With palms together,
Good Morning Sangha,
Zazen can be the foundation of our life. When we make it so, it is the ground we walk on, the support we have through the day, our greatest teacher, our stalwart companion. . What is it about this practice that makes it so?
Deciding to take a seat, gather oneself together, enfold one's hands to complete a circle, and place our attention on witnessing only, enables us.
It enables us to settle down. It enables us to pay attention to the inner workings of our lives. It enables us to see the interaction between the inner and outer workings of the universe. All without having to do anything about anything.
Over time a certain deep and abiding trust develops from this practice. A trust in the universal processes of living and dying. We learn that we can let go and everything will still exist. Me and you cease to have real meaning. We see that we create meaning, and in so doing we create our suffering.
All of these rise and fall in our awareness, and still we don't engage them. Our job is to simply witness.
I encourage each of you to take up this practice. Make this practice a model for living.
Any moment will do. Just pay attention. At some point, decide to sit more formally. Find a time, find a place. Sit down and practice Zazen.In that moment, know that peace is not only possible, but a reality.
Be well.
Organ Mountain Zen
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
RE: [Zen] Book Summary: "Anger - Wisdom for Cooling the Flames" Thich Nhat Hanh
With palms together,
Good Morning Sangha,
I wrote a short reply to a threaed on a email list I am on. I thought I would share it to this blog:
This is a most interesting thread, I feel. TNH's work is so large. He speaks so clearly and so directly and with great passion and compassion. I have divided his work into two piles: practice tips and sutra commentaries. The latter are most interesting and valuable, IMHO. The former, depending on their publishing date are useful to not useful: earlier work being much more useful, later work being more "fluff" as you say.
Here is the thing, though. It seems that fluff can be a good thing. At least to me at times. It reminds me that my critical mind should be more compassionate. It teaches me that simple is sometimes far more clear and helpful than complex walnut cracking koans. So, useful is such a relative term. There is a place in my world for both.
When angry, or deeply hurt, it does not help much to offer softness and tenderness. We seem to want others to share our anger, justify it, and nurse it. THN will not do this. Instead, he is simply there. For good or ill, like him or not, he is simply there. We can rant. He will listen. We can rave. He will listen. At some point when we are spent, he will hold our hand.
If it weren't for the fact that he has suffered so much, like HHDL, and still maintains himself deeply in compassion, I would say he is just plain silly. Unacceptable to the modern temper. Yet, there he is. A monk who has witnessed and survived horrors and still loves deeply.
In my book, there is something to be learned from this. Maybe that something is that a little fluff tends to soften up our harder edges.
Be well.
Bill Smart <BillSmart@HHS1963.org> wrote:
Good Morning Sangha,
I wrote a short reply to a threaed on a email list I am on. I thought I would share it to this blog:
This is a most interesting thread, I feel. TNH's work is so large. He speaks so clearly and so directly and with great passion and compassion. I have divided his work into two piles: practice tips and sutra commentaries. The latter are most interesting and valuable, IMHO. The former, depending on their publishing date are useful to not useful: earlier work being much more useful, later work being more "fluff" as you say.
Here is the thing, though. It seems that fluff can be a good thing. At least to me at times. It reminds me that my critical mind should be more compassionate. It teaches me that simple is sometimes far more clear and helpful than complex walnut cracking koans. So, useful is such a relative term. There is a place in my world for both.
When angry, or deeply hurt, it does not help much to offer softness and tenderness. We seem to want others to share our anger, justify it, and nurse it. THN will not do this. Instead, he is simply there. For good or ill, like him or not, he is simply there. We can rant. He will listen. We can rave. He will listen. At some point when we are spent, he will hold our hand.
If it weren't for the fact that he has suffered so much, like HHDL, and still maintains himself deeply in compassion, I would say he is just plain silly. Unacceptable to the modern temper. Yet, there he is. A monk who has witnessed and survived horrors and still loves deeply.
In my book, there is something to be learned from this. Maybe that something is that a little fluff tends to soften up our harder edges.
Be well.
Bill Smart <BillSmart@HHS1963.org> wrote:
On Monday, March 13 dkotschessa posted:
>Short review:
>This book, while it contains many gems that have been extremely
>helpful to me, is going to be very hard for some people to read.
>
>By all accounts Thich Nhaht Hahn is a beloved teacher with a
>profoundly peaceful presence that effects those he comes in contact
>with. Unfortunately, when put to text it, specifically in this book,
>what results is a fluffy and almost embarrassing tone to read. The
>self-help gurus of previous decades come to mind, which were embodied
>by Saturday Night Live's Stuart Smalley.
