With palms together,
Good Morning All,
There is no peace outside of that which we make for ourselves. When we are at peace with ourselves and live in serene reflection, the disturbances of life are just ripples on the pond. Allow the ripples. Accept the stone. No problem.
Our world seems full of pain and suffering. People killing and maiming. People starving. People threatening other people. We might think these are about power and control or money or oil, but I think not. My sense is these are caused by people who suffer greatly. They are victims of their own thoughts and the brains that create them.
When we discover we do not have to be victims, we are free. At that moment of discovery, we realize all of our suffering is created by our mind and its need to have something to do. This is not to say that our pain is not real. If I touch the griddle at Zen Center as I did the other day, it will burn me, as it did. Yet, that is not suffering. Suffering occurs when I get caught in a web of thoughts about that incident and the pain surrounding it.
Who do I blame? Why did it happen? Shouldn't something be done to protect me from injury? These are the footprints of suffering.
If we let these thoughts go, attend to the burn, go on with our lives, no suffering.
As the public service announcements suggest, a mind is a terrible thing to waste. Allowing our mind free rein is a worse.
Practice zazen today.
Be well.
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
A Hammer is But One Tool
With palms together,
Good Morning All,
As someone who has spent a lifetime developing a critical mind, I am now spending the rest of my life learning to see it as both a tool and a hindrance. We should each strive to develop our mind. Critical thinking and a sharp wit is important. Knowledge is important. Yet these are not ends in themselves, but rather tools. We must know not only how to use them, but also how not to use them. We must know when to use them and when not to use them.
In spite of what I was once taught, a hammer will not fix the everything. Sometimes a screwdriver, sometimes a chisel, sometimes a pair of pliers: it is not a one tool fits all world.
Zazen can assist us with this. Zazen is being present regardless. It is using discipline to bring our attention to bear without needing to change anything. So if we have reached point "A" that is where we are and we enjoy point A. A thought of point B takes us away from point A. A thought of point B diminishes point B. Enjoy point A.
Wisdom is our ultimate acceptance of the limits of our tools.
Be well.
Good Morning All,
As someone who has spent a lifetime developing a critical mind, I am now spending the rest of my life learning to see it as both a tool and a hindrance. We should each strive to develop our mind. Critical thinking and a sharp wit is important. Knowledge is important. Yet these are not ends in themselves, but rather tools. We must know not only how to use them, but also how not to use them. We must know when to use them and when not to use them.
In spite of what I was once taught, a hammer will not fix the everything. Sometimes a screwdriver, sometimes a chisel, sometimes a pair of pliers: it is not a one tool fits all world.
Zazen can assist us with this. Zazen is being present regardless. It is using discipline to bring our attention to bear without needing to change anything. So if we have reached point "A" that is where we are and we enjoy point A. A thought of point B takes us away from point A. A thought of point B diminishes point B. Enjoy point A.
Wisdom is our ultimate acceptance of the limits of our tools.
Be well.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Get a Grip
With palms together,
Good Morning All,
Zen living is an everyday experience. It really does not matter what religion you follow, whether you believe in a God or not, or much of anything else. Zen living is living with an open eye and open heart. Zen living is living with a willingness to be still even when in motion. It is an attitude and a practice. It cam become a religion. It can become a philosophy. Yet in either case it is both and neither.
If we commit to a meditation practice and meet our daily commitment, several things will happen., First you will develop a deep satisfaction over having committed to setting aside time to be with just yourself and your experience of yourself. Second, you Will learn a great deal from this time on the cushion. Third, you will develop the ability to remain present regardless of the experience.
In the end, you learn what you already know. Your time with yourself on your cushion serves as a confirmation of this knowledge. Finally, you discover it is nothing special and yet extraordinary at the same time.
I invite you each to establish a daily meditation practice. It does take a commitment. And a commitment requires something of us. It requires that the commitment must trump our feelings and thoughts. This is the discipline of the practice. For those coming to meditation as a way of feeling good, this is a huge stumbling block because it is those folks who are usually slave to their emotions and live undisciplined and chaotic lives as a result.
I say to you, get a grip. The reins are yours to hold. Hold them.
Be well.
Good Morning All,
Zen living is an everyday experience. It really does not matter what religion you follow, whether you believe in a God or not, or much of anything else. Zen living is living with an open eye and open heart. Zen living is living with a willingness to be still even when in motion. It is an attitude and a practice. It cam become a religion. It can become a philosophy. Yet in either case it is both and neither.
If we commit to a meditation practice and meet our daily commitment, several things will happen., First you will develop a deep satisfaction over having committed to setting aside time to be with just yourself and your experience of yourself. Second, you Will learn a great deal from this time on the cushion. Third, you will develop the ability to remain present regardless of the experience.
In the end, you learn what you already know. Your time with yourself on your cushion serves as a confirmation of this knowledge. Finally, you discover it is nothing special and yet extraordinary at the same time.
I invite you each to establish a daily meditation practice. It does take a commitment. And a commitment requires something of us. It requires that the commitment must trump our feelings and thoughts. This is the discipline of the practice. For those coming to meditation as a way of feeling good, this is a huge stumbling block because it is those folks who are usually slave to their emotions and live undisciplined and chaotic lives as a result.
I say to you, get a grip. The reins are yours to hold. Hold them.
Be well.
Monday, September 18, 2006
Sesshin Weekend
With palms together,
Good Morning All,
Our sesshin was a real success! This was the first sesshin we allowed attendance to be staggered. It was a little uncomfortable for those control freaks among us, me, to deal with but deal I did.
