With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
A morning like any other: wake, get up, and walk Suki around the building. She particularly enjoys wrapping herself around something and looking at me to see if I can solve the puzzle. Invariably, I do and she is delighted to be able to continue our walk together.
Suki is suffering from a case of Kennel Cough and we have been treating it with medicine the shelter gave us, and by using a humidifier. It is difficult to experience an animal suffer. I gave her pill this morning wrapped in peanut butter, and then sat on the floor brushing her while she licked the remains of the peanut butter from her chops.
We all need nurturance and more often than not, our best nurturance is that which we derive from nurturing others. Giving others the gift of touch or kind speech gives us the opportunity to open our heart and in so doing, our true nature has an avenue to manifest.
Caring changes everything.
Be well.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Social Action, Part Four
With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone.
Social Action, Part Four
The Three Pure Precepts originate from the Dhammapada (v. 183). Here the Buddha says, “To avoid all evil, to cultivate good, and to cleanse one's mind -- this is the teaching of the Buddhas.” We in the Order of Clear Mind Zen argue that the impetus for social action comes directly from these. In the Mahayana tradition, cleansing one’s mind was replaced by the more socially responsible Bodhisattva vow, to bring about the awakening of all beings.
As Zen practitioners we understand the relationship between freeing one’s self and freeing all others is an intimate one. We are, in a very real sense, already free, already one. Yet, the clouds created by the Three Poisons of greed, hatred, and delusion obscure this fact. Our practice is to cut through these clouds in order to see with complete clarity: as we are already free, so are all other beings.
In Zen, we realize evil does not exist as some force independent of us. There is no devil making anyone do anything. Just so, there is no God pulling our strings either. It is therefore our job, with the taking of these precepts, to avoid creating evil on the one hand, and to bring about good, on the other hand. The two fold into the last, which is to say, we avoid evil and do good for the sake of freeing of all beings.
This said, we still have a responsibility to create the conditions upon which others may come to see their own freedom. In this, we address the three poisons directly. It is our way to reduce and eliminate greed, hatred, and delusion in our lives and in the lives of those around us. We do this through manifesting the three antidotes: generosity, compassion, and wisdom. We work simultaneously to reduce or eliminate social conditions based in the poisons while offering the three medicines.
Human beings must have their basic needs met. We must have food, clothing, and shelter. We must be free from fear, fear of oppression, exploitation, and abuse. We must also be offered the tools to arrive at our own freedom. These tools include the contemplative practices of Zen Buddhism.
Be well
Good Morning Everyone.
Social Action, Part Four
The Three Pure Precepts originate from the Dhammapada (v. 183). Here the Buddha says, “To avoid all evil, to cultivate good, and to cleanse one's mind -- this is the teaching of the Buddhas.” We in the Order of Clear Mind Zen argue that the impetus for social action comes directly from these. In the Mahayana tradition, cleansing one’s mind was replaced by the more socially responsible Bodhisattva vow, to bring about the awakening of all beings.
As Zen practitioners we understand the relationship between freeing one’s self and freeing all others is an intimate one. We are, in a very real sense, already free, already one. Yet, the clouds created by the Three Poisons of greed, hatred, and delusion obscure this fact. Our practice is to cut through these clouds in order to see with complete clarity: as we are already free, so are all other beings.
In Zen, we realize evil does not exist as some force independent of us. There is no devil making anyone do anything. Just so, there is no God pulling our strings either. It is therefore our job, with the taking of these precepts, to avoid creating evil on the one hand, and to bring about good, on the other hand. The two fold into the last, which is to say, we avoid evil and do good for the sake of freeing of all beings.
This said, we still have a responsibility to create the conditions upon which others may come to see their own freedom. In this, we address the three poisons directly. It is our way to reduce and eliminate greed, hatred, and delusion in our lives and in the lives of those around us. We do this through manifesting the three antidotes: generosity, compassion, and wisdom. We work simultaneously to reduce or eliminate social conditions based in the poisons while offering the three medicines.
Human beings must have their basic needs met. We must have food, clothing, and shelter. We must be free from fear, fear of oppression, exploitation, and abuse. We must also be offered the tools to arrive at our own freedom. These tools include the contemplative practices of Zen Buddhism.
Be well
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Social Action, Part Three
With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
Social Action, Part Three
Master Dogen said in his Final Instructions, “This monastery is an excellent place. We may become attached to it, but we should live in accord with temporal and worldly conditions. In the buddha-dharma any place is an excellent place for practice.”
