Along the Way

With  palms together,

Good Morning All,

 

The other day, we three roshi's were at the Zendo by ourselves. It was early in the morning after the morning sit. Ken-roshi was installing the shoji screen behind the alter, Fern-roshi and I were talking in the kitchen about our Zen and the progress of our Zen Center.  I sat on the floor, she sat in a chair. 

 

We recognized and honored our differing styles of both teaching and understanding. Noticed subtle differences in our students. It was such a nurturing moment.

 

Some of us take a philosophical approach, some are sitting atop that hundred foot pole living in vast emptiness, others are moving along in the everyday world. Each has an offering.

 

This morning I have been invited to visit Unity Church to recognize the Buddhadharma there. It is a wonderful opportunity to share.

 

The Great Buddha Way is large indeed.

 

Be well.

Harvey So Daiho Hilbert, Ph.D. 
May All Beings Be Free From Suffering

On the web at:

http://www.daihoji.org/

http://www.zencenteroflascruces.org
and http://daihoji.blogspot.com/

 

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Our Nature

With palms together,

Good Morning All,

 

We awoke to a very gentle rain, more a mist really, and it was refreshing to take the dogs outside first thing. I smelled the wet grass and shrubs. I listened to the chatter of birds who have taken residence with us in our complex, and stood erect as I took in my breath in silence.

 

When I opened my eyes this morning, I was listening to the Buddha talk about transformation. My dream suggested transformation was an inside out thing. But I think that is only half right. Transformation is an interactive process requiring all elements to work together.

 

And just what is transformation anyway? It is simply taking the hook out and letting it go.  Pema Chodren talks about being hooked.  I enjoyed this metaphor.

 

We each go through our days encountering situations which distract us from the task at hand. Someone says something.  Another reminds of something. Our jealousy, prejudice, and fear come into play.  The hook is sunk into our flesh and we are caught. 

 

Through our practice, we recognize these hooks for what they are and realize we have the skill to remove them.

 

We do his without much fanfare. It is our simple, but daily work. Just as we recognize our distractions in zazen, then gently go back to our breath in mindful presence, so too, when we take out one of the moment-to-moment hooks, we simply let it go.

 

We are, as I said, each human and we will be distracted.  It is our nature. But it is also our nature to forgive ourselves, nurture our friends and family, and build a loving world.

 

Be well.

 

 

Harvey So Daiho Hilbert, Ph.D. 
May All Beings Be Free From Suffering

On the web at:

http://www.daihoji.org/

http://www.zencenteroflascruces.org
and http://daihoji.blogspot.com/

 

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Zazen

With palms together,
Good Morning All,

This morning's zazen was made a special event by the presence of our founding Teachers Ken and Fern Roshi. Vicki and I had already completed the opening chants as they slipped in, sat erect, and immediately requested the Kyosaku. Ever on my Ino toes, I raised the stick and smacked them on their shoulders each in their turn.

Sitting down once more, mountains became mountains, and rivers became rivers.

The Zendo Shoji screens are now complete. The shoe box is being built and is paid for. We discussed finishing touches for the Zen Center physical plant. We discussed teaching and our various points of view. All with tea in hand and a joyful heart.

Be well,

Rain and its Teaching

With palms together,
Good Morning All,

We have been receiving rain. Lots of rain. In the desert, rain is both a blessing and a curse. Since it doesn't rain often, the ground is not receptive to the water. The water hits the ground and bounces. Then flows. Then rages through arroyos. We should all learn from this.

The lesson? The ground must be both prepared and willing to receive.

What does this mean for us? We are a lot like that ground. We harden and dry up. We fail to receive in our hardness and defensiveness.

To receive the blessings of a wet world, we must prepare ourselves to be watered. This means we must do the hard work of reflection and examination. We must be willing to dig up the rocks of our past and expose them to the light of day. We must be willing to aerate our soil with dialog. So when the waters of life do visit us, we are both ready and have the space to receive them.

Be well,

Our Toolbox

With palms together,
Good Morning All,

Have you ever met a person who has had the sense knocked into him?

I have. These people tend to be bitter, resentful, deceitful, and act out of fear.

What is one man's terrorist is another man's liberation fighter. Its all in the point of view. Yet we insist that we can win a war on terror. Hmmm. How should we best go about that? Knock some sense into their heads?

We need to realize that each "war" we seem to engage in (and we love this metaphor for action here in America) requires the appropriate tools. Just as a "war" on hunger does not require Stealth Bombers. A "war" on terror would benefit from a set of tools that might diffuse the terrorist's motivation and support.

So, what motivates a "terrorist"? Ahhh, the problem begins to crystallize. We have no real clue, since we put them all in the same box and mark them up as terrorists. So, this is a one tool fits all war. And the tool is "kill." Rather like that old Arlo Guthrie refrain in Alice's Restaurant, and just so, reveals a level of insanity caused by our unwillingness to talk with people we disagree with or don't understand.

There are lessons for life in this.

Talk with people. Invite them to sit down with you. Listen without packaging up their thoughts before they have left their mouths. Find the commonalities of experience and needs. Be flexible and creative in addressing issues. One tool rarely fits all things. That's why we have soooo many tools.

In the end, it will be our willingness to understand our enemies that will make them our friends. Life is like that.

Be well.

Something Wonderful

With palms together,
Good Morning (barely) All,

Our window is open and the gardeners are taking a break from their work. It is such a delight to sit here and look out a window onto the courtyard. It is green and there are a few trees. We have picnic tables and tall grasses with even taller plumes. It rained earlier and the air is clean and fresh. I wish you could be here to experience this with me. Yet, we each have our own beauty to experience, don't we?

It is so important to stop for a bit and take note of it. In our rush to get here and there, we often miss the simple, natural, beauty that surrounds us. Beauty is everywhere: even in the darkest places. We only need open our eyes and hearts to see and experience it.

Often in the midst of conflict, stress, or suffering of some sort or other, we are so overwhelmed with the difficulty that we just want to close our eyes and make the world go away. Not the best approach, I'm afraid. The world will remain forever. It is our problems that will go away.

What we need to do in such circumstances is work hard to take a moment to see something wonderful there in front of us. Nothing there? Think again. There is always something wonderful. Always.

Be well.

Peace

With palms together,

Good Morning All,

 

A fragile peace, and there is no other kind, has been achieved in Lebanon and Israel. How wonderful!   Let us all work together to maintain it. Peace is always fragile because life hurts. We don't enjoy suffering and try to stop ourselves from suffering by force. This just increases the suffering of all concerned. A cycle of violence and injury emerges and takes on a life of its own.

 

To stop it we must find a way to accept the blows of others, verbal or physical, and accept them in such a way as to both survive ourselves and nurture our enemies in the process.  Love erodes hatred.  It is like anti-toxin.  But is slow working, demanding, and very difficult to produce in the face of hatred.

 

Still, we must learn this practice.  All of us.  We must stop taking the violent steps that we take believing they will make us safe, and take the far more courageous steps of loving-kindness.

 

We do this with practice. We do this with love. We do this because we don't have any other choice.

 

Be well.

Harvey So Daiho Hilbert, Ph.D. 
May All Beings Be Free From Suffering

On the web at:

http://www.daihoji.org/

http://www.zencenteroflascruces.org
and http://daihoji.blogspot.com/

 

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