Work Meditation

Good Morning Everyone,

 

In the West we often think of the sacred as something special residing in a special place or created through a special activity. In fact, we often think of the universe as divided and separated, categorized, tagged and bagged: me ~ not me.

 

In Zen, East or West, we strive to see through this delusion, this veil of ignorance, and see that everything is one.  In such a world, there is no sacred, no profane, nothing special, there is just the world we experience as we experience it.  We could say this is mundane.  Hardly.  It is, in fact, extraordinary.

 

The universe is all us, everything.  Our breath and our very existence both depends on it and it depends on us.  Nothing means anything without our making it mean something.  We are partners with the Infinite.

 

In Zen, we approach all activity in this way: meditation, walking, eating.  Today I will suggest that even our work is such an activity.  We call work meditation, samu. It is typically done as a meditative practice in monasteries, but also at Zen Centers during retreats.  The reason I indicated both is that during retreats at Zen Centers, samu is taught as a contemplative practice, whereas in a monastic context, all work activity is samu, all work activity then is contemplative. 

 

In our "secular" lives, I suggest we live as if we are monastics, in the sense that we make all life activity a source of contemplation.

 

When we approach work as a spiritual activity what do we mean?  First, I think, we approach it openly. Work is not opposed to us.  It is not an exchange value, it is in itself.

 

Second, we appreciate all of the activity.  We reside in the activity as if there were no other activity to be done in that moment because, in truth, there is nothing other than what we are doing just now.  Multitasking is at best a fiction, at worst, a house dividing itself.

 

As we approach our work with an open heart and willingness to be completely present during it something really wonderful happens.  It becomes our own regardless of who we are doing it for or what we might receive in return.  This is the value of living in the moment.  There are no degrees of separation.

 

Be well.

 

 

 

 

 

Rev. Dr. So Daiho Hilbert-roshi 

http://www.clearmindzen.org 

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Lets Eat

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Seated meditation and walking meditation are but two of our meditative forms.  There is also "oryoki" or the practices involved in eating meditation.  Formal practice requires two things for the Zen Buddhist, a robe and a set of bowls.  These point to our basic necessities of food and shelter.  The robe shelters us against the elements and food offers us sustenance for our journey.

 

Just as there is a prayer when opening our robe, so too there are prayers associated with eating.  In Zen, all activity is activity of a buddha.  We should therefore treat all activity with a high degree of reverence and awareness.

 

Oryoki is usually practiced at the noon meal in Temples.  The noon meal is often the last meal of the day and is the most substantive.  An oryoki bowl set contains three bowls, a table cloth, a cloth bib, a cloth napkin, and a utensil pouch with contains chop sticks, a spoon, and a cleaning tool. 

 

We open the bowls together in the meditation hall in precise movements.  The bowls are set out, prayers are chanted, for each serving of three courses.  No eating occurs until all three servings are served, all the prayers are chanted, a portion is offered to the hungry ghosts, and permission is given to eat. Once the meal is completed, we each wait patiently for all to finish. We then clean the bowls with hot water, wipe them out, stack them back in order, and wrap them in the intricate lotus bud flower pattern each of us is taught.

 

All of this is done while sitting in lotus or half lotus at our cushions.

 

 

Eating meditation is a wonderful practice.  It teaches us patience, gratitude, and thoughtfulness.  Much of our practice involves dealing with feelings and thoughts as they arise during the prayers and long periods of serving the three courses.  We eat slowly, very slowly, being mindful of our food, how it came to us, the many lives and many hands involved in its preparation,

 

In the United States we are particularly calloused, I think, to these things.  Our food is often prepared by others hidden from our view. We eat quickly. We often do not give a thought to the lives offered as food for us. We just consume.

 

Eating meditation is all about addressing this distance from nature.  It brings us face to face at each meal with our true interconnectedness. 

 

These benefits are true even of informal eating practice. We can recite simplified versions of the meal chants, consider the food we are eating, its sources, and those who prepared it for us. We can wash our dishes with clear mind and open heart, being present in the practice.

 

True Zen Buddhists are in constant practice.

 

Be well.

 

.  