>
>Yet the information has been invaluable in my life. So that it is
>not wasted, I put together a book summary for my own reflection so
>that I needn't endure the entire book again. What follows is that
>summary so others might benefit. [...balance of a long and informative
review >snipped...]
Thank you for your posting and review of Thich Nhaht Hahn's book on
managing anger.
I was especially impressed by your courage in stating the plain fact that
the writing style was 'fluffy' and reminiscence of the late-1990's
'self-help' gurus. I have not read this book by TNH and don't intend to. I
have read two of his previous books and had the same underwhelming
impression that you had, at least in part. At least you found some gems
under the fluff that you were able to apply. That's very good.
Although I know I come across in this forum as an 'anti-book' person (and I
am to a great extent), I have just finished reading three very good books
that I would recommend to anyone:
- THE ZEN TEACHINGS OF MASTER LIN-CHI translated by Burton Watson
- THE ZEN TEACHING OF BODHIDHARMA translated by Red Pine
- MOON IN A DEWDROP - Writings of Zen Master Dogen edited by Kazuaki
Tanahashi
These books are definitely not "fluff' and all contain what I consider very
fruitful insights into zen practice. I can easily post a review of these
books and sum up their total message in one word: Zazen! (Or maybe that's
two words in Japanese - 'Sit Zen')
I will however quote one passage from MOON IN A DEWDROP from the chapter
Face-To-Face Transmission written in the year 1243:
"If you do not realize the fruit at this moment, when will you realize it?
If you do not cut off delusion at this moment, when will you cut it off? If
you do not become a buddha at this moment, when will you? If you do not sit
as a buddha at this moment, when will you practice as a buddha?"
Any questions?
Gassho...Bill!
Monday, March 13, 2006
Leaving Home
With palms together,
Good Morning Sangha,
This morning there are clouds in the sky over the desert. Yesterday was another windy day. My hope is that this afternoon will be beautiful and sunny with a clear sky, but if it isn't, well it will be beautiful as it is and I will appreciate it.
Each day offers itself to us as a partner in our experience in this process of life. Our practice is to be open to this process and receive its teachings.
What does this really mean?
Partly it is about leaving home. This means leaving what we believe we know at our bed as we rise and enter the day. If we go through our day knowing then what are we learning? What sort of room is there in our heads for something new and different?
Leaving home is scary. It requires courage and faith. Courage to face things without a shield, faith that what we receive will not harm us.
We are life's students. Adult learners who have immense capacity for both enlightenment and delusion. One requires a shedding of self, the other grasps the self. When we shed our self: our assumptions, our beliefs, even our self-proclaimed values, we are truely open to learning by direct experience.
So, today, please practice this sort of openness. Have faith that the process is what it is and in the end you are one with it. Have courage to be there, present in each moment. A buddha.
Be well.
Good Morning Sangha,
This morning there are clouds in the sky over the desert. Yesterday was another windy day. My hope is that this afternoon will be beautiful and sunny with a clear sky, but if it isn't, well it will be beautiful as it is and I will appreciate it.
Each day offers itself to us as a partner in our experience in this process of life. Our practice is to be open to this process and receive its teachings.
What does this really mean?
Partly it is about leaving home. This means leaving what we believe we know at our bed as we rise and enter the day. If we go through our day knowing then what are we learning? What sort of room is there in our heads for something new and different?
Leaving home is scary. It requires courage and faith. Courage to face things without a shield, faith that what we receive will not harm us.
We are life's students. Adult learners who have immense capacity for both enlightenment and delusion. One requires a shedding of self, the other grasps the self. When we shed our self: our assumptions, our beliefs, even our self-proclaimed values, we are truely open to learning by direct experience.
So, today, please practice this sort of openness. Have faith that the process is what it is and in the end you are one with it. Have courage to be there, present in each moment. A buddha.
Be well.
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Interconnection
With palms together,
Good Morning Sangha,
As the sun rises and warms the desert, I am sipping hot green tea at the computer. My heart is still and I am opening my eyes to see you. We are each a part of this wonderful universe. Each necessary. Each vital. The universe cannot exist without us. As each thing has its causes and conditions, each thing is deeply interwoven in the fabric of space and time. Where does one begin and end? Truely? Seeds from parents are planted and arise producing seeds that are planted and arise and so on and so on. Small changes here and there, divergence, complexity, life.
So, as I type here and am aware of the keys touching electrical pads, sending pulses out through fiber optic cables, patterns abound, connect with other patterns, and there we are: a universe. We are one, here and now. As you read. As I move on through my day, and you yours. My message is with you and you are with me. We are together. A good thing.
