No Fear

“With no hindrance in the mind, no hindrance therefore no fear. Far beyond delusive  thinking we (they)finally awaken to complete nirvana.” (Great Heart of Wisdom Sutra)

One major aspect of Zen practice is to awaken to a certain truth: Our feelings and thoughts are powerful inhibitors to freedom.

When we live in fear created by our thoughts we suffer in a jail of our own making. See the jailer and free yourself. That’s the message.

How to do that? How do we experience fear and dispel it within our mind? One way, I believe, is to come to terms with our own mortality, our own vulnerability, and the fact that in the greater view of things, life simply goes on as it has and will continue throughout the millennia.

Our individuality is a delusion, created by our brain. As Master Dogen pointed out in his Genjo Koan, when we step out of ourselves a realization of the universality of being opens before us and we are no longer just ourselves, but the whole universe.

When in that realization, what is there to fear?

So, in our practice of zazen, one of the things that happens is a confrontation with the loss of self.  Many of us step back when that happens, afraid to go deeper and we retreat into our comfort zone, the comfort of our self. Yet, that self isn’t real. It’s a shadow cast on a screen in our brain.

As we confront these dark days, days of fear, illness, isolation, possible death, look outward to the infinite sky above us. Look downward deep into the quantum level of existence. In either direction, infinity.

Death is life and life is death; they “inter-are.”  Witness the evening, witness the morning. Witness the leaves appear on the trees, witness your neighbors children. Witness the love and compassion surrounding you. What else is there, but the life we live in the here and now?

No hindrance, therefore, no fear.

Be the blessing you are and let the rest go.

Daiho Hilbert

Silent Thunder: The Story of Matsuoka Roshi - Final Trailer

Is there a Middle Way?

"If wound too tight it will break; if too loose it won't play." Advice in Buddha's time pointing to the value of a middle way, a way avoiding extremes. We are on the edge of extreme social control out of a reasonable sense of fear regarding something we have never experienced, a pandemic.

A journey down the rabbit hole.

I fear that often our fear, no matter how reasonably based, causes us to put our safety above all else. Social isolation, closing businesses, retreating into the digital world for our social needs, will, it seems to me, have long lasting and profound effects not only on our economy, but on our basic humanity.

We are "homo sapiens" or from its origins, "wise men." One of the characteristics of homo sapiens is we are a species that works in groups. Our identity as a species is defined through our group membership, Forming groups is our natural way to survive, thrive, and feel safe. When we are cast out of our group we feel unsafe, cut-off, isolated, and threatened.

What happens when we believe our neighbor is a threat to us? Think about that. What happens when our larger group, our government, decides to shut down our places of business and social interaction? What happens when grocery items are essentially rationed? What happens when (outside of digital means) we are effectively in the dark about what is going on around us? My personal sense is: nothing good.

Our social connectivity will erode making it possible to see others as threats and, thus, requiring us to defend ourselves at our most basic level: family. Home becomes our safe zone and our prison of which we must defend at all costs. I read this morning that guns and ammo sales have went through the roof since this virus became real here in the US...so? Portent?

It seems to me that some middle ground could be established which would allow for public gatherings, open restaurants, and the like. Precautions could be taken; gloves, masks, anti-viral sprays, for example. In this way we might avoid taking those very slippery steps toward a semi-totalitarian state where government becomes our parent.

I'm considering hosting a series of focus groups online to discuss matters such as these. Let me know if you might be interested.

Gassho,

The First Bodhisattva Vow

With palms together,

On the First Bodhisattva Vow:

"Being are numberless, I vow to free them."

The Buddha Way is not only about personal awakening, but the practice of freeing all beings. One way of looking at this vow is to say that through our own awakening all beings are awakened. This comes from a deep understanding of the first truth in Zen Buddhism, The Absolute Truth where it is realized everything is one with no separations.

Another view, so to speak, is from the second truth, the Relative Truth, that we are all individual beings, unique to ourselves. We practice to realize, internalize, and hold both of these truths to be true at the same time. So, when I say the way is not only about personal awakening, but the practice of deep compassion for all beings so that all beings become free from suffering, I mean they are one in the same.

Here we are, now experiencing the truth that we are all interdependent and deeply interconnected. The darkness that is this pandemic is teaching us something about the Absolute Truth, our oneness.. My hope is that through this teaching we also become aware that the light is also inherent in the Absolute Truth. Through our compassion for each other we model the Buddha Way for to be compassionate we must practice to allow mind and body to fall away. In this process we ourselves in everyone and everyone in ourselves.

While unique we are as beings, we are also "everyman,"

Let us each and every one live in this way.

Daiho Hilbert

Watch this: My talk on "The Light is Always With You"

Confession

With palms together,
Good Day All,
As we suffer through our nation's nightmare of division, conflict, and dashed dreams. I believe it is critical to release the reins of True Belief. Those of us who feel strongly about the state of our nation, if not the world, live on both sides of this great divide. As we reinforce our positions with facts and figures, we do so without due regard for our nation as a whole.
Which one of us actually thinks about the greater good?  Which one of us could articulate what the good may be?  And do so without denigrating the "other side"?
One of the ten grave precepts is not to elivate ourselves at the expense of others. In this climate it seems to me that violating this precpt is both common and accepted, much like the changing motres of our society.  I confess I am as guilty as the next guy in posting items that denigrate Mr Trump and his followers.  I do so out of a need to help people understand what I believe to be "the error of their ways." How presumptive asnd arrogent, I am.  As are most of us today in these United States.
We say, in the Buddha Way, there are three poisons: greed, hatred, and delusion, and that these can be met with generosity, love, and wisdom. Today we have allowed ourselves to become prey to these three toxic characteristics.  How unfortunate.
Giving when we have so little ourselves, loving those who hate us, and developing wisdom to replace the dualities of delusion, is seriously difficult.  Yet practice we must if we are to ever hope to return our nation to sanity. A major aspect of this practice is to learn to see a much bigger picture which includes those we may disagree with
Our nation is in our hands; let us use them to build rather than destroy.
Daiho

Announcement

Announcement: I will offer two introductory classes on Zen Buddhism, one in our Zendo in Las Cruces, the other online. I am calling the class “Zen 101.”  The class will consist of eight one hour sessions followed by a 25 minute period of Zazen. If you are interested in taking this class please contact me by email at daihoroshi@gmail.com