Knowing What We Know?

With palms together,
Good Morning All,

When we practice zazen, we are just present with ourselves. Self encounters self. Sometimes we argue with each other, sometimes we run from each other, sometimes we watch movies of one, none of this is zazen. But every time we notice that we are doing these things and bring ourselves back to the present moment, we are practicing zazen. Zazen is in the noticing. It is the being, not the becoming.

When we encounter something and act like a human being we ask questions, sometimes out loud and directly, but more often secretly and to ourselves. What's this? Who is this? Where is this? Why is this? And we put these things into a time-line of 'when is this?' All perfectly natural. But all in the mind. Each of these questions take us far away from the experience of the thing we are encountering.

We answer our questions and believe we know something about the thing when in fact we know something about our thoughts about the thing. And there is a dramatic difference. This is why we can say it is a mistake to say, incense becomes ash.

So, the next time you experience something new. Stop at the point of experience. Keep the experience and let the thoughts about it go. This is zazen.

Be well.

Of an Afternoon

With palms together,
Good Morning All,

This morning was a wonder. Tate woke with a serious hunger! Screeching until he had breakfast. The Zoo was too much for him, I guess, and he went to sleep last night hard and fast. At the Zoo earlier in the day, I had walked enough and sat down near the Pandas to finish reading a book I thoughtfully tucked in my shirt.

It was a wonderful experience to sit and witness the families, the excitement of the children, and the sounds of wildlife. Pema Chodron's book on peace in times of war is a very good effort at teaching us to be present in the face of danger. I closed it and sat on the forward edge of my seat outside under some trees.

A man noticed me sitting there and asked if I were meditating. I smiled and said, "I am." He replied that he was "Chillin'" as well, as he sorted the chairs and otherwise cleaned the area. He was Black and a hard worker; I am White and hardly work at all. He had a heavy gold cross around his neck, I had a string of 108 beads running through my fingers. He was Zen in motion, I was Zen in stillness, we both shared the moment together.

Life is like that.

Be well.

Sounds of Life

With palms together,
Good Morning All,

Well, we are in Memphis and have filled ourselves with either Turkey or Tofu Turkey depending...and lots of pumpkin pie with tons of whipped cream and cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes: so predictable, yet so delicious.

It is good to be with family, though I wish all of us could be together. In a very real sense, though, we are. With every breath we take we are human beings alive in a world we deeply share with each other. Our thankfulness should not end with yesterday's sundown, but should spread out throughout the universe with our every action.

So, today we take a walk, smell the cool autumn air, and feel each step with very excited baby sounds piercing our ears.

Be well.

Some Little Things

With palms together,
Good Morning All,

There it is, the morning sun rising. My goodness how bright! I sat alone in the Zendo this morning. I actually cherish those times when I am alone there. (Please don't take this to mean you shouldn't come!) It is so still, so quiet, save the chirps of sundry birds outside. In such lovely stillness one can reside, yet we each should know that such moments are but brief respites that assist us to navigate clearly through a day.

In the morning we leave for Memphis. I look forward to seeing Dragon Tate, the grandson. I wish we could see Olivia, our little Florida pumpkin,the littlest granddaughter or Sami, our Teenage grand daughter, and our array of children who seem scattered like so many seeds. Maybe in the months to come.

Life is like that. We open our eyes and there it is. We do what is there for us to do, we float along and let the rest drop away. When we get all caught up in the woulda-shoulda mind trap, we sink. No sinking allowed.

In the meantime we love and that's a very good thing. We love our neighbors and our friends. We love our partners. We love the air we breathe and the food we eat and all the good things that make our lives what they are. Its important to be mindful of these things.

Be well.

Matsuoka

With palms together,
Good Afternoon All,

It is nearly the end of morning. We have been busy around the homestead. Zen Center was a delight this morning and yesterday we had a full house once again! Our Board meeting went well as we reviewed the bi-laws approached one step closer to 501c3 status.

Our Zen Center clearly has grown and matured since we began some 5 or 6 years ago in a small room in my home. We have our own facility, we are offering a full range of zazen, as well as children friendly services. I am personally delighted about the numbers of regular sitters and the group of this forum and its membership. Yet, we are still small and, I hope, homey. Such a good hing.

Today is a very special day. We honor Matsuoka-roshi today. For those of you who do not know, Rev. Dr. Soyu Matsuoka-roshi is my Dharma grandfather. He established several zen Centers in the US in the sixties, seventies, and eighties. Atlanta, Chicago, Long Beach, and through my Teacher, Las Cruces and Cloudcroft. Little is known about him, as he never published a book (although there is one in process). He was born and died in the same month, November. There is a picture of him on our website at http://www.daihoji.org/ as well as http://www.zencenteroflascruces.org/

Without his effort, courage, and willingness to come to America from Sojiji, we would not be gathered here together in person or online. Nine bows to him.

Be well.

Tangles

With palms together,
Good Morning All,

"Not the faults of others, nor what others have done or left undone, but one's own deeds, done and left undone, should one consider." the Buddha

The truth is so hard to take sometimes. We live in a world where it seems we are always judging. Well, I should really speak for myself. I live in a world where I seem to always be judging. In this world is pain and suffering and I realize I am its cause.

If I were t place my sole attention on being the person I know I am, no problem. If I were to look at others as myself, no problem...well, maybe big problem, since I can be pretty hard on myself. But you get the point.

It is so important to take care of one's own business, it is a first step to being upright. Yet so much easier to look somewhere else and pay attention to others.

When we sit zazen we are left with only ourselves. Just us with our breath and our mind and our senses. Yikes! Still, if we have the courage to continue to sit there, we begin to see clearly the work that needs to be done. The ball of yarn begins to unravel of its own accord and there we are, free of the tangles of delusion.

So, we get up off the cushion and do what is there for us to do. All the while letting others do the same.

Be well.

On Being Outside the Box

With palms together,
Good Evening All,

Is there ever a time when we are ready to live as completely as possible? It would seem we are often living with one foot in the grave, "Oh, don't do that, you'll get hurt!" "Oh, that is just too risky, better not go there!" And so on.

I don't know. I wonder about this sometimes.

One of the reasons we don't live to our full potential is fear, but not so much of getting hurt in the ordinary sense. Rather, this is fear of a different sort; getting hurt in the psychic sense. We are afraid of what people will think of us if we are just ourselves. So we put on, we dress the part, and play roles, never allowing our true selves to emerge.

I remember how liberating it was to find out that even if I make a complete fool of myself, if done honestly, it really didn't matter. People can be hurtful, true. But mostly they are very compassionate and caring human beings. Such liberation is compelling. And I believe people respond best to authentic human beings.

I sometimes laugh a lot. I am also sometimes depressed. I enjoy being with people most of the time. Negative energy and people who seem to be dying before their time are a challenge for me. When I am in their presence, I feel the drain. Yet, I think this is a key practice. To learn to be present in each and every moment and to be open to every being regardless of how I might be feeling at that moment. How else can one be of service? We really don't have the luxury of picking sand choosing our moments to be buddhas

Each of us in a universal being. We each share original mind. Each of us is a particular being. Each of us possess unique qualities. It is up to us to discover and value these things. Being a real person is a necessary first step.

Be well.