Courtyard Zen

With respect,


Good Morning Everyone,



The morning light has not yet made its appearance in the east. I am barely awake myself. Today we will practice Zazen with the elders at Golden Mesa at 11:00, and later, Street Zen at 4:00, and still later, Zazen in the Zendo at 6:00. In between, a few private interviews.



Lately, I have felt myself feeling adrift. This feeling seems closely associated with a waning interest in painting, writing, and other creative efforts. What I seem to want to do mostly is sit in the courtyard of our house looking up into the depths of the New Mexico sky.



This practice is not unlike Zazen. It is certainly, “just sitting,” but without the benefit of robe and zafu. Thoughts are barely perceptible and float in and out of my awareness without much of a trace. I could not tell you what I am thinking most of the time, because it seems to me, most of the time I am not thinking.



When we loosen our grip, and let go of any attempt to control things, life seems to do just fine. The grass does, indeed, grow of its own accord. We are Buddha-Nature’s witness to itself.



Be well

Sweeping Zen

On the front page of Sweeping Zen:  http://sweepingzen.com/

Schedule Changes

With respect,


Good Morning Everyone,

Today at Clear Mind Zen we will practice Zazen at 6:00 PM in the Zendo. We will follow our evening practice with our Zen discussion group. We will conclude our discussion of chapter three of our text and, hopefully, open chapter four.

Please Note: We are making our five day intensives more accessible to everyone by having evening hours beginning Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM. Saturday will be from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and Sunday from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM. Our fees will be $5.00 per evening, $15.00 for Saturday, and $5.00 for Sunday. If you have already paid for the full five days under the old schedule, we will gladly refund your offering. A reminder: Those who are paying dues at the “Great Benefactor” level are not required to pay, your sesshin fees are included in your membership dues. If you are paying dues at the “Sustaining Member” level you will receive a 25% discount.

A further schedule change: We will no longer offer morning Zazen. All of our Temple-based activities will be in the evening. Evening Zazen will be at 6:00 PM on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

Lastly, if you buy your books through Amazon, please consider clicking through to Amazon via our website links. We have partnered with Amazon and will receive a portion of the purchase price.

We hope to see you soon.

Be well

Morning Light

With respect,


Good Morning Everyone,



This morning I woke in a slight funk. The painting I was working on is now finished. Our websites are as completed as I have the ability to make them. And, what was my Mountain Refuge has a contract on it. What was once so meaningful, will be no more. I sat outside watching the sunrise with this.



These last three years have been a time of dramatic change in my life. The dust has now settled, more or less. At 65, I am looking at exploring the wilting of the flower of my life. All that has happened has happened and is past, fading now in memory, and losing its significance to any but me, residing as it does, in some recess of my brain. Our lives open, bloom, grow, and turn. All the while others come up, and others fade away. Everything changes always in every moment and it is all here now. As Dogen teaches, ash is ash, firewood, firewood: each day is itself. We are charged to manifest ourselves in each moment as fully as possible. The fading flower lets go.



Soku Shin remarked yesterday that my paintings have a “primordial” quality to them. Yes, I see that, though I am not conscious of it as I paint. As I look at my life I am discovering mystery.



Be well

Spring Comes

With respect,


Good Morning Everyone,



Yesterday afternoon I put the top down on my old Saab. This car is nearly twenty years old and I have grown to truly appreciate her. When the top is down the world is invited in, or shall I say, I have lowered the barriers between the environment and myself. It is a good feeling to be outside in fresh air. It is coming to be spring here in New Mexico.

My hope, now that our websites are nearly completed, is that I will be able to turn my attention to developing our engaged practices and assisting others in establishing sitting groups around the country. Zen is a powerful practice that has the potential to change our lives through internal transformation. We need to slow down and pay attention in this new millennium. Our world has become one vast, instantaneous network of different peoples and cultures. As we come to know in each flash of news what is happening in every corner of the globe we can begin to see our interconnected reality. This reality is our actual life.

This morning we will practice Zazen at the Zendo at 10:00 AM. From there we will go to Golden Mesa Retirement Community and offer meditation training to elders residing there. This afternoon at 4:00 we will practice street Zen at the Federal Building, downtown Las Cruces. A full day of Zen.

Be well.

Zazen

With respect,


Good Morning Everyone,



Practice is the cornerstone of Zen. We practice not to become buddhas, but to realize our buddha nature. Zazen is a disciplined practice. While Zazen can be a home practice and even a workplace practice, our Zendo practice is foundational. Zazen should not be thought of as something to be done when it is convenient, it is not a practice one does if one has the time. Zazen practice is the highest priority for those who have stepped onto the path. It is a practice we make time for, period, end of sentence.



As abbot and teacher, I encourage you to come to the Zendo as often as possible to practice Zazen. Our Zendo is available to you for your practice almost anytime. Our regularly scheduled practice times are Sunday through Thursday at 10:00 AM and Monday and Thursday evening at 6:00 PM. If these times are inconvenient and you would like to come to the Zendo at another time, a simple call to us will open the door.



A word about our up-coming Intensive Retreat:

We have reconsidered our Five Day Intensive Retreat Schedule and are changing it to accommodate those who are working or who are in school. We will do our Five Day Intensives in the following way: Wednesday through Friday from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM, Saturday from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and Sunday from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM. Our Hanamatsuri Intensive will thus begin at 6:00 PM on Wednesday, April 4th. Please register with Rev. Soku Shin as soon as possible.



This evening we will continue our study of the Genjo koan and are still in Chapter Three of the text. We hope to see you at 10:00 AM this morning and at 6:00 PM this evening. Study Group is at 7:00 PM.



May we each be a blessing in the universe.

Engaged Zen

With respect, this is the content I put up on our Engaged Zen site at http://daihoroshi.org/ to introduce the topic of engaged practice.




Our world needs our help. Engaged Zen practice is about alleviating suffering. Our social structures are sometimes inadequate and often create conditions for suffering to arise. Our practices are directed toward changing these structures or assisting directly in care-giving. Change and Care-giving must be understood within the context of our precepts. We are not here to impose, but to invite. We are not here to destroy, but to build. Our practice is to invite change, offer nurturance and support, and assist where we can to make our world a better place.







Some possibilities:



Consider vulnerable, disenfranchised populations. There might include, homeless, poor, victims of violence, mentally ill, and those who are ill or dying. Consider what services exist for these populations. Look into your community’s social and human services organizations. What are the needs? Where are the loopholes?



Consider working for peace and non-violence through bearing witness. Practicing Zazen in public spaces offers a model of serene reflection that is not about conflict, but an invitation to slow down and reflect.



Offering Meditation instruction to closed in-groups such as elders or prisoners might be another venue. Look into local nursing homes, retirement communities, or correctional facilities. Are there pathways to help there?



Engaged practice takes a willingness to see what is needed and the courage to step up to offer our assistance. As in all things, patience and diligence are necessary. We are here to consult with you.