Change

 A lot on my mind today. And as a result a few changes. 

I have decided to withdraw from public life. I have stepped away from the radio show and will only use social media to show art work and offer teachings in the Zen tradition. I will continue training my current students but will not accept new students. 

Fundamentally, I am retiring to focus my attention on my practice and life as a priest.  Treating my residence as my monastery, containing myself to my zendo and library with occasional use of the kitchen and living room. 

May you each be a blessing in the universe.

Situations

 With palms together,

Good Afternoon All,

We each suffer moments throughout our day. Sometimes these are truly difficult and often, less difficult, but moments of suffering non-the-less. Our situation may be critical, it may contain triggers that bring us to responses of anger or hurt, sadness or remorse, but its not the situation that is the issue, but ratherm our responses to it.

Situations are just situations, they are the "given" of the moment. Often out of our power to change, they have the power to trigger us. What we tend to do is blame the situation, or what we perceive to be the causes of the situation, but these are what they are and we cannot change them.

What we can change is how we respond when in the middle of them, because it is often our response that makes the situation worse. It is "something added."

A wise man once told me to "sit on my hands" when playing chess. He rightly observed I was "snapping off" moves...much to my own detriment. We all tend to do this, snap off a feeling, blame someone or something, and dig in when this "snap" creates a sense of defensiveness on others. It is rarely the situation that is the problem then; it is our felt response.

My advise? Sit on your hands, or in other words, practice the Buddha Way and stop. Take care of yourself, then open your heart to those in front of you and let the rest fall away.

With gratitude,

Daiho

Prayer

"A prayerful vow is a vow that is not dualistic. No petitioner, nothing petitioned, no one being petitioned. A prayerful vow is a realized expression of no-self."

Daiho

from my forthcoming book, "Zen Bits."

Prayer, Enlightenment, and Zazen:

What is enlightenment if not the complete unification of all that is, was, and will be?

The highest form of prayer is that of unification with all that is.

When we sit zazen fully and completely, we attain this unification since mind and body have fallen away.

So in a very real way, prayer and zazen are the same: awakened being.

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Our World

With palms together,

Many of us are tempted to say our world is "going to hell in a handbasket." Perhaps it is, but I'm not so sure. The Buddha Way realizes the universe is nothing but change. What we call "emptiness." Nothing exists forever, everything is "conditioned" (read, dependent) by everything and so not one thing is dispensable; everything is necessary.

Even the evil in our world has its place along side the goodness: night has day, black has white, weeks conclude as new weeks are born. In each we are free to chose how we will live in such a world. This is what the Diamond Sutra teaches: how to live in our world as a "bodhisattva" (an awakened being or being on the path to awakening).

What does it take to live in this way? For one, an open heart/mind. Second, a forgiving heart. Third, a generous heart, and fourth, a willingness to always see in the largest possible context. Without these, we are doomed to repeating our historical mistakes, see objects rather than brothers and sisters, and walk the path of suspicion and anxiety.

If we are in that hellish handbasket, I say we are putting ourselves there. Only we, through our practice, can see through the basket we have woven and free ourselves. I encourage you to look deeply, investigate your mind, and walk directly into the issues you face. As you do, perhaps the mind weeds in that basket will be transformed into lovely basket of flowers, each to be given away.

Yours in the Dharma,

Daiho

Zazen

 Zazen this evening at 6:00 PM Mountain Time. Send me your gmail address if you would like an invitation to join us for our Zen practice offerings.  

Mail to: daihoroshi@gmail.com

Note on Zazenkai

Good Morning All,

Our Zazenkai went quite well yesterday. Thanks to all who participated and in particular to my disciple in Atlanta, Rev.

Marshall Daishin Tucker

, who co-led the ceremonials and created the agenda. Great job! My disciple in Greece, Rev. Kaishin MyoJu Xifaras, attended and suggested we do these on a monthly basis. I think this is a great idea and will take that suggestion under advisement.

Have a great day y'all!