With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
Technology and Zen: Part One
Technology. Good grief. What is it in this modern world that drives us to be so connected? My cell phone would not operate in the Condo. Every call required a walkabout outside. (Note: I seem to get a lot of calls.) This situation drove me to Skype, a wonderful computer program that enables telephone and video calls. I considered giving up the cell phone and installing a satellite card in the Notebook, but they tell me the bandwidth requirements were excessive and my monthly fees would be high. I needed access to various email accounts, Skype, telephone, Face Book, Blogger.com, and Tricycle.com. Most of my work as a monk is through the Internet and through the use of these various technologies. So.
I broke down and ordered a new phone and phone service. Then I spent the next several days trying to actually get the new phone shipped. This was followed by another several hours yesterday trying to get the thing to work. And now, finally I have it able to receive and send calls (imagine that!), but I still cannot get the email function to work properly (as it seems dedicated to Google mail) …I was able to sync in my Yahoo account info, but so far cannot get additional mail, except through a browser window. I managed to connect Face Book and the Blue Tooth thingy, as well: A Zen cyborg, I.
New Mexico now has a Cyborg law. We have to have an implant in our ear in order to use the phone while driving. I understand this and even support the hands free part, but goodness, there has to be another way! Everywhere I turn, earpieces, and now me!
Which brings me back to my question, what is the drive to be so connected: technology in service to connectivity for the sake of what?
See Part Two
Organ Mountain Zen
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Darkness
With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
This morning it is a delightful dark outside. The bulb in the door light has blown out and I am pleased at its passing. Darkness seems underrated, light overrated. In the darkness, we more easily access stillness. In the darkness, we more easily access ourselves. Light provides a myriad of distractions and takes our attention away that we might see what is there to see. So, a blown-out light bulb provides a respite from the light and I reside for a moment, with Suki, in the dark as she does her morning business.
Suki seems to be doing a little better. Less hacking, no blurry eyes, and her nose seems much better. I have an appointment with a veterinarian tomorrow. I am hopeful she will offer some medicines in addition to that which I am using. She has a lot of heart. Clearly, she struggles valiantly to be well.
Zen life is like that, putting one foot in front of the other aiming to complete the journey, but not really knowing what that means. We abandon meaning for the sake of the experience of each breath. And when asked, “Is that all there is?” We say, “Yes.”
Each breath is life itself, entirely and completely. Each blink of the eye, turn of the mouth, movement of a finger or foot, is the universe arousing itself. Being well is nothing more or less than being awake in this arousal.
May your journey today be what it is, but that it is peaceful and safe.
Good Morning Everyone,
This morning it is a delightful dark outside. The bulb in the door light has blown out and I am pleased at its passing. Darkness seems underrated, light overrated. In the darkness, we more easily access stillness. In the darkness, we more easily access ourselves. Light provides a myriad of distractions and takes our attention away that we might see what is there to see. So, a blown-out light bulb provides a respite from the light and I reside for a moment, with Suki, in the dark as she does her morning business.
Suki seems to be doing a little better. Less hacking, no blurry eyes, and her nose seems much better. I have an appointment with a veterinarian tomorrow. I am hopeful she will offer some medicines in addition to that which I am using. She has a lot of heart. Clearly, she struggles valiantly to be well.
Zen life is like that, putting one foot in front of the other aiming to complete the journey, but not really knowing what that means. We abandon meaning for the sake of the experience of each breath. And when asked, “Is that all there is?” We say, “Yes.”
Each breath is life itself, entirely and completely. Each blink of the eye, turn of the mouth, movement of a finger or foot, is the universe arousing itself. Being well is nothing more or less than being awake in this arousal.
May your journey today be what it is, but that it is peaceful and safe.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Suki's Moment
With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
Life seems to test us. Life does not seem to test us. On the one hand, as our brain separates us from what life is, we can perceive it as something outside of us; testing us, embracing us, celebrating, or supporting us. On the other hand, if we realize there is nothing outside of us, that this inside/outside is just a function of our brain perception and organization and not reality, then nothing is presenting itself in any way, we are just living.
Suki is still sick. Another trip to the shelter revealed a threat to her life. The vet tech thought that maybe she had distemper. Since I do not “own” her yet, as the mandatory waiting period and spaying has not occurred, they could simply seize her and put her down. We are trying a heavier dose of drugs and a few other things. She seems to be doing well, but for the cough, and has no symptoms of distemper itself.
One way of looking at this situation is it is another loss in a row of losses. I could add them up, say OMG, and feel like crap. Another way is to say, “Suki is ill, care for her.”
Tomorrow is an imagining, yesterday a fictionalized memory. This moment, this moment is all there actually is. My function in this moment is to care.
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
Life seems to test us. Life does not seem to test us. On the one hand, as our brain separates us from what life is, we can perceive it as something outside of us; testing us, embracing us, celebrating, or supporting us. On the other hand, if we realize there is nothing outside of us, that this inside/outside is just a function of our brain perception and organization and not reality, then nothing is presenting itself in any way, we are just living.
Suki is still sick. Another trip to the shelter revealed a threat to her life. The vet tech thought that maybe she had distemper. Since I do not “own” her yet, as the mandatory waiting period and spaying has not occurred, they could simply seize her and put her down. We are trying a heavier dose of drugs and a few other things. She seems to be doing well, but for the cough, and has no symptoms of distemper itself.