If we live this way, how difficult to injure each other! How difficult to willingly cause harm! Be peace today. Be yourself.
Be well.
Request for dana:
Last night we watched a plea for assistance from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis. I would urge anyone to support this work. A small thing for a very important task. The toll free number is: 1-800-785-9539. Call a make a small donation today.
Good Morning Sangha,
As the sun rises and warms the desert, I am sipping hot green tea at the computer. My heart is still and I am opening my eyes to see you. We are each a part of this wonderful universe. Each necessary. Each vital. The universe cannot exist without us. As each thing has its causes and conditions, each thing is deeply interwoven in the fabric of space and time. Where does one begin and end? Truely? Seeds from parents are planted and arise producing seeds that are planted and arise and so on and so on. Small changes here and there, divergence, complexity, life.
So, as I type here and am aware of the keys touching electrical pads, sending pulses out through fiber optic cables, patterns abound, connect with other patterns, and there we are: a universe. We are one, here and now. As you read. As I move on through my day, and you yours. My message is with you and you are with me. We are together. A good thing.
If we live this way, how difficult to injure each other! How difficult to willingly cause harm! Be peace today. Be yourself.
Be well.
Request for dana:
Last night we watched a plea for assistance from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis. I would urge anyone to support this work. A small thing for a very important task. The toll free number is: 1-800-785-9539. Call a make a small donation today.
Saturday, March 11, 2006
Dealing with the News
With palms together,
Good Morning Sangha,
On my Yahoo 360 blog I have been recounting the Ten Grave Precepts. Today's precept is the fifth which asks us not to cloud our minds. Usually this is taken to mean not to drink to the point of not being sober. It is also a invitation not to ingest drugs or other toxins that will injure us or otherwise cause harm. Thich Nhat Hahn, the Vietnamese Buddhist Monk and Peace Worker has suggested that this precept includes taking things into us such as images or information which will poison us. Poison us with greed, hatred, and delusion.
This morning's news included a piece on the killing of Mr. Tom Fox, a Quaker and a Christian Peace Worker in Iraq who was taken hostage. Reports are that he was beaten, cut, and then shot in the chest and the head. Bound, his body was dumped on the street.
There are several "Friends" on this list. My deepest condolences to you.
My sense is that to avoid news can be harmful, as harmful as hiding one's head in the sand. The problem isn't the news or the images, but in what we do with them. If the images and the news causes hatred and anger, big problem. If, on the other hand, the information invites us to examine ourselves, our feelings, our relationships, our own actions, and thereby causes us to stand upright in the face of these three poisons, then we are being bodhisattvas.
The Buddha invited us to sit in a graveyard and be with a decomposing body. The image, the scent, the processes of decomposition are all "poisons" to those who seek nothing but the flowers of life. Yet all flowers eventually lose their bloom, wilt, keel over, wrinkle-up and die. They then become part of the environment, enriching it with nutrients for the next seed beginning to grow.
When we stand apart from the natural cycles of living and dying, loving and hating, we are not able tro help, we lose touch, live in a fantasy, and become incapable of connecting to others.
So, we should sit with this atrocity. We should invite our feelings to enter us, process them as we would the presence of a decomposing body in our living room. Turn away the eyes and you become salt. Care for the body and you become a bodhisattva.
It is most challenging work.
Be well.
Good Morning Sangha,
On my Yahoo 360 blog I have been recounting the Ten Grave Precepts. Today's precept is the fifth which asks us not to cloud our minds. Usually this is taken to mean not to drink to the point of not being sober. It is also a invitation not to ingest drugs or other toxins that will injure us or otherwise cause harm. Thich Nhat Hahn, the Vietnamese Buddhist Monk and Peace Worker has suggested that this precept includes taking things into us such as images or information which will poison us. Poison us with greed, hatred, and delusion.
This morning's news included a piece on the killing of Mr. Tom Fox, a Quaker and a Christian Peace Worker in Iraq who was taken hostage. Reports are that he was beaten, cut, and then shot in the chest and the head. Bound, his body was dumped on the street.
There are several "Friends" on this list. My deepest condolences to you.
My sense is that to avoid news can be harmful, as harmful as hiding one's head in the sand. The problem isn't the news or the images, but in what we do with them. If the images and the news causes hatred and anger, big problem. If, on the other hand, the information invites us to examine ourselves, our feelings, our relationships, our own actions, and thereby causes us to stand upright in the face of these three poisons, then we are being bodhisattvas.
