With palms together
Good Morning Everyone,
Last night I was so tired from an exhausting day that I could only manage the service chants and one period of zazen. We had one student at the Temple and I asked for her permission to cut the second period and set aside the Teisho period. She graciously agreed and we closed.
In the moment, I felt badly for depriving a student of a second period and withholding a teaching in order to take care of myself. It was a passing thought. We must take care of ourselves in order to take care of others.
This is a challenge for many and it seems that challenge is related to a need to be needed. When we cannot stop caring for another in order to care for ourselves we are in need of being needed and ironically, are not really caring at all. True care requires us not to need to care. Being in service to others is not about us, its’ about others. If I am caring for others, not for them but out of my need to care, then what is the true object of my care?
Be well.
Organ Mountain Zen
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Friday, October 22, 2010
Prajna
With palms together
Good Morning Everyone,
Prajna is translated as “wisdom.” Hui-Neng teaches that it is the same as Samadhi and that this Samadhi is one practice. Prajna is the same as zazen. It is the same as kinhin, samu, and oryoki. Prajna and enlightenment are one. Yet, enlightenment is not true enlightenment if it is a singular manifestation. In the Mahayana tradition we must turn our attention to others. Master Dogen in the Shushogi teaches that there are four wisdoms for the benefit of others. These are charity, kind speech, benevolent deeds, and cooperation. He says, “These are the practices of the vow of the bodhisattva.”
Recently I have been challenged by the fact that there have been so many changes coming from so many directions and encounters with people who have abused my friendship that when I took a look at this teaching again, I was dumbstruck. I did not feel particularly charitable, my words were decidedly not kind (at least those flying around in my head) and I did not feel much like doing good things or cooperating. In short, and in retrospect, I felt selfish.
But, my practice was my center and in spite of everything, I opened the Temple and offered Zen at the appointed hour. Two students came and we practiced zazen together, had tea, and listened to the words of Master Dogen.
I believe in my practice as I have evidence that it works. It took this bitter and angry Viet Nam vet and taught him it was OK to open his heart. While I may not always be so open, I am always on the path. The practices of Zen are there for each of us to try. If they are helpful, keep them. If they are not, discard them.
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
Prajna is translated as “wisdom.” Hui-Neng teaches that it is the same as Samadhi and that this Samadhi is one practice. Prajna is the same as zazen. It is the same as kinhin, samu, and oryoki. Prajna and enlightenment are one. Yet, enlightenment is not true enlightenment if it is a singular manifestation. In the Mahayana tradition we must turn our attention to others. Master Dogen in the Shushogi teaches that there are four wisdoms for the benefit of others. These are charity, kind speech, benevolent deeds, and cooperation. He says, “These are the practices of the vow of the bodhisattva.”
Recently I have been challenged by the fact that there have been so many changes coming from so many directions and encounters with people who have abused my friendship that when I took a look at this teaching again, I was dumbstruck. I did not feel particularly charitable, my words were decidedly not kind (at least those flying around in my head) and I did not feel much like doing good things or cooperating. In short, and in retrospect, I felt selfish.
But, my practice was my center and in spite of everything, I opened the Temple and offered Zen at the appointed hour. Two students came and we practiced zazen together, had tea, and listened to the words of Master Dogen.
I believe in my practice as I have evidence that it works. It took this bitter and angry Viet Nam vet and taught him it was OK to open his heart. While I may not always be so open, I am always on the path. The practices of Zen are there for each of us to try. If they are helpful, keep them. If they are not, discard them.
Be well.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Four Vows
With palms together
Good Morning Everyone,
Last night at the Temple we talked about the part in the Shoshogi that addresses the vow to free all beings. The Four Great Vows are very special as they present us with the most fundamental koans.
Beings are numberless; I vow to free them.
Delusions are inexhaustible; I vow to end them.
Dharma gates are boundless; I vow to enter them.
The buddha way is unsurpassable; I vow to realize it.
We vow to free “numberless” beings, yet seemingly have only one lifetime. We vow to end delusions, yet they are “inexhaustible.” We vow to enter “boundless” dharma gates and in the end, realize an “unsurpassable” buddha way. Here’s the thing: If we approach these logically we will never get them. They are not logical in the logical of linearity.
We must step back and let our mind go. Like releasing one’s eyes when looking at a picture in order to see patterns we cannot see with focused eyes.
The vow is, as Daido Loori pointed out, a prayerful one. Such a vow is a unification rather than a petition. So, to “get” these vows we must enter them and to enter them, we must let our body/mind drop away. We begin accepting these vows by first practicing letting self go and casting our mind/heart eye toward all other beings.
We do not practice Zen for ourselves. We practice Zen for the benefit of others. So, we might say, “I am not sitting Zazen, all beings are sitting Zazen.” Our playground is infinite in all directions and includes all times. It contains innumerable beings but does not include a single being. Our delusions are inexhaustible, yet there are no delusions; boundlessness is entered once and ceases to be boundless; and unsurpassable is just this moment.
