Good Morning Everyone,
When we talk about compassion we mean well. But compassion is not a thought. It cannot be articulated. Compassion is being. It is our complete buddha nature as it is. Talk about it takes us away from it, creates a dualism between this and that...as all talk seems to do.
Step into your day with the compassion on a deep knowledge of your oneness with everything. Touch the floor with your foot as if you are touching yourself, because you are. Listen to your boss or your partner or your children as if they were yourself because they are. Avoid stepping on that ant on the sidewalk. Offer a cup of tea to a friend, pay for a stranger's dinner at a restaurant, visit a hospital or nursing home and say hello to someone who is suffering there. For there we are as well.
Compassion is so easy to talk about, so challenging to be.Practice helps.
May you be a blessing in the universe.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Not By Bread Alone
With palms together,
Good Afternoon Everyone,
This day was full. Rising this morning, I studied the Torah portion for the week and was delighted that it was a wonderful teaching: "...man does not live by bread alone..." Deut. 8:3. Within this Torah portion God reminds us to be mindful and respectful, but mostly to keep our minds and hearts open. The Jews had left Egypt, had wandered in the desert forty years, leaving all that they knew. They are now about to cross over into the promised land. God says to them, to paraphrase, 'you'll have everything you will need.'
Very Zen. Wherever we are, we are complete and have exactly what we need. Nothing to eat? No problem, a little hot water, some flour, a little salt: bread...well, matzo. Master Dogen teaches us to treasure every bit. God asks the same. Moreover, the Infinite is present in every bite, every sip, every breath. We should pay homage to this reality.
When we leave what we know, everything has the potential to nourish us, because we are without assumptions about what is good or bad. A hot sun is neither hot or cold: a glass of water is the same as wine. Each breath, a blessing. Everything is an offering. And there is no trash.
This afternoon I visited two friends in the hospital. One just lost her leg; another was subject to a stroke. There I am. We are one in the same. I sit with her, I stand and walk with him. Each breath, each step, a blessing.
My one friend wants help dealing with the pain. Together we practice meditation, placing our attention on our nose, pain? Breath in. Pain? Breath out. We can have pain, but not suffer. Pain is just pain, it is a feeling in the moment. It is and is not. Suffering is our desire not to experience what we are experiencing. Cut it. Experience. Breath in, breath out, nothing more than that.
We should be thankful we are born human beings, thankful we are encountering the dharma, and thankful for the opportunity to practice. It is all that is asked of us, as in this practice, is the Heart of Being, call it Buddha, call it God, call it Nothing.
Be well.
Good Afternoon Everyone,
This day was full. Rising this morning, I studied the Torah portion for the week and was delighted that it was a wonderful teaching: "...man does not live by bread alone..." Deut. 8:3. Within this Torah portion God reminds us to be mindful and respectful, but mostly to keep our minds and hearts open. The Jews had left Egypt, had wandered in the desert forty years, leaving all that they knew. They are now about to cross over into the promised land. God says to them, to paraphrase, 'you'll have everything you will need.'
Very Zen. Wherever we are, we are complete and have exactly what we need. Nothing to eat? No problem, a little hot water, some flour, a little salt: bread...well, matzo. Master Dogen teaches us to treasure every bit. God asks the same. Moreover, the Infinite is present in every bite, every sip, every breath. We should pay homage to this reality.
When we leave what we know, everything has the potential to nourish us, because we are without assumptions about what is good or bad. A hot sun is neither hot or cold: a glass of water is the same as wine. Each breath, a blessing. Everything is an offering. And there is no trash.
This afternoon I visited two friends in the hospital. One just lost her leg; another was subject to a stroke. There I am. We are one in the same. I sit with her, I stand and walk with him. Each breath, each step, a blessing.
My one friend wants help dealing with the pain. Together we practice meditation, placing our attention on our nose, pain? Breath in. Pain? Breath out. We can have pain, but not suffer. Pain is just pain, it is a feeling in the moment. It is and is not. Suffering is our desire not to experience what we are experiencing. Cut it. Experience. Breath in, breath out, nothing more than that.
We should be thankful we are born human beings, thankful we are encountering the dharma, and thankful for the opportunity to practice. It is all that is asked of us, as in this practice, is the Heart of Being, call it Buddha, call it God, call it Nothing.
Be well.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Living Zen
With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
My goodness, a late start on writing. Each morning I sit down to write. It is part of my practice. Usually this practice occurs after zazen, after my walk, and before breakfast. But today is different. Its a new day. I am stepping out of my box. When we do something a little different, news views appear before us. Writing in daylight, with the day well begun, offers a somewhat different platform.
This morning I went to the lab and had blood drawn in anticipation of my annual physical next week. While sitting in the waiting room I read a piece out of my Dharma Grandfather's book, "The Kyosaku". He was talking about Zazen as practice realization. This is such an important point. And, as some have said, we in the West do not talk about enlightenment enough.