To live away from “the world” is a marvelous thing. It enables us to go deeply inside and experience ourselves intimately as we go through the tasks of living. At our Refuge in the mountains where we lived for three years, the first two years we lived without electricity. Our lives were very slow and very deliberate. If I wanted to make biscuits for breakfast I needed to get up at 4:00 AM and get the wood cook stove going. If we wanted water in out tap, I needed to make sure we had the gravity feed tank full. Once or twice a week we would start the generator in order to accomplish tasks that required electricity, such as pumping water, charging the laptop’s batteries, etc.
Under such conditions, meditation and mindfulness were both easy and required. I could (and did) easily hurt myself without mindfulness at the stove or with the axe cutting my daily portion of wood. Meditation was a cinch since without lights, when the sun went down, contemplation came naturally. Eventually, however, we had to leave the Refuge. Groceries were necessary, meetings at the Volunteer Fire Department were scheduled, and visits needed to be made.
It was during this period of my practice life I determined Engaged Zen was necessary. Engaged practice is the practice of not being on auto-pilot. Engaged practice is the practice of the buddhas and is an antidote to the sleepiness of a life become so easy to cruise through. To live in engaged practice requires a commitment to wake up and stay awake.
Social action is a natural consequence of living with our eyes open. When we are awake to the fact that turning on the lights just to have the lights on, or turning on the television just to have it on, is wasteful and and example of sleeping in the present moment, we turn them off. We might replace our incandescent bulbs with more energy efficient spirals. This might lead us to consider not driving our cars so much or finding ways to use less consumable products.
Living away from people teaches us the value of silence and thus the value of right speech when we are with others. Idle chatter is never a good idea and leads to hurtful gossip. Our world is made completely of our own construction. If we need to hate we will find something or someone to hate. If we need to love, we will find something or someone to love.
When we encounter situations and people who are harmful, we engage them with mindful compassion. War is harmful, we engage those making war with peace and understanding. Social Discrimination is harmful, we engage those who discriminate with the wisdom of non-duality. We offer alternatives such as serene reflection meditation and generosity of heart/mind.
Social action is not something writ large with big signs and electric lights. It is the simple practice of walking in the world with our eyes and heart open coupled with a willingness to engage what comes before us in the simplest and most direct manner.
So, as Master Dogen points out in the opening quote, “In the buddha-dharma any place is an excellent place for practice.” This means taking the serenity and mindfulness of our zazen and walking through town with it, through work with it, and through play with it.
May we each be a blessing in the universe.
Rev. Harvey Daiho Hilbert-Roshi
Order of Clear Mind Zen
Clear Mind Zen Temple
Our Order's Store
Telephone: 575-680-6680
See Roshi's personal Calendar
Good Morning Everyone,
Social Action, Part Three
Master Dogen said in his Final Instructions, “This monastery is an excellent place. We may become attached to it, but we should live in accord with temporal and worldly conditions. In the buddha-dharma any place is an excellent place for practice.”
To live away from “the world” is a marvelous thing. It enables us to go deeply inside and experience ourselves intimately as we go through the tasks of living. At our Refuge in the mountains where we lived for three years, the first two years we lived without electricity. Our lives were very slow and very deliberate. If I wanted to make biscuits for breakfast I needed to get up at 4:00 AM and get the wood cook stove going. If we wanted water in out tap, I needed to make sure we had the gravity feed tank full. Once or twice a week we would start the generator in order to accomplish tasks that required electricity, such as pumping water, charging the laptop’s batteries, etc.
Under such conditions, meditation and mindfulness were both easy and required. I could (and did) easily hurt myself without mindfulness at the stove or with the axe cutting my daily portion of wood. Meditation was a cinch since without lights, when the sun went down, contemplation came naturally. Eventually, however, we had to leave the Refuge. Groceries were necessary, meetings at the Volunteer Fire Department were scheduled, and visits needed to be made.
It was during this period of my practice life I determined Engaged Zen was necessary. Engaged practice is the practice of not being on auto-pilot. Engaged practice is the practice of the buddhas and is an antidote to the sleepiness of a life become so easy to cruise through. To live in engaged practice requires a commitment to wake up and stay awake.
Social action is a natural consequence of living with our eyes open. When we are awake to the fact that turning on the lights just to have the lights on, or turning on the television just to have it on, is wasteful and and example of sleeping in the present moment, we turn them off. We might replace our incandescent bulbs with more energy efficient spirals. This might lead us to consider not driving our cars so much or finding ways to use less consumable products.
Living away from people teaches us the value of silence and thus the value of right speech when we are with others. Idle chatter is never a good idea and leads to hurtful gossip. Our world is made completely of our own construction. If we need to hate we will find something or someone to hate. If we need to love, we will find something or someone to love.