May we each be a blessing in the universe today.
Good Morning Everyone,
Last night at the Temple we talked about the part in the Shoshogi that addresses the vow to free all beings. The Four Great Vows are very special as they present us with the most fundamental koans.
Beings are numberless; I vow to free them.
Delusions are inexhaustible; I vow to end them.
Dharma gates are boundless; I vow to enter them.
The buddha way is unsurpassable; I vow to realize it.
We vow to free “numberless” beings, yet seemingly have only one lifetime. We vow to end delusions, yet they are “inexhaustible.” We vow to enter “boundless” dharma gates and in the end, realize an “unsurpassable” buddha way. Here’s the thing: If we approach these logically we will never get them. They are not logical in the logical of linearity.
We must step back and let our mind go. Like releasing one’s eyes when looking at a picture in order to see patterns we cannot see with focused eyes.
The vow is, as Daido Loori pointed out, a prayerful one. Such a vow is a unification rather than a petition. So, to “get” these vows we must enter them and to enter them, we must let our body/mind drop away. We begin accepting these vows by first practicing letting self go and casting our mind/heart eye toward all other beings.
We do not practice Zen for ourselves. We practice Zen for the benefit of others. So, we might say, “I am not sitting Zazen, all beings are sitting Zazen.” Our playground is infinite in all directions and includes all times. It contains innumerable beings but does not include a single being. Our delusions are inexhaustible, yet there are no delusions; boundlessness is entered once and ceases to be boundless; and unsurpassable is just this moment.
May we each be a blessing in the universe today.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Suki Moments
With palms together
Good Evening Everyone,
My dog, Suki, has buddha nature. I know this because watching her intently; I see generosity, patience, diligence, morality, mindfulness, and most importantly, wisdom. She is but a pup, yet there she is, a living buddha. I am fortunate indeed to have her at my side.
Suki manifests the great paramitas, those aspects of a buddha we seek to release through our practice. I wish I were able to release such fine attributes, but alas, I am human.
My practice will be Suki watching, or more precisely, watching myself experience Suki.
This is all we can do in life: witness in the most profound and deepest sense that which gives rise to the thought of enlightenment. As we go about our daily business, we witness ourselves in our small preoccupations and, once in awhile, if we are both fortunate and observant, a Suki moment taps us on the shoulder.
May yours be in this moment.
Good Evening Everyone,
My dog, Suki, has buddha nature. I know this because watching her intently; I see generosity, patience, diligence, morality, mindfulness, and most importantly, wisdom. She is but a pup, yet there she is, a living buddha. I am fortunate indeed to have her at my side.
Suki manifests the great paramitas, those aspects of a buddha we seek to release through our practice. I wish I were able to release such fine attributes, but alas, I am human.
My practice will be Suki watching, or more precisely, watching myself experience Suki.
This is all we can do in life: witness in the most profound and deepest sense that which gives rise to the thought of enlightenment. As we go about our daily business, we witness ourselves in our small preoccupations and, once in awhile, if we are both fortunate and observant, a Suki moment taps us on the shoulder.
May yours be in this moment.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Urgency
With palms together
Good Morning Everyone,
This morning we will sit zazen in the park at Frontier and Roadrunner here in Las Cruces, NM. I am looking forward to this practice, although this immediate moment is actually my practice. I am drawn to my online chess games and struggle to let them sit idle while I stare at the wall…or the grass. My rating has taken a serious hit lately. I feel a strong urge to play and play and play some more! Dealing with such matters is what Zen is all about.
We often feel compelled. We often struggle with this urge or that. It is not the aim of the urge that is so much the matter, but the felt urgency itself. The aims come and go, but just below the surface urgency remains. For some it is a personality issue, for others it can be a sign of addiction, and still others (most, I think) it is a culturally induced response to fight or flight. There is a reason we say, “We are like sitting ducks!” Birds on a wire get shot! Urgency, hypervigilance, the need to do something about something: these go back a very long way in our gene pool.
Zen practice is about noticing and releasing. I notice my need and release myself from its bondage. I do this through the practice or returning to the present moment fused with a commitment to just sit.
By just sitting we face the power of urgency and defeat it. In the process, we gain mastery while paradoxically letting mastery go. It’s like those straw finger puzzles: the more we pull, the tighter they get. Want freedom? Relax and let go.
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
This morning we will sit zazen in the park at Frontier and Roadrunner here in Las Cruces, NM. I am looking forward to this practice, although this immediate moment is actually my practice. I am drawn to my online chess games and struggle to let them sit idle while I stare at the wall…or the grass. My rating has taken a serious hit lately. I feel a strong urge to play and play and play some more! Dealing with such matters is what Zen is all about.