Matsuoka Roshi was teaching from Master Dogen's Genjo Koan. He was linking practice realization to every moment Zen, or what he liked to call Mokusho Zen, Living Zen. I teach this as thusness: It is the Zen of this finger on this key at this moment with appreciation and complete awareness of both the key and finger and the finger and key's impermanence. We sit upright, body as buddha, we place our mind, mind as buddha: things come, things go, only buddha. We get off our cushion, body is buddha, we take a step, step as buddha. We sip our coffee, coffee is buddha; grandchild cries, we cry. We care, the universe is cared for; the universe cares, we are cared for. No duality exists, yet there it is.
Our mind arises from an organic combination of chemicals and electrical impulses. We should not confuse our mind with reality. Yet, our mind creates a reality so billions and billions of realities exist, all framed up by little cells with electrical charges flowing, interconnecting, interdependent. No organic compound, conditioned just right: no mind. No awareness.
In our practice, we ask that we approach the cushion with great faith, faith in the ancestors, in the buddha way. Our faith is in our practice. We sit. Five minutes zazen; five minutes buddha. But make no mistake, have faith, one day five minutes buddha, eternal buddha.
With palms together,
A bow to each of you.
Good Morning Everyone,
My goodness, a late start on writing. Each morning I sit down to write. It is part of my practice. Usually this practice occurs after zazen, after my walk, and before breakfast. But today is different. Its a new day. I am stepping out of my box. When we do something a little different, news views appear before us. Writing in daylight, with the day well begun, offers a somewhat different platform.
This morning I went to the lab and had blood drawn in anticipation of my annual physical next week. While sitting in the waiting room I read a piece out of my Dharma Grandfather's book, "The Kyosaku". He was talking about Zazen as practice realization. This is such an important point. And, as some have said, we in the West do not talk about enlightenment enough.
Matsuoka Roshi was teaching from Master Dogen's Genjo Koan. He was linking practice realization to every moment Zen, or what he liked to call Mokusho Zen, Living Zen. I teach this as thusness: It is the Zen of this finger on this key at this moment with appreciation and complete awareness of both the key and finger and the finger and key's impermanence. We sit upright, body as buddha, we place our mind, mind as buddha: things come, things go, only buddha. We get off our cushion, body is buddha, we take a step, step as buddha. We sip our coffee, coffee is buddha; grandchild cries, we cry. We care, the universe is cared for; the universe cares, we are cared for. No duality exists, yet there it is.
Our mind arises from an organic combination of chemicals and electrical impulses. We should not confuse our mind with reality. Yet, our mind creates a reality so billions and billions of realities exist, all framed up by little cells with electrical charges flowing, interconnecting, interdependent. No organic compound, conditioned just right: no mind. No awareness.
In our practice, we ask that we approach the cushion with great faith, faith in the ancestors, in the buddha way. Our faith is in our practice. We sit. Five minutes zazen; five minutes buddha. But make no mistake, have faith, one day five minutes buddha, eternal buddha.
With palms together,
A bow to each of you.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
This morning was beautiful with an early morning moonset and a glorious sunrise. Unfortunately, the moonset became obscured by clouds, but the clouds' presence in the sky made for an awesome view of the sun rising over the mountains here in Las Cruces.
Life seems to work that way. Look one way, clouds obscure; look another, clouds become a dreamscape. Same clouds, different view. Here's the Zen: appreciate the clouds regardless of the view.
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
This morning was beautiful with an early morning moonset and a glorious sunrise. Unfortunately, the moonset became obscured by clouds, but the clouds' presence in the sky made for an awesome view of the sun rising over the mountains here in Las Cruces.
Life seems to work that way. Look one way, clouds obscure; look another, clouds become a dreamscape. Same clouds, different view. Here's the Zen: appreciate the clouds regardless of the view.
Be well.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Morning Again
With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
This morning I woke at my regular time, 4:30, and witnessed the moon set. I cannot help but think of Master Dogen and his apparent fascination with the moon. I share this fascination. Serene reflection illumination. It kind of fits with my obsession with morning light. Its all transition, fluid, penetrating.
Ever since Vietnam when I forced myself to stay awake through the night after being shot in the head, I have had this fascination. I have sought that light, that light would signal my safety, my life. The light of early morning is soft, tender, and reaches out as a slow surf spreads across the sand. Cold to warm, dark to light, and in an instant aware: no dark, no light, no cold, no warm. Just this serenity.
And so sunrise has a particular meaning for me.
Wake up!
Good Morning Everyone,
This morning I woke at my regular time, 4:30, and witnessed the moon set. I cannot help but think of Master Dogen and his apparent fascination with the moon. I share this fascination. Serene reflection illumination. It kind of fits with my obsession with morning light. Its all transition, fluid, penetrating.
Ever since Vietnam when I forced myself to stay awake through the night after being shot in the head, I have had this fascination. I have sought that light, that light would signal my safety, my life. The light of early morning is soft, tender, and reaches out as a slow surf spreads across the sand. Cold to warm, dark to light, and in an instant aware: no dark, no light, no cold, no warm. Just this serenity.
And so sunrise has a particular meaning for me.
Wake up!