When we encounter situations and people who are harmful, we engage them with mindful compassion. War is harmful, we engage those making war with peace and understanding. Social Discrimination is harmful, we engage those who discriminate with the wisdom of non-duality. We offer alternatives such as serene reflection meditation and generosity of heart/mind.
Social action is not something writ large with big signs and electric lights. It is the simple practice of walking in the world with our eyes and heart open coupled with a willingness to engage what comes before us in the simplest and most direct manner.
So, as Master Dogen points out in the opening quote, “In the buddha-dharma any place is an excellent place for practice.” This means taking the serenity and mindfulness of our zazen and walking through town with it, through work with it, and through play with it.
May we each be a blessing in the universe.
Rev. Harvey Daiho Hilbert-Roshi
Order of Clear Mind Zen
Clear Mind Zen Temple
Our Order's Store
Telephone: 575-680-6680
See Roshi's personal Calendar
Monday, June 21, 2010
Social Action, Part Two
With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
Social Action, Part Two
What would Buddha do? Who knows? Who cares? To have such an idea is to consider an ideal, a dream, and wish to impose it on the dharma in front of our eyes. Every situation presents itself as it is and requires our direct and immediate action, even if that action is simply to consider.
How would a buddha address racism? Religious intolerance? Social and economic inequity? War? This is a slightly different question, as we are not talking about a historical person, but rather ourselves when our eyes are open. Still, it takes us in the wrong direction as it asks us to guess by imagining two thoughts: ourselves as awake, and that we are awake in some scenario we might encounter. Next, we might ask is there any such thing as religious intolerance, war, social injustice, in the first place? Or are these, as well, just ideas?
Our common sense says, “of course there is such a thing, I have seen it!” You might say, “Roshi just used a pejorative phrase referring to fundamentalist thinkers as ‘Fundies’!” You might be right. On the other hand, what is under the question? What is the thing itself? The thing before the thought? Which is the issue, the injustice or the label or are they equally so?
This is what this bodhisattva did: On his matter of “Fundies” I decided to ask my friend Garland. We happened to be together at a gathering yesterday. Garland is a man who walks around the City of Las Cruces dragging a large cross on his shoulder. He comes to Torah study with his New Testament. Last year, an accomplished pianist, he gave out CDs of Christmas music to congregation at Temple Beth El. Garland’s response is always based in direct, literal translation of the Bible. He is as close to fundamentalist as I know. So, I asked him about the phrase and the “Left Behind” series I referenced in an earlier post.
He considered these for a moment or two. He agreed that the phrase “Fundie” could be pejorative, but he said it was a matter of perception. He himself rejects the idea that he is a fundamentalist, except that he refers always to his spiritual source when walking in the world. He also told me he thought the books were based on the book of revelation and that he avoided them as they presented a vision of God he was not inclined to agree with, namely a judging, wrathful God. He thought he books were scary, as well, and would not recommend them. Unfortunately, at that point I needed to leave to assist a friend.
What to do? Ask. Healthy living and honest communication requires a bit of a willingness to set aside the baggage of what we think we know and act in the moment from our heart. Garland and I are on opposing sides regarding the Iraq war, opposing sides regarding abortion, opposing sides regarding prayer in schools, etc. But we are on the same side regarding the core issue: living with heart as directly as possible. His source is his text and how he frames his understanding of it; mine is my practice and the lessons I derive from it.
We get into trouble when we begin saying true Buddhists act this way or that. A true Buddhist is first, not a Buddhist, and second, acts without preconceived shoulds. He calls a spade a spade, knowing it is not a spade, and works to get to know spadeness seeing it as both spadeness and not-spadeness at the same time, while not ignoring either. Yet, he can do nothing if he is afraid of the encounter or worries about what others might say.
I have two missions in my life as a bodhisattva. First is to brandish the sword of Manjushri to kill the Buddha in me in order to be a buddha in life, and the second is to offer my experience of that sword to others.
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
Social Action, Part Two
What would Buddha do? Who knows? Who cares? To have such an idea is to consider an ideal, a dream, and wish to impose it on the dharma in front of our eyes. Every situation presents itself as it is and requires our direct and immediate action, even if that action is simply to consider.
How would a buddha address racism? Religious intolerance? Social and economic inequity? War? This is a slightly different question, as we are not talking about a historical person, but rather ourselves when our eyes are open. Still, it takes us in the wrong direction as it asks us to guess by imagining two thoughts: ourselves as awake, and that we are awake in some scenario we might encounter. Next, we might ask is there any such thing as religious intolerance, war, social injustice, in the first place? Or are these, as well, just ideas?