We often feel compelled. We often struggle with this urge or that. It is not the aim of the urge that is so much the matter, but the felt urgency itself. The aims come and go, but just below the surface urgency remains. For some it is a personality issue, for others it can be a sign of addiction, and still others (most, I think) it is a culturally induced response to fight or flight. There is a reason we say, “We are like sitting ducks!” Birds on a wire get shot! Urgency, hypervigilance, the need to do something about something: these go back a very long way in our gene pool.
Zen practice is about noticing and releasing. I notice my need and release myself from its bondage. I do this through the practice or returning to the present moment fused with a commitment to just sit.
By just sitting we face the power of urgency and defeat it. In the process, we gain mastery while paradoxically letting mastery go. It’s like those straw finger puzzles: the more we pull, the tighter they get. Want freedom? Relax and let go.
Be well.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Contact of a Zen Kind
With palms together
Good Morning Everyone,
Zen living requires a radical reorientation to life. When such a turn happens what was once important no longer seems so; what was once unimportant is now significant. It is this seeming turning of life upside down that disturbs some of us, as well as so many of those around us. Conversely, it is what makes life so wonderful for those who open their eyes. Yet, it is only a seeming turning of things. In truth, it is just a shift in where we place our mind.
Two short, non-exclusive lists:
What is significant?
A glass of water.
A sliver of the moon in the sky.
Loving someone; being loved by someone.
The taste of things.
The feel of things.
The smell of things.
The sound of things.
What is insignificant?
Our thoughts about the above.
Hurrying to get somewhere.
Getting somewhere.
Our social status; another’s social status.
The sort of car we drive.
How wide our TV screen is.
That we have a TV in the first place.
We might consider making our own lists on a day-to-day basis. Doing so can be a way of keeping things fresh. The shift is about experience rather than analysis; a turn toward the direct contact with the thing itself.
This is Contact of a Zen Kind.
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
Zen living requires a radical reorientation to life. When such a turn happens what was once important no longer seems so; what was once unimportant is now significant. It is this seeming turning of life upside down that disturbs some of us, as well as so many of those around us. Conversely, it is what makes life so wonderful for those who open their eyes. Yet, it is only a seeming turning of things. In truth, it is just a shift in where we place our mind.
Two short, non-exclusive lists:
What is significant?
A glass of water.
A sliver of the moon in the sky.
Loving someone; being loved by someone.
The taste of things.
The feel of things.
The smell of things.
The sound of things.
What is insignificant?
Our thoughts about the above.
Hurrying to get somewhere.
Getting somewhere.
Our social status; another’s social status.
The sort of car we drive.
How wide our TV screen is.
That we have a TV in the first place.
We might consider making our own lists on a day-to-day basis. Doing so can be a way of keeping things fresh. The shift is about experience rather than analysis; a turn toward the direct contact with the thing itself.
This is Contact of a Zen Kind.
Be well.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Pure Precpts
With palms together
Good Morning Everyone,
The first two of the Three Pure Precepts were the topic of Rev. Bobby Kankin’s Teisho last night at Both Sides/No Sides Zen Sangha in El Paso. He did a marvelous job framing those two very significant vows. While he was presenting them, he spoke of a question he had received which asked what was the difference between them. The first vow is in the negative, “I vow to cease doing evil.” The second vow is in the positive, “I vow to do good.”
Rev. Kankin asked me at the conclusion of his talk to comment.
With some consideration, I offered that the first pure precept is really a precept toward making oneself whole. To refrain is to enter one’s self. It is a process of unification. Whereas, the second vow is a vow to manifest our true nature. Therefore, in the first case, we unify ourselves, bringing about an end to duality, and in the second case, we allow that non-duality to appear in the world. How? By getting up from our cushions and going into the world with our buddha nature. The key here is realization of our unity. Our oneness with all things makes it essential that we act with great compassion and care. Using the third vow, “I vow to bring about good for all beings,” we manifest ourselves. This is a good thing.
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
The first two of the Three Pure Precepts were the topic of Rev. Bobby Kankin’s Teisho last night at Both Sides/No Sides Zen Sangha in El Paso. He did a marvelous job framing those two very significant vows. While he was presenting them, he spoke of a question he had received which asked what was the difference between them. The first vow is in the negative, “I vow to cease doing evil.” The second vow is in the positive, “I vow to do good.”
Rev. Kankin asked me at the conclusion of his talk to comment.
With some consideration, I offered that the first pure precept is really a precept toward making oneself whole. To refrain is to enter one’s self. It is a process of unification. Whereas, the second vow is a vow to manifest our true nature. Therefore, in the first case, we unify ourselves, bringing about an end to duality, and in the second case, we allow that non-duality to appear in the world. How? By getting up from our cushions and going into the world with our buddha nature. The key here is realization of our unity. Our oneness with all things makes it essential that we act with great compassion and care. Using the third vow, “I vow to bring about good for all beings,” we manifest ourselves. This is a good thing.
Be well.
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