 

Rev. Dr. So Daiho Hilbert-roshi 

http://www.clearmindzen.org 

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Taking Aim

Good Morning Everyone,

Everything has its use, its place in the universe, and for the sake of this, everything is necessary. According to Aristotle, there were four causes: material, efficient, formal, and final. In modern times we use only one type of cause in our thinking, formal cause. Yet each type of cause reveals a point of view and each point of view has validity.

Material cause suggests something is what it is due to the material it is made of. We are holy beings because God breathed his spirit into us. We are human beings because we live in social groups and we get our life from the group. We are human beings because we have evolved into human beings as a result of many physical, psychological, and spiritual causes. Lastly, we are human beings for the sake of our partnership with the Absolute in order to perfect the universe.

Each "cause" has its place and offers us a view of our reason for being. One view looks at the stuff we are made of, another the conditions regarding that stuff, another the plan or order of the making itself, and still another, the purpose of the stuff itself. Only in the last case, the final or teleological case, do we find a rich, imaginative and deeply spiritual understanding of causation.

I am for the sake of something, not just because of something. In such a case, our aim in life and the path we follow become incredibly important.

When we practice Zen, we practice for the sake of something. We practice with what Master Dogen refers to as a "Way seeking mind" or the "thought of enlightenment". Notice, these are not causes in the modern sense. But rather, they are purpose driven.

As Zen Buddhists we are taught that everything is itself perfection already: we are vaguely aware that this perfection is covered by closed eyes. Our practice, encouraged by the thought and vague awareness, is to open our eyes and see clearly. So, for the sake of seeing clearly what is already present, we practice Zen.

Christians and Jews know this, as well. In the Jewish sense, we practice tikkun 'olam, a practice of assisting God in His work, righting wrongs, healing people, providing for the poor. In the Christian world, the same, we practice charity and love for all beings. Prayerful practices are meant to bring us closer to the Absolute in and out of the sanctuary.

In the theistic religions, from a non-mystical perspective, we behave because of our love of God, the Law of God, and an inevitable joining with God.

In Zen Buddhism, we practice for the sake of allowing the perfection that already is to emerge.

At first sight these appear different and even occasionally opposed to each other, but such is only a matter of perspective. Shift the ground you sit on and a whole new perspective emerges.

May you practice to be the perfection you already are in a world in dire need of your assistance.

Be well.





Rev. Dr. So Daiho Hilbert-roshi
http://www.clearmindzen.org/

Walking Meditation

Good Morning Everyone,

 

This morning I want to talk about Kinhin.  Kinhin is walking meditation.  It is essentially stillness in motion. There is a formal and informal version of this practice.  Formal Kinhin is practiced in the Zendo between sitting periods.  Informal kinhin is practiced anywhere at anytime.

 

Formal Kinhin should be done in the following way.  Standing at your cushion, facing the wall, place your hands in gassho (prayer-like hand gesture), with elbows extended and forearms horizontal to the floor. Then bow from the waist.  Turn to your right.  Close your left hand into a fist with thumb surrounded by your fingers.  Place your right hand on top as if to cover it like a shield. With elbows extended, forearms should remain horizontal to the floor.  Step off with your right foot.  Each step should be like a half step and very slow.  Kinhin is practiced slowly and mindfully.  Breathing in, we step, breathing out, we step.  Our attention should be on our presence as we walk. 

 

Typically Kinhin is practiced by walking around the interior of the Zendo following the practice leader.  This can be a set amount of time or a set number of rotations.  In any case, remain present and awake.

 

Informal Kinhin can be practiced anywhere and it is a real favorite of mine. Step slowly, but deliberately, with hands easy and relaxed either at one's side or in an informal clasped hand gesture, left cradled in right.  If you are wearing your rakusu (short robe), your hands should be under it.  Walk with your mind on your walking.  Notice your feet touch the earth, rise and fall as you walk.  Notice the sounds in the air, the smells, the sights of the earth before you. 

 

If you are in a store, say grocery shopping, move slowly with your cart.  Feel the products you examine, Notice how you place them in your cart.  Smile to others, but remain focused on being present.  We practice being free and easy in the marketplace this way.

 

Sometimes I practice kinhin while running, by placing my complete attention on my feet and breath.  Noticing my body as it moves, feeling the wind as it passes over my skin, and so forth.  I often listen to my brace as it squeaks when I walk or run.  Try to avoid patterns, stay in the exact moment.  Patterns make for sleepy Zen.

