Organ Mountain Zen



Sunday, April 16, 2006

A Seasonal Message

With palms together,
Good Morning All,

We have an opportunity today to be reminded of the blessings of the yearly cycle. This is spring, Easter, Passover, Hannamatsuri, a time of hope and re-generation. Many cultures come out of an agrarian background. Life cycles were closely connected to our planet's seasonal cycles. In this modern era, we seem to have lost that connection on many levels, As a result ofthis dis-connect, some of the real meanings of the season are lostto us. To compensate we fall back on belief. Belief is a wonderful thing, in some ways, a hindrance in others.

When living in belief, we live in the world of the mind. Hopeful, we are looking for tomorrow, not living in the experience of this moment. This is why, in some sense, Zen sees hope as a problem. Hope takes us away from the work at hand, though it also can inspire us and motivate us to move into the future.

As in all things, a balance is very important.

For those who are Christian on the list, Happy Easter! For those Jewish, Happy Pesach, for those who are singularly Buddhist, a joyous Hannamatsuri.

May we all be happy and present.

Be well.

3 comments:

  1. Hi Sodaiho, just want to say thanks for your assistance over the past few weeks. The words are far from perfect, but this song is resonating with me right now:
    Can you take it all
    When we're standing tall
    We don't need a wall
    Built around us
    Jump into the flame
    One and all the same
    We won't feel the pain
    Thick is the skin
    -Skid Row(Yes, I know it's cheesy):p
    In gassho, Guy

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  2. happy holidays to you sensei. have you had a chance to see the movie "crash" yet? I thought it was a very buddhist movie. I would like to know what you thought. take care and hapy birthday to your honey.

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  3. Hello Guy, Jump without skin. :)

    Jeff: Yes. Crash was a good film with some sense of how karma might work. Certainly depicted our interdependence. Be well.

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