Our common sense says, “of course there is such a thing, I have seen it!” You might say, “Roshi just used a pejorative phrase referring to fundamentalist thinkers as ‘Fundies’!” You might be right. On the other hand, what is under the question? What is the thing itself? The thing before the thought? Which is the issue, the injustice or the label or are they equally so?
This is what this bodhisattva did: On his matter of “Fundies” I decided to ask my friend Garland. We happened to be together at a gathering yesterday. Garland is a man who walks around the City of Las Cruces dragging a large cross on his shoulder. He comes to Torah study with his New Testament. Last year, an accomplished pianist, he gave out CDs of Christmas music to congregation at Temple Beth El. Garland’s response is always based in direct, literal translation of the Bible. He is as close to fundamentalist as I know. So, I asked him about the phrase and the “Left Behind” series I referenced in an earlier post.
He considered these for a moment or two. He agreed that the phrase “Fundie” could be pejorative, but he said it was a matter of perception. He himself rejects the idea that he is a fundamentalist, except that he refers always to his spiritual source when walking in the world. He also told me he thought the books were based on the book of revelation and that he avoided them as they presented a vision of God he was not inclined to agree with, namely a judging, wrathful God. He thought he books were scary, as well, and would not recommend them. Unfortunately, at that point I needed to leave to assist a friend.
What to do? Ask. Healthy living and honest communication requires a bit of a willingness to set aside the baggage of what we think we know and act in the moment from our heart. Garland and I are on opposing sides regarding the Iraq war, opposing sides regarding abortion, opposing sides regarding prayer in schools, etc. But we are on the same side regarding the core issue: living with heart as directly as possible. His source is his text and how he frames his understanding of it; mine is my practice and the lessons I derive from it.
We get into trouble when we begin saying true Buddhists act this way or that. A true Buddhist is first, not a Buddhist, and second, acts without preconceived shoulds. He calls a spade a spade, knowing it is not a spade, and works to get to know spadeness seeing it as both spadeness and not-spadeness at the same time, while not ignoring either. Yet, he can do nothing if he is afraid of the encounter or worries about what others might say.
I have two missions in my life as a bodhisattva. First is to brandish the sword of Manjushri to kill the Buddha in me in order to be a buddha in life, and the second is to offer my experience of that sword to others.
Be well.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Social Action, Part One
With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
The workshop went very well, although I was exhausted by afternoon. It is a considerable amount of work to organize, market, and conduct a workshop. I am not as young as I used to be and it shows.
We had a reasonably good attendance and wonderful participation by those who did. People shared very challenging stories from their past. We sat in mindful silence, practiced deep listening meditation, eating meditation, and writing meditation. Toward the afternoon, we practiced yoga and T’ai Chi Chih. My Teacher, Hogaku-roshi acted as the summation guide.
I would like our Order to do more of these in various parts of the country. We are looking to do one in Northern California in September. Survivors of violence need a little space and recognition of their suffering.
As I listened to people speak, I heard the voices of the perpetrators through the survivor’s mouths: “I am going to f*** you and if you tell anyone, I will hunt you down.” I marveled at the woman attending with still fresh stab wounds made be her ‘boyfriend.’ The subtext of violence is fear and control, it is about domination and subjugation...and it depends on our silence.
People who believe they have the right to harm others need to be addressed. People who believe they are somehow better than others by virtue of gender or race or class, and therefore have a right to control or speak for others, need to be addressed.
I remember a time in South Carolina where I was a social worker in a rural community. A White farmer and a Black share-cropper were having a fight. The White farmer was angry that the Black sharecropper had a voice. He felt the sharecropper owed him deferential silence, after all, he “gave him everything he needed.” This, in a place that religiously insisted it was their right to keep “Whites Only” restaurants, restrooms, and water fountains. He actually told me, “Why that boy, he don’t need to vote, its what wrong with this country.” The “boy” was twenty years his senior and a veteran of WW II.
In the face of such nonsense, we are wrong to remain silent as our silence supports the aggressor.
Next, “what would Buddha do?”
Good Morning Everyone,
The workshop went very well, although I was exhausted by afternoon. It is a considerable amount of work to organize, market, and conduct a workshop. I am not as young as I used to be and it shows.
We had a reasonably good attendance and wonderful participation by those who did. People shared very challenging stories from their past. We sat in mindful silence, practiced deep listening meditation, eating meditation, and writing meditation. Toward the afternoon, we practiced yoga and T’ai Chi Chih. My Teacher, Hogaku-roshi acted as the summation guide.
