dogen Zenji says "Don't think" and we cut the thought, so too, we cut the "I" and just be...very ontological.

What is it to "just be"?

This is the place where there is no hot or cold, the place where there is no one hand to clap or tree to fall; this is the place of precise existence. Yellow is yellow, red is red. I am and I am not. The place where we take that step off the hundred foot pole with ease.

What does all this mean?

When we spill a cup of coffee we just clean it up and when the dog barks at the door, we let him out. What thought is required in this place? No thought, that's the thing.

Someone might say, "Well, then, how do we plan? How do we get through a day?" Again, Master Dogen would say, "When planning, plan." Its really that simple and that difficult. Its the "just" in "just this." We want to equivocate. We want a back door. In Zen there is neither, hence the difficulty.

None of us can "just be" all the time. In fact it is rare to "just be" at all. Our brain will not allow it. But we can get there more and more often as we practice letting go of thoughts and feelings. What's required are two things: mindfulness and a willingness to accept what mindful awareness brings to us.

And that brings us back to our practice, our being Zen.

As you read this, do not question. Just read. When you question, just question. How hard is that?

We'll see.

Gassho

Daiho