 

Practice Kinhin today and let me know about your experience.

 

Be well.

 

Rev. Dr. So Daiho Hilbert-roshi 

http://www.clearmindzen.org 

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Three Generations

Good Morning Everone,

 

Yesterday afternoon at the  Peace Vigil I sat in serene reflection meditation on the sidewalk in front of the old federal building. The sun was still up and we practice facing west so the sun warms our skin against the cooling late afternoon desert air.  Sometime during the second period, Abbey and her friend (I cannot recall her name) sat down next to me to practice a few minutes. Abbey is a high school student whose mother and grandmother stand with me during the peace vigil on Wednesdays.  She is a tall young lady, with long blond hair, and a keen interest in the world.

 

Over the last few weeks Abby has sat with me on a few occasions on the street.  She has also written to me a couple of times with questions.  Her questions suggest she has had a meditation practice for quite some time, but that her practice has been undisciplined.  Anyway, Abbey and her friend sat in silence, hands in the cosmic mudra, and brought peace into the world with me.  It was a very good experience to sit with such young people. 

 

I chanted the Four Great Vows as they prepared to leave as a family.  Three generations of women committed to making a difference.  I was honored to be in their presence.

 

Beings are numberless, I vow to free them.

Delusions are inexhaustable, I vow to end them

Dharma gates are boundless, I vow to enter them.

The Buddha Way is unsurpassable, I vow to realize it.

 

 

Be well.

 

Rev. Dr. So Daiho Hilbert-roshi 

http://www.clearmindzen.org 

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Awake

Good Morning Everyone,

 

When we sit down to practice zazen, we should sit down with a certain aim.  This aim is to be open and present without attempting to have this thought or that; this state of consciousness or that; or this feeling or that.  Zazen is the pure act of just sitting to be just sitting. 

 

We practice zazen in order to be awake.  Most of the time we are not awake, rather, we are thinking about something other than what we are doing.  as I type just now, I am thinking I need to get off the computer to get to the grocery store before my Breakfast Club meeting at 9:00.  This is not being awake. 

 

We often confuse having our eyes open for being awake. Drivers are "awake" but often appear to have tombstones in their eyes, mesmerized by the monotony of traffic.  Parents are often "awake" as they attend to their children with their minds a couple of dozen miles away.

 

This is no way to live.

 

Today practice for one hour to just be awake.  Tat is just attending to what you are in fact doing and nothing else. Watch your mind as it tries to slip away, gently bring it back.

 

I'd like to hear about your experience.

 

Be well.

 

 

 

 

  

 

Rev. Dr. So Daiho Hilbert-roshi 

http://www.clearmindzen.org 

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A Cold Wind

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our car is repaired and we got it back last night just before Zen Judaism and just after streetZen.  I am personally relieved. Being without a vehicle for nearly two weeks was a considerable stressor for this retired couple.

 

streetZen was a challenge yesterday afternoon. The day was windy and as the sun went down so did the temperatures.  The result was that we sat in a very cold sustained wind in the 30 mph range. I wrapped myself in my serape, but it was billowing during the first sitting period.  During the second period I wrapped it around my head and tucked the front under my knees so as to hold it down.

 

Rev. Zento sat with me.  It was good to have him there.

 

As I sat there I remembered one night in 1964 when I stood guard duty in the dead of winter in Germany. It was so cold the tears from my eyes froze on my face. Of course I was 17 at the time and thought I was God's gift to soldering, but those thoughts were little comfort against the cold.  Still, they got me through that night.

 

Sitting last night in the cold desert wind I thought of the Buddha sitting himself alone in the forests of India. Nothing but a robe or two layered on his body. Yet, he sat in serene reflection. Goodness, I have much practice ahead of me, I can tell you that!

 

As those thoughts arose last night, I would let them go and place my attention back on my breath.  I resorted to counting, which helped my concentration in the wind, and left me in the end, partners with the elements.

 

May we walk together in peace and harmony.

 

Be well.

 

 

 

Rev. Dr. So Daiho Hilbert-roshi 

http://www.clearmindzen.org 

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