One way of looking at this situation is it is another loss in a row of losses. I could add them up, say OMG, and feel like crap. Another way is to say, “Suki is ill, care for her.”
Tomorrow is an imagining, yesterday a fictionalized memory. This moment, this moment is all there actually is. My function in this moment is to care.
Be well.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Rain
With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
This morning the air feels heavy. The rainy season is fast approaching. In the desert southwest we typically get rain, often heavy, in the afternoons each day through August and sometimes into September. It is a pleasant season overall, cooler due to the afternoon overcast sky, but the humidity rises and in can get quite uncomfortable, especially in large black robes.
Yesterday, we held our Zen discussion group and the section of the Platform Sutra we addressed was the Fifth Patriarch’s request for his students to show their understanding and the senior disciple’s poetic reply. He writes on the wall,
“The body is a bodhi tree
The mind is like a standing mirror
Always try to keep it clean
Don’t let it gather dust.”
As a corollary, I introduced a koan Student that John S and I were working on, Master Langye’s “Original Purity.” This is Case 6, from Master Dogen’s True Dharma Eye and puts forth the notion that all things appear and each of them are dharma gates: so what is purity?
These two points of ancient text stand as kyosaku. The senior disciple has part of it. He teaches us serenity and practice, but he does so with an aim: the aim of purity. Red Pine points out that the poem “is not the teaching that sets us free, but the teaching that itself becomes a burden…”(p.99).
Master Dogen’s koan offers us a way through the problem: everything is pure, everything. As Daido Loori points out, “There is nothing outside of it.”
The result? Pure and Impure lose their meaning. What is left is absolute Oneness.
Rain is not rain, it is just what we call rain; rain is just rain and it appears as though we might get some today.
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
This morning the air feels heavy. The rainy season is fast approaching. In the desert southwest we typically get rain, often heavy, in the afternoons each day through August and sometimes into September. It is a pleasant season overall, cooler due to the afternoon overcast sky, but the humidity rises and in can get quite uncomfortable, especially in large black robes.
Yesterday, we held our Zen discussion group and the section of the Platform Sutra we addressed was the Fifth Patriarch’s request for his students to show their understanding and the senior disciple’s poetic reply. He writes on the wall,
“The body is a bodhi tree
The mind is like a standing mirror
Always try to keep it clean
Don’t let it gather dust.”
As a corollary, I introduced a koan Student that John S and I were working on, Master Langye’s “Original Purity.” This is Case 6, from Master Dogen’s True Dharma Eye and puts forth the notion that all things appear and each of them are dharma gates: so what is purity?
These two points of ancient text stand as kyosaku. The senior disciple has part of it. He teaches us serenity and practice, but he does so with an aim: the aim of purity. Red Pine points out that the poem “is not the teaching that sets us free, but the teaching that itself becomes a burden…”(p.99).
Master Dogen’s koan offers us a way through the problem: everything is pure, everything. As Daido Loori points out, “There is nothing outside of it.”
The result? Pure and Impure lose their meaning. What is left is absolute Oneness.
Rain is not rain, it is just what we call rain; rain is just rain and it appears as though we might get some today.
Be well.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Notes
With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
This morning is Street Zen at Sagecrest Park. I enjoy very much sitting under the trees at this pleasant little park. Birds do their morning dances and people walk their dogs, gathering in small pockets of the park to share stories.
Afterwards, I am going to T or C to talk with our webmaster. From there, its back to the Zendo for a Dokusan appointment followed by our weekly Zen Discussion Group at 4:00 PM. Everyone is welcome to attend.
Sesshin approaches for the second weekend of July. We have space for one additional person at this point. Confirmed registrants include Daiho, Bussho, Zen Shin, Dai Shugyo, Soku Shin, and from California, Ko Myo, Casey Cochran, and John Sorenson.
Donation for the weekend is $25.00. Meals included.
Please register now if you want to attend.
Lastly, we have availble copies of my booklet, "The Zen of Trauma" ($2.00) and the DVD short independent film, "Street Zen" ($12.00) . If you would like a copy, please email me.
Thank you.
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
This morning is Street Zen at Sagecrest Park. I enjoy very much sitting under the trees at this pleasant little park. Birds do their morning dances and people walk their dogs, gathering in small pockets of the park to share stories.
Afterwards, I am going to T or C to talk with our webmaster. From there, its back to the Zendo for a Dokusan appointment followed by our weekly Zen Discussion Group at 4:00 PM. Everyone is welcome to attend.
Sesshin approaches for the second weekend of July. We have space for one additional person at this point. Confirmed registrants include Daiho, Bussho, Zen Shin, Dai Shugyo, Soku Shin, and from California, Ko Myo, Casey Cochran, and John Sorenson.
Donation for the weekend is $25.00. Meals included.
Please register now if you want to attend.
Lastly, we have availble copies of my booklet, "The Zen of Trauma" ($2.00) and the DVD short independent film, "Street Zen" ($12.00) . If you would like a copy, please email me.
Thank you.
Be well.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Caring
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.
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.
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
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