The Buddha invited us to sit in a graveyard and be with a decomposing body. The image, the scent, the processes of decomposition are all "poisons" to those who seek nothing but the flowers of life. Yet all flowers eventually lose their bloom, wilt, keel over, wrinkle-up and die. They then become part of the environment, enriching it with nutrients for the next seed beginning to grow.
When we stand apart from the natural cycles of living and dying, loving and hating, we are not able tro help, we lose touch, live in a fantasy, and become incapable of connecting to others.
So, we should sit with this atrocity. We should invite our feelings to enter us, process them as we would the presence of a decomposing body in our living room. Turn away the eyes and you become salt. Care for the body and you become a bodhisattva.
It is most challenging work.
Be well.
Friday, March 10, 2006
What it is
With palms together,
Good Morning Sangha,
When we are being in the present moment, as it is, there is no room for anything else. This moment, as it is, is full and complete. So, what is this moment, as it is?
Sitting Zazen without sitting Zazen. Cleaning without cleaning. Talking without talking. Eating without eating. Listening without listening.
Zen is being complete in this moment without adding words, names, labels, judgements, thoughts, likes or dislikes to it.
When we are correctly oriented to living this way, everything becomes easy. No problem.
Living this way allows our breathing to be what it is: free.
Living this way allows our Buddha-nature to flower.
Living this way allows our love to be itself.
Living this way allows our compassion to enfold the planet.
Living this way allows all things to be One.
Be well.
Good Morning Sangha,
When we are being in the present moment, as it is, there is no room for anything else. This moment, as it is, is full and complete. So, what is this moment, as it is?
Sitting Zazen without sitting Zazen. Cleaning without cleaning. Talking without talking. Eating without eating. Listening without listening.
Zen is being complete in this moment without adding words, names, labels, judgements, thoughts, likes or dislikes to it.
When we are correctly oriented to living this way, everything becomes easy. No problem.
Living this way allows our breathing to be what it is: free.
Living this way allows our Buddha-nature to flower.
Living this way allows our love to be itself.
Living this way allows our compassion to enfold the planet.
Living this way allows all things to be One.
Be well.
Thursday, March 9, 2006
No one was beheaded
With palms together,
Good Morning Sangha,
Yesterday's Peace Vigil was a great success if one measures success by the vibrancy of a group. We stood against the wind, a cold wind blowing across the desert valley. There were a couple of dozen women and a few men standing there along the avenue lacing the Federal Building. Public television was there. A few print media were there. Cameras were happy.
Passersby honked their horns in support. A few lifted a finger expressing their disapproval. This is America. No one was shot. No one beheaded.
That morning I met with local people interested in Jewish Law. The topic was "Should clergy marry people in a religious wedding without a license?" This is an effort to have a marrage sanctioned by God, but avoiding the problems with Social Security pension laws, although a few dissented, the answer was a clear no. We should not engage in deceitful behavior. During this discussion, a Christian minister made a few comments about homosexual unions, a heated debate ensued. Again, no one came to blows. No one was beheaded.
I noticed the authorities arrested three college students in the arson attacks of several churches in the deep south. No riots. No killings. No beheadings.
Last night at Zen Center, we sat Zazen in perfect stillness.
It is possible to have passionate views far apart from our neighbors and not bring harm to them. That is a very hopeful message. While we in the United States are far from perfect and we do in fact harm others in our behavior, we still have something we can offer the world. This should be our message..
Be well.
Good Morning Sangha,
Yesterday's Peace Vigil was a great success if one measures success by the vibrancy of a group. We stood against the wind, a cold wind blowing across the desert valley. There were a couple of dozen women and a few men standing there along the avenue lacing the Federal Building. Public television was there. A few print media were there. Cameras were happy.
Passersby honked their horns in support. A few lifted a finger expressing their disapproval. This is America. No one was shot. No one beheaded.
That morning I met with local people interested in Jewish Law. The topic was "Should clergy marry people in a religious wedding without a license?" This is an effort to have a marrage sanctioned by God, but avoiding the problems with Social Security pension laws, although a few dissented, the answer was a clear no. We should not engage in deceitful behavior. During this discussion, a Christian minister made a few comments about homosexual unions, a heated debate ensued. Again, no one came to blows. No one was beheaded.
I noticed the authorities arrested three college students in the arson attacks of several churches in the deep south. No riots. No killings. No beheadings.
Last night at Zen Center, we sat Zazen in perfect stillness.
It is possible to have passionate views far apart from our neighbors and not bring harm to them. That is a very hopeful message. While we in the United States are far from perfect and we do in fact harm others in our behavior, we still have something we can offer the world. This should be our message..
Be well.
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