Compassion

With palms together,
Good Morning All,

As I walk on this earth, so do you. As I sit on this earth, so do you. As I eat, sleep, love and hate, so do you. We are the same, you and I. Just different reflections of Original Mind at work. So when I suffer, so do you. When you suffer, so do I. Our understanding of each other in each of these gently sweeps away the residue of the illusion we are separate. If we allow it.

Compassion must be voluntary. We allow our feelings to loosen and let go. We allow ourselves to open to others. We become vulnerable, and in that vulnerability, we become the water for the parched plant.

It is not easy to be so vulnerable. Vulnerability demands of us. It requires we actively address those things that would harm us. So that we might continue to enjoy our vulnerability and nurture others. Addressing harm, however, without protection, requires a willingness to experience pain.

This is why compassion is courage in another form.

Frankly, I am not so good with this. Perhaps I am a coward. It is so difficult for me to not protect myself. I do not want to feel the pain of you, nor my own. I sometimes want to be on a mountain, aloof, apart, untouched and untouchable by you.

Yet, here we are. I am down off the mountain. Not such a small thing.

So, while vulnerability is a choice, and our willingness to be with another is salve to injury, and we are born with them, life can often harden us and make it difficult to be the buddhas we are. We can take small steps. We can feel each others pain. We can learn to enfold that pain with our love and make it better.

I believe this. I believe this very deeply.

Be well.

Enough

With palms together,
Good Morning All,

Last night we attended New Year's service at Temple Beth-El. The sanctuary was crowded. Everyone was dressed nicely. There was a banquet of sweets in the social hall. And there were armed guards outside the door.

Yesterday's newspaper had a very interesting op-ed piece by Charles Krautheimer. I usually take issue with this conservative, but on this occasion, his words resonated like the bell in the Zendo. He talked about the irony of Muslims protesting with such viciousness statements that suggest their religion was spread through the sword. He noted that monotheism, in general, has a history of such behavior: all of monotheism.

And how can it be otherwise? By definition, monotheists hold one god, praise one god, hail one god. Each slice of the god pie has its supporters, doctors, lawyers, nurses, and soldiers. Each rallying to set their particular understanding above others and in the process...or perhaps to support the process...Denigrating the other two.

We have become such an intolerant species. Our intolerance is everywhere. We are offended by this or that, we are quick to point out what we see as inappropriate and somehow expect the other to learn from this lesson all the while blind to our own biases and cultural ways.

Frankly, at this point in my life, I have little need for such things. I am happy being present. I am happy with the great diversity on our planet. Its richness is so beautiful. Yet, the three spoiled children trying to play in the sandbox create a racket any sane person doesn't want to hear.

I wonder whether any god is worth this distraction, this pain, this suffering. Has civilization come to a point where god has become a hindrance to our peace and continued growth?

Zen does not have a point of view. It has only Zen. When we are Zen, mountains are mountains and rivers are rivers. My ice ream is delicious. The mosquito's effort to live stings.

Be well.

In the Meantime

With palms together,
Good Morning All,

Have you ever thought about the phrase, "in the meantime"? Just what does this phrase mean? A mean is a number achieved by adding the universe and dividing the sum by the number of its parts. The mode is the number which occurs most frequently, and the median is the number that is dead center of an array of numbers. In the meantime?

I think it means now. Before the next moment, but after the last. If this is the case, all of our lived time is meantime. We are very casual about this meantime. We see it as something occurring between other matters, often matters of consequence. Yet, how is this so? Matters past and matters future are matters immaterial. They are not real. They are constructions.

So, I live in the meantime. The meantime is mine. And like other base things settled at the bottom, those living in the meantime are still within the current. In being nothing special, we are everything that matters.

So, join me in the meantime. Tomorrow and yesterday are fiction.

Be well.

Accept the Stone

With palms together,
Good Morning All,

There is no peace outside of that which we make for ourselves. When we are at peace with ourselves and live in serene reflection, the disturbances of life are just ripples on the pond. Allow the ripples. Accept the stone. No problem.

