Life Appreciation

With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,

Profound is like a bell only because we are a species of dullards. It is actually quite ordinary. A person who walks with deliberation, mindfully placing his feet on the ground, mindfully opening a door, or slicing a tomato, is deeply and profoundly there. There is something very wonderful about the feel of a sharp knife cutting through a tomato. The smell of an onion's juices being diced, or the smooth sheen of a dining room table as it is being polished. Wonderful, but not special.

If we allow our mind to create fictions of later and earlier, we are asleep as we do these things, and miss their everyday wonder.

As a species, we are very bright, able to penetrate the absolute reality of our universe. Creative, we improve our universe, lengthen our lives, and vegetate in front of televisions. Eyes closed and unschooled to discovery, we slug back drinks that dull our minds, inject ourselves with chemicals and escape this very moment of our lives. Yes, a species of dullards. Dangerous dullards at that.

Zen is said to be very boring by some. Careful! Only those who are dullards can say that! There is nothing boring about infinity. Nothing boring about the present. Take a course in life appreciation, practice zazen.

Be well.

More or Less Zen

With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,

With this day opening like a sleepy eye, I step out gingerly from its lid to breath the fresh morning air. It is laden with moisture, a sure sign we are in the rainy season here in the desert southwest. I have opened all of our home's windows. I am listening to the crickets do their thing as my fingers find keys to partner with in this dance we call communication.

Over the last two days I have been thoroughly absorbed in creating a website for Temple Beth El. Jane, my Webmaster, is also Webmaster for our Clear Mind Zen site. We have learned together over the last ten years or so about how to make a website and more, importantly, how to work together.

My Little Honey slipped into the background, text, color, pictures, html glitches, these were in the foreground. I am thankful and deeply appreciative of My Little Honey. Even so, somewhere in the middle I took a break to take her to see "The Proposal" starring Sandra Bullock. We all need to know we are wanted, needed, and special, especially in the middle of a large and time-sensitive project.

Once the site has been edited for grammar and other glitches, I'll share a link to it with you.

Be well.

Take a Breath

With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,

A late start this morning caused by a difficult night. It seems I was constantly awakened by various things, usually Tripper, who has taken recently to whining a lot rather than jumping up onto the bed. I think Pete-kitty nailed him a time or two on the leap and that did him in. Pete-kitty likes to sleep either in my arms or at my feet. Woe to any who approach in the night.

So, I see it is morning and once again I am awake. Rather like Groundhog Day around here. The mountains remain. The sky is beautiful. Judy is anxious.

When life is life as it is, we just live. Which is to say. Take a breath, take a step. Sip your tea. Eat your breakfast. Do your work.
Nothing special. And when life is extraordinary? Take a breath, take a step. Sip your tea. Eat your breakfast. Do your work.

I so much enjoy Master Dogen's Instructions to the Cook. He reveals an approach to living that is grounded and measured. It is deliberate, even when planning. It is discriminating. Which is to say, every grain of rice, every vegetable, regardless of its condition, has a purpose. We must sort. We must do. Our judgements are to assign meaning, not to take away value. Our lives should be real, one step at a time, fully and wholly lived.

OK. So, when anxious, recognize your anxiety. Take a breath. Take a step. When depressed, recognize your depression, Take a breath. Take a step. The ultimate medicine is engagement.

So, Master SleepyHead recognizes his sleepiness. He will slow down a bit. He will sip some caffeine. And a little later, he will take a nap. Nothing special.

Be well.

PS. Student Aejin, it was so good to see you in chat this morning! Say hello to Hong Kong for me!

In the Meantime

With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,

Contemplating a blank page
contemplating one's self.
We paint temporary pictures with words:
once drawn, no longer true.

Moving, changing, evolving:
these are words with ground.
Without ground,
no such thing.
So, what is ground?

The philosopher speaks
nonsense.
Go to the bathroom.
Flush the toilet.

Be well.

A Simple Question

With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,

Miss Vivy Wong wrote to me on my Live Journal Blog, she asks:

Subject: A small questionAre you sure that Buddha taught we should walk, approach a home, and simply stand with our bowls? No offense, I just wanna figure out this point. I am from China. In my country, we all believed that Buddha approached a home and stood with his bowl just because he wanted to