Mr and Mrs Buttinsky, Our Neighbors

With palms together,

Good Morning All,

 

I went to the synagogue last night.  There was a young man on his way to graduate study at a rabbinic school.  He gave a talk.  Big Mistake. He chose to talk about the Ways of Rebuke. Now, imagine a congregation full of people much older than you and you are telling them how to rebuke their neighbor.  Either in one ear and out the other or a rebuke in itself. He could have cast the talk in much more positive terms by suggesting we consider rebuke to be correction or assistance or counsel or whatever, but no.  He stuck to the old, archaic term, rebuke...of course, its a Hebrew word and rabbis, as well as rabbinic students love to talk on the derivations of terms. I can't blame them, I do the same with Zen words. Such talk makes us feel as though we are in the know, you know.

 

I was struck, however, with the history that rebuking our neighbor is a positive commandment and is considered a good thing to do. This commandment places all of us in a position of being the hall monitors at school, the crossing guards, and the parents of the world around us.  It sets us up to be the experts judging our neighbor's behavior and then demands we become a buttinskies on top of it! Oy.

 

Yes, we should aproach those who we feel are injuring us or the world.  Yes, we should attempt to repair the damage, assist them and ourselves in healing, but rebuke?  I'm not so sure.

 

The Buddha taught that teachings must be specific to the situation and needs of those within the situation.  He knew that not all of us are smart, nor are we all artistic or mechanical.  Each of us needs to be approached in a careful way, a way appropriate to our ability to understand.  This requires a great knowledge of our neighbor.  Sadly, few of us bother to get to know our neighbors well enough. And fewer still have the skill to rebuke with care and compassion.

 

So, I wonder about this commandment and am left thinking it better to address oneself before addressing the flaws of others.

 

Be well.

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

On the web at:

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

and http://360.yahoo.com/buddhist99

 

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Can You Not Hear a Pin Drop?

With palms together,

Good Morning All,

 

My disciple, Rev. Gozen, did his Teisho last night on "Buddhism Lite." Another student of mine, a budding Buddha, asks during mondo period if Zen is not "Buddhism Heavy."  

 

I sat silent.

 

If the hall is empty, any sound is like a trumpet.

 

Be well.

 

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

On the web at:

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

and http://360.yahoo.com/buddhist99

 

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What's Your Message?

With palms together,

Good Morning All,

 

Consider your every movement, your every words, thought and deed are teachings. What is their essence?  If, as was once said, the medium is the message, what is your message?

 

I see our children wearing t-shirts that suggest they are selfish or sex toys.  I see parents not paying attention to much of anything but what's on their table. I see people equating prosperity with election (to use an old Calvinist sort of thought).

 

Yet, this obsession with the pleasures of the self noticeably leaves us feeling both empty and oddly angry. We seek fulfillment (a spiritual sort of meal) in Church or Synagogue or Mosque or Zendo and are angry when we leave still craving.  Not understanding that seeking is a sort of sickness in itself. We blame the form or the Teaching or the Teacher.  Sometimes we hold the Universe responsible. It is rare that we really get into it, though.  Rare that we look at our own medium and assess or own message.

 

Perhaps it it time we considered rethinking the notion of looking "the other way" and saw that "way" as our own life.

 

Be well. 

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

On the web at:

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

and http://360.yahoo.com/buddhist99

 

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Calm Abiding

With palms together,

Good Morning All,

 

The presentation at Unity Church of Mesilla Valley went very well yesterday.  We expected 25-35 people.  I made 50 handouts.  We ran out!

 

People always seem to enjoy hearing about Zen and the Dharma.  They seem to feel calmed by the message. Yet, so many resist the practice. My sense is that some of people fear letting go of the thoughts and feelings they have, even if they are the causes of their suffering, as those same thoughts and feelings are so very familiar.

 

The thing is, Zen will not remove thoughts and feelings, nor will it stop pain.  It will only alter our relationship to them.

 

The whole notion of "calm abiding" a phrase often used in Buddhist texts, is about relationship. If we are in a small boat in the middle of a stormy sea, our practice of Zen will not calm the sea. What it will do is calm our relationship to the storm itself. We will do what is natural and necessary to do in order to stay afloat.  We will notice the high water.  We will notice our fear.  We will notice the wind. And we will bucket out the water, take down our sail, and make sure all our things are tied down.

 

Within the storm and the things to be done, we are calmly abiding.

 

Now, if we shift our perspective, we see that there is no storm.  We see that storm is a word we apply to a set of circumstances and that such a word arouses thoughts and feelings.

 

So, where is the storm?

 

Calm abiding is the Zen of relationship to everyday life.

 

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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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,