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Arahat
With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
Some of us just need to be somewhere. We are not satisfied with where we are. Biting an apple is just not the same unless we bite that apple as an "Awakened" one, yet the moment we do, we clearly are asleep. Practice realization is not good enough. Zen is not good enough. Some of us have to pronounce our enlightenment. As Daniel Ingram and his derivative, Kenneth Folk, says, "I'm an Arahat". Perhaps.
If you are a student of Zen, a member of the Zen tradition, you let these thoughts drop away. Master Seung Sahn says, "put it down!"
Just bite the damned apple and move on.
Our practice, that is to say, Soto Zen practice, is a practice of engagement. This engagement is outlined in our precepts and bodhisattva vows. Enlightenment is not a goal, it is a way of being that requires practice and moment-to-moment renunciation of self-interest. Seeking enlightenment is not the same as having 'the thought of enlightenment" as Dogan suggests in his Shoshogi:
"[18] To arouse the thought of enlightenment is to vow to save all beings before saving ourselves. Whether lay person or monk, whether a deva or a human, whether suffering or at ease, we should quickly form the intent of first saving others before saving ourselves."
Master Dogen points out clearly that our actions are toward the benefit of others, other's enlightenment, not our own. So this way of being, the buddha way, is a practice of enacting this vow.
Let us practice together, and let the need to be enlightened go.
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
Some of us just need to be somewhere. We are not satisfied with where we are. Biting an apple is just not the same unless we bite that apple as an "Awakened" one, yet the moment we do, we clearly are asleep. Practice realization is not good enough. Zen is not good enough. Some of us have to pronounce our enlightenment. As Daniel Ingram and his derivative, Kenneth Folk, says, "I'm an Arahat". Perhaps.
If you are a student of Zen, a member of the Zen tradition, you let these thoughts drop away. Master Seung Sahn says, "put it down!"
Just bite the damned apple and move on.
Our practice, that is to say, Soto Zen practice, is a practice of engagement. This engagement is outlined in our precepts and bodhisattva vows. Enlightenment is not a goal, it is a way of being that requires practice and moment-to-moment renunciation of self-interest. Seeking enlightenment is not the same as having 'the thought of enlightenment" as Dogan suggests in his Shoshogi:
"[18] To arouse the thought of enlightenment is to vow to save all beings before saving ourselves. Whether lay person or monk, whether a deva or a human, whether suffering or at ease, we should quickly form the intent of first saving others before saving ourselves."
Master Dogen points out clearly that our actions are toward the benefit of others, other's enlightenment, not our own. So this way of being, the buddha way, is a practice of enacting this vow.
Let us practice together, and let the need to be enlightened go.
Be well.
Monday, August 3, 2009
No...Yes...Maybe
With palms together,
Good Afternoon Everyone,
According to some, I was almost eaten by a camel yesterday at White Sands National Monument. Such reports are greatly exaggerated. In fact, the camel and I had an understanding. I rubbed his nose, he looked at me. We all want and need attention. Some of us when we've had enough, snort a bit, just to get the message out there. So too, camel. I think I like the camel's way. A clear, unequivocal snort. "Snush!!!" (I'm done, go away!) This is sort of like the kyosaku's smack.
The human way is to often be unclear and messy in our communications. Words like, "maybe", "if, "perhaps", "I'll try", used in the context of a plan between people yuk up the works. They allow for too much internal spin. Wiggle room. Its a fudge factor. So that when things don't go according to plan, or something better comes up, we can always say, "Well, I did say 'maybe'..." In so doing, we think this gets us off the hook and the other person should understand, and perhaps they should, but we are, after all, human, so we have clear limitations in that direction.
My practice is becoming, "Say yes when yes is meant; say no when no is meant; avoid maybe altogether."
This is, of course, not so easy to do. Lots of intervening variables...or so we think, but commitment is commitment, it is not a discipline of "maybe". The practice of learning to say "No" or "Yes" clearly and with definition is an excellent practice.
I'm working on it.
May we each be a blessing in the universe.
Good Afternoon Everyone,
According to some, I was almost eaten by a camel yesterday at White Sands National Monument. Such reports are greatly exaggerated. In fact, the camel and I had an understanding. I rubbed his nose, he looked at me. We all want and need attention. Some of us when we've had enough, snort a bit, just to get the message out there. So too, camel. I think I like the camel's way. A clear, unequivocal snort. "Snush!!!" (I'm done, go away!) This is sort of like the kyosaku's smack.
The human way is to often be unclear and messy in our communications. Words like, "maybe", "if, "perhaps", "I'll try", used in the context of a plan between people yuk up the works. They allow for too much internal spin. Wiggle room. Its a fudge factor. So that when things don't go according to plan, or something better comes up, we can always say, "Well, I did say 'maybe'..." In so doing, we think this gets us off the hook and the other person should understand, and perhaps they should, but we are, after all, human, so we have clear limitations in that direction.
My practice is becoming, "Say yes when yes is meant; say no when no is meant; avoid maybe altogether."
This is, of course, not so easy to do. Lots of intervening variables...or so we think, but commitment is commitment, it is not a discipline of "maybe". The practice of learning to say "No" or "Yes" clearly and with definition is an excellent practice.
I'm working on it.
May we each be a blessing in the universe.
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