I would like our Order to do more of these in various parts of the country. We are looking to do one in Northern California in September. Survivors of violence need a little space and recognition of their suffering.
As I listened to people speak, I heard the voices of the perpetrators through the survivor’s mouths: “I am going to f*** you and if you tell anyone, I will hunt you down.” I marveled at the woman attending with still fresh stab wounds made be her ‘boyfriend.’ The subtext of violence is fear and control, it is about domination and subjugation...and it depends on our silence.
People who believe they have the right to harm others need to be addressed. People who believe they are somehow better than others by virtue of gender or race or class, and therefore have a right to control or speak for others, need to be addressed.
I remember a time in South Carolina where I was a social worker in a rural community. A White farmer and a Black share-cropper were having a fight. The White farmer was angry that the Black sharecropper had a voice. He felt the sharecropper owed him deferential silence, after all, he “gave him everything he needed.” This, in a place that religiously insisted it was their right to keep “Whites Only” restaurants, restrooms, and water fountains. He actually told me, “Why that boy, he don’t need to vote, its what wrong with this country.” The “boy” was twenty years his senior and a veteran of WW II.
In the face of such nonsense, we are wrong to remain silent as our silence supports the aggressor.
Next, “what would Buddha do?”
Friday, June 18, 2010
Heaven
With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
The other day I saw a book, one of the “Left Behind” series. Good grief.
There is no one left behind.
I recall my visceral yucky feeling when I first encountered this series of books. I listened to interviews of the author. I was not a happy camper. Actually, at the time, I was quite annoyed. In the world of religion, beliefs such as those espoused by fundamentalists are the most toxic. Fundies completely and deliberately misread text, stand on that misrepresentation, and live with their eyes closed in a world of horror, which they themselves have created and want to thrust on others. I pity them.
Life is deeply and completely organic. It is total, seamless, metabolic process. The “I” that “I AM” is just “memory me”. It has no independent reality apart from the organic processes that enable it to exist. Left behind? Say what?
This reminds me of a conversation we were having at PrayerWorks this week. Someone brought up heaven, what did we think? I thought, hmmm, a place, which no one has ever been to and returned from, what can anyone say? Yet there are those who speak with absolute authority on the subject. Any discussion of heaven is actually a discussion of life after death. And on this, we must remain silent or risk speaking nonsense. What we can examine is our need to hold on to an “I,” a “me” that somehow (and for some reason) “lives” on after death. What’s that about?
I suspect it has something to do with fear of extinction or permanent loss of consciousness. Our practice helps with this, as our practice is to open our grip on such notions in order to let them go. I gave up my “I” in fits and starts: slowly over the years since facing directly my own mortality in combat and subsequently, on the cushion, but more directly and quickly with my diagnosis of a prematurely aging brain. Facing death regularly in its variegated forms will do this. The process exposes concepts for the chimera they are, as we, moment to moment, experience actual life, as it is, directly.
Left behind? I insist! It is where the people are.
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
The other day I saw a book, one of the “Left Behind” series. Good grief.
There is no one left behind.
I recall my visceral yucky feeling when I first encountered this series of books. I listened to interviews of the author. I was not a happy camper. Actually, at the time, I was quite annoyed. In the world of religion, beliefs such as those espoused by fundamentalists are the most toxic. Fundies completely and deliberately misread text, stand on that misrepresentation, and live with their eyes closed in a world of horror, which they themselves have created and want to thrust on others. I pity them.
Life is deeply and completely organic. It is total, seamless, metabolic process. The “I” that “I AM” is just “memory me”. It has no independent reality apart from the organic processes that enable it to exist. Left behind? Say what?
This reminds me of a conversation we were having at PrayerWorks this week. Someone brought up heaven, what did we think? I thought, hmmm, a place, which no one has ever been to and returned from, what can anyone say? Yet there are those who speak with absolute authority on the subject. Any discussion of heaven is actually a discussion of life after death. And on this, we must remain silent or risk speaking nonsense. What we can examine is our need to hold on to an “I,” a “me” that somehow (and for some reason) “lives” on after death. What’s that about?
I suspect it has something to do with fear of extinction or permanent loss of consciousness. Our practice helps with this, as our practice is to open our grip on such notions in order to let them go. I gave up my “I” in fits and starts: slowly over the years since facing directly my own mortality in combat and subsequently, on the cushion, but more directly and quickly with my diagnosis of a prematurely aging brain. Facing death regularly in its variegated forms will do this. The process exposes concepts for the chimera they are, as we, moment to moment, experience actual life, as it is, directly.
Left behind? I insist! It is where the people are.
Be well.
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