Our world seems full of pain and suffering. People killing and maiming. People starving. People threatening other people. We might think these are about power and control or money or oil, but I think not. My sense is these are caused by people who suffer greatly. They are victims of their own thoughts and the brains that create them.

When we discover we do not have to be victims, we are free. At that moment of discovery, we realize all of our suffering is created by our mind and its need to have something to do. This is not to say that our pain is not real. If I touch the griddle at Zen Center as I did the other day, it will burn me, as it did. Yet, that is not suffering. Suffering occurs when I get caught in a web of thoughts about that incident and the pain surrounding it.

Who do I blame? Why did it happen? Shouldn't something be done to protect me from injury? These are the footprints of suffering.

If we let these thoughts go, attend to the burn, go on with our lives, no suffering.

As the public service announcements suggest, a mind is a terrible thing to waste. Allowing our mind free rein is a worse.

Practice zazen today.

Be well.

A Hammer is But One Tool

With palms together,
Good Morning All,

As someone who has spent a lifetime developing a critical mind, I am now spending the rest of my life learning to see it as both a tool and a hindrance. We should each strive to develop our mind. Critical thinking and a sharp wit is important. Knowledge is important. Yet these are not ends in themselves, but rather tools. We must know not only how to use them, but also how not to use them. We must know when to use them and when not to use them.

In spite of what I was once taught, a hammer will not fix the everything. Sometimes a screwdriver, sometimes a chisel, sometimes a pair of pliers: it is not a one tool fits all world.

Zazen can assist us with this. Zazen is being present regardless. It is using discipline to bring our attention to bear without needing to change anything. So if we have reached point "A" that is where we are and we enjoy point A. A thought of point B takes us away from point A. A thought of point B diminishes point B. Enjoy point A.

Wisdom is our ultimate acceptance of the limits of our tools.

Be well.

Get a Grip

With palms together,
Good Morning All,

Zen living is an everyday experience. It really does not matter what religion you follow, whether you believe in a God or not, or much of anything else. Zen living is living with an open eye and open heart. Zen living is living with a willingness to be still even when in motion. It is an attitude and a practice. It cam become a religion. It can become a philosophy. Yet in either case it is both and neither.

If we commit to a meditation practice and meet our daily commitment, several things will happen., First you will develop a deep satisfaction over having committed to setting aside time to be with just yourself and your experience of yourself. Second, you Will learn a great deal from this time on the cushion. Third, you will develop the ability to remain present regardless of the experience.

In the end, you learn what you already know. Your time with yourself on your cushion serves as a confirmation of this knowledge. Finally, you discover it is nothing special and yet extraordinary at the same time.

I invite you each to establish a daily meditation practice. It does take a commitment. And a commitment requires something of us. It requires that the commitment must trump our feelings and thoughts. This is the discipline of the practice. For those coming to meditation as a way of feeling good, this is a huge stumbling block because it is those folks who are usually slave to their emotions and live undisciplined and chaotic lives as a result.

I say to you, get a grip. The reins are yours to hold. Hold them.

Be well.

Sesshin Weekend

With palms together,
Good Morning All,

Our sesshin was a real success! This was the first sesshin we allowed attendance to be staggered. It was a little uncomfortable for those control freaks among us, me, to deal with but deal I did.

We also had our Zen Center being re-roofed during the weekend. This meant sitting under tearing wood, pounding hammers, and the chatter of the workers (not to mention their footsteps overhead, as we sat silently through the weekend.

The Sunday culmination of the retreat was beautiful as we each offered a piece of cake to the Hungry Ghosts, a symbolic gesture and commitment to those in need of our help, and honored those who have taken their next steps along the Zen Buddhist path.

Ryan Weeks took the Three Refuges and became Zen To; Mike Mu Shin OMalley took the Precepts as his own, and Bonnie Busho Hobbs entered the priesthood as a Novitiate.



Be well.