We also had our Zen Center being re-roofed during the weekend. This meant sitting under tearing wood, pounding hammers, and the chatter of the workers (not to mention their footsteps overhead, as we sat silently through the weekend.
The Sunday culmination of the retreat was beautiful as we each offered a piece of cake to the Hungry Ghosts, a symbolic gesture and commitment to those in need of our help, and honored those who have taken their next steps along the Zen Buddhist path.
Ryan Weeks took the Three Refuges and became Zen To; Mike Mu Shin OMalley took the Precepts as his own, and Bonnie Busho Hobbs entered the priesthood as a Novitiate.
Be well.
Good Morning All,
Our sesshin was a real success! This was the first sesshin we allowed attendance to be staggered. It was a little uncomfortable for those control freaks among us, me, to deal with but deal I did.
We also had our Zen Center being re-roofed during the weekend. This meant sitting under tearing wood, pounding hammers, and the chatter of the workers (not to mention their footsteps overhead, as we sat silently through the weekend.
The Sunday culmination of the retreat was beautiful as we each offered a piece of cake to the Hungry Ghosts, a symbolic gesture and commitment to those in need of our help, and honored those who have taken their next steps along the Zen Buddhist path.
Ryan Weeks took the Three Refuges and became Zen To; Mike Mu Shin OMalley took the Precepts as his own, and Bonnie Busho Hobbs entered the priesthood as a Novitiate.
Be well.
Friday, September 15, 2006
Aren't We Special
With palms together,
Good Morning All,
In our mind's eye, and sometimes if we are not careful, through our practice, we build elaborate, finely crafted necklaces of wisdom. Stunning and beautiful, they glitter in the light of our hearts and minds. Everyone sees our glitter, we ourselves are mesmerized by it. Isn't it wonderful to be so pretty and, well, soooo very special?
Then a low rider pulls up next to us, blaring, thumping base notes pound, tatts and cigarette smoke, profanity, and a stare that chills us. The necklace breaks and all those pretty little jewels fall to the floor.
Our true practice is the practice of being present without any special mantel. Being present even when the present is hurtful, fearful, or smelly we are able to be our fear, our pain, or our offense.
So, what does this practice get us? Nothing. Practice is not about attainment. Practice is about being and that is absolutely all it is about.
So, practice zazen with care. Do not keep your zazen. Do not wear it around your neck as though it were a precious jewel. It is both nothing and everything at once, as are we ourselves.
Be well.
Team Zen:
Rev. Harvey So Daiho Hilbert, Ph.D. May All Beings Be Free From Suffering
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Thursday, September 14, 2006
Teaching
With palms together,
Good Morning All,
The sound of morning is a deep one. Unseen things are happening in preparation for the emergence of the sun over the mountains in the east. Just as the First Teacher came from the east to the west, so too, our sun casting its light on the world.
Bodhidharma was a curmudgeon. He had a beard. It is said that he sewed his eyelids open and sat in a cave facing the wall with his naked eyes for nine years.
His student, our second patriarch, demonstrated his earnest desire to be taught by cutting off his arm and presenting it to his Master. Finally the curmudgeon cracked and taught.
Today, we take teaching for granted. Here it is on the Internet, at your community college, at small workshops everywhere. No one jumps through hoops to be admitted. Precious few even see a hoop to pass through. Learning has been studied and teaching has become a profession, just as friendship has become professionalized, the principles of which are now taught in classrooms.
Yet in all of this teaching, something is missing. Something is being overlooked. It is the awesome pregnancy of the moment between teacher and student that comes only with a deep and abiding relationship. We do not support such relationships, professional citizens that we are. We see skills rather than mystery; codified principles, lists of this and that, rather than art.
So even though the sun rises over the mountains, its light is often wasted on those that simply expect it to be there.
Live without expectation and each moment will give birth to itself.
Be well.
Team Zen: Yesterday four and a quarter miles of running and walking.
Rev. Harvey So Daiho Hilbert, Ph.D. May All Beings Be Free From Suffering
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Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Being Present
With palms together,
Good Morning All,
It is late evening as I sit down to write to you. The rain is gently snapping against the pebbles on the ground outside our apartment window and there is an occasional flash of lightening followed by rolls of thunder. It is perfect weather.
Perfection is always about being present. When we are fully present, regardless of what is happening or what we are thinking and feeling, the moment is perfect. How could it be otherwise?
Imperfection is something we add. Perfection, too, is something we add when we think of perfection, imagine perfection, rather than exist completely with the present. The present is always complete. There can be nothing lacking. We might wish there was something else in our present, but this, too, is something we add. Just being in the present moment is enough and complete, and as a result, perfect.
Some of you wondered what I was thinking when I said change was an illusion in an earlier post. Just so, some of you might wonder just what could I mean when I say everything is always perfect. The key is in understanding that our mind is not reality, it is a function of our brain. Our mind creates what we call reality, it puts a color to it, a taste to it, a smell to it, a texture to it, and a thought about it. But the universe is not our mental construction before our mind exists to perceive it.
What is it?
Like that koan about your face before your parents were born, what was it?
Can you be without thought? Before perception? What would be perfect or imperfect there? What would change there?
And now it is no longer raining. Also perfect.
Be well.
Be well.
Team Zen:
Rev. Harvey So Daiho Hilbert, Ph.D. May All Beings Be Free From Suffering
On the web at:
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