Tug-o-War

With palms together,


Good Morning Everyone,



Morning came early today thanks to warring between pups. Tripper and Suki were playing tug-o-war with a rope toy when it turned ugly. Nobody was bloodied, but the growls were serious. “OUTSIDE!” I said in my most stern voice. That was 3:15. Since then the poor rope toy has been shredded. I am sipping coffee, having just enjoyed two pieces of toasted whole wheat bread with honey.



This morning at 9:00 AM, we will invite the bell to ring and we will sit with our own wrestling dogs. Zazen is sometimes like that, thoughts and feelings playing out a tug-o-war in the theater of our mind. Some of these conflicts are very difficult to “let go of” as they have a tendency to play out over and over. The trick is to get ahead of the wave. Practice teaches us to pay attention to nuance, from there, to the gentle rising of a ripple heading to full-blown wave.



Pay attention: Notice, let go; notice, let go. If the wave becomes overwhelming, surrender. Paradoxically, the wave resolves. In other words, give permission for something arguing to be, and it will lose its power. We are on the cushion to bear witness, not to change. Yet, in the act of bearing witness, everything changes.



Be well.

Work

With palms together,


Good Morning Everyone,



My goodness, this morning I woke at a quarter after eight! For me, that is very beyond late. I think my tardiness might have something to do with the fact that we are now past the Opening and Dedication of the Temple. In addition, Saturday is my day off. Whatever the reason, it was a delicious moment to wake up to light coming in through the windows.



I am one of those individuals who feels the need to always be working. Not physical work, mind you, but the sort of work that takes place in one’s heart/mind. It’s a sort of creation thing, like an artist, I suppose. For me life is this creation process and because it is what it is, it resides in every moment. It is very difficult for me to step away from my creation. Why? This question is what I call a ‘practice point.’



It has been said that we create ourselves through our work. If this is true, then it might mean that for me to stop working is for me to stop living. More, that my very self is dependent on my work; without work, the I that is me no longer exists.



So, the problem is that the work which should be for itself becomes something in service to me. A further question arises: What am I doing what I do for? This is also a key question. In a very real way it takes me to the central question of Zen practice: the matter of life and death.



There is hindrance of the mind and there is no hindrance of the mind. When we reside in no hindrance of the mind, there is no fear as we are beyond delusive thinking: no birth, no death. When we reside in hindrance of the mind, we are residing in delusive thinking: there, we reside in fear, because there reside birth and death.



Being awake means we are fully aware of both states of being and that each depend on the other.



At this point in our practice we should let go of it all. Aware that Big Mind requires Small Mind and that Small Mind requires Big Mind is delusion itself.

At this point, we set it all aside, let it all fall away, and just breathe. There is no work; there is no not work.

At this point, there is just the light coming through the window and dogs sleeping at my feet.



Be well

Perfection

With palms together,


Good Morning Everyone,



Opening and Dedication today at 4:00 PM.



This promises to be a busy day and to meet it I decided to take the night “off” last night to rest. Rev. Kajo did the evening Zen service for the Temple. This morning I spoke with Rev. Dai Shugyo and arranged for he and Zen Shin will meet at Temple at 9:00 AM for Zazen and, later, planning.



Somewhere in between Zazen and the Opening, I need to get supplies, a shower, shave my head, print handouts, and prepare the Temple for lots of visitors.



I am practicing letting go of perfection practice. In this practice, we let go of our ideas of perfection and realize perfection as it arises naturally. I recommend this practice, but it only truly opens, I believe, through adversity and stress. Like a koan, we rarely actualize it until we are at the end of our proverbial rope. Once there, we can practice letting go of perfection and then take the practice into the everyday world.



I have been thinking about this a lot lately. Maturity in practice is critical and it only happens with a willingness to reflect, contextualize, and let go. As my friend Rudi, from Tricycle.com says, its prajna. Frankly, I think we expect far too much of ourselves far too early in our practice. Just practice. This is all that really matters in the Zen world.



And now, on to the Temple for my day.



Be well.

May I Help You?

With palms together,


Good Morning Everyone,



Tomorrow we offer our new Temple to all sentient beings. I am very pleased that we have established, finally, a Temple for the Order of Clear Mind Zen. Interesting things are happening. We are experiencing “drop ins” for example. This morning after zazen I was making tea and preparing to go for a short walk when the door opened and in walked a couple. The man I had met before. He works nearby. His wife, a Chinese woman, was fascinated that a Buddhist Temple was here and she just had to meet me for herself. We chatted for a few minutes and then the woman asked if she could stay and ask some questions, and of course, practice.



We sat in formal interview style. She asked, I answered as succinctly as possible. She wanted to know about Zen. She wanted to know if she were a Christian, would it be OK for her to come here. Lastly, she wanted to know how to do the practice. I offered her instruction and invited the bell to ring.



After a few minutes of Zazen, she turned and said in an exasperated voice, “I cannot concentrate!” I replied, “Yes, it is a difficult practice: Our mind is a challenging monkey.” I offered her the practice of counting breaths. At the conclusion, we talk a few moments and then she left, amazed that we didn’t charge a fee.



Zazen is, indeed, a difficult practice. Zen is not for everyone because of this fact. I sense though that she will be back. May we eah engage this challenge and from it build equanimity, understanding, and peace.



Be well

Stillness

With palms together,


Good Morning Everyone,



This morning I woke at 4:00 AM. I got the coffee going, picked up a bit, took a quick shower, and enjoyed being still. There is something about the stillness of early morning that is healing. I really benefit from such time. It’s like a recovery period.



Yesterday was a challenging day for a variety of reasons I won’t go into in detail. Suffice to say I experienced anticipation and expectation as true causes of suffering.



The advice I give to myself when feeling overwhelmed or frustrated is, a. Take a break, and b. Relax into stillness. Allowing my breath to just come and go as it does, I am able to begin to appreciate everything in view. It is mindful attention in the given moment.



Now, just now,



Be well

Monkey!

With palms together,


Good Morning Everyone,



Disciple Dai Shugyo and I were talking yesterday morning. He is my Ino (the Zendo Disciplinarian) and, like my Teacher, a former Marine. We were talking about the phenomenon some Buddhists refer to as “”Monkey Mind.” He indicated that we needed to train the monkey. Although a commonly held and natural suggestion, I disagree.



There was a Teacher, I think it was Shunryu Suzuki, who had the right idea. He said if you want to get in control of something, give that something space. What he meant was, we cannot control anything. Therefore, the Way is through what therapists call “paradoxical intention.” Control through release, in this case. You want the monkey to settle down? Let him run amok. Tell him, “Go ahead, you can’t settle down, impossible for you to settle down, so go! Be wild and crazy!” In this way we open the mind’s field and let the monkey run free. Monkey begins to wonder, “What’s so special about running amok?”



Zazen, in spite of common wisdom, is not about quieting the mind, but instead, it is about releasing oneself from the mind’s grip. Paradoxically, the mind settles of its own accord.



Be well.

Limitations

With palms together,


Good Morning Everyone,



Yesterday evening I came to the Zendo to offer Zazen and chant a memorial service for a list member only to find the deadbolt in the front door of the Zendo was seriously stuck. So, I entered the Temple through the back door, tried to open the deadbolt from the inside to no avail. II then got out my Philip’s head and took the lock apart. I finally got the door open, but could not get the lock back together as it takes two hands.



All while this was happening, my cell phone’s mindfulness bell brought me back to the actual moment. I took the bell as an invitation to stop and breathe. That app is a delight.



So, this morning I called disciple Dai Shugyo to come and help me with the lock.



I am reminded, through all this, of one of Dirty Harry’s comments: “A man’s gotta know his limitations.” As in running, the thing about limitations is the boundaries are either constantly shifting or are permeable. So one must constantly push against them in order to first, locate them, and second. get into the best shape. It is the same in Zen: we push against the limits, sit upright, and find the absolute edge. It is there we chose to live, because it is there we find our True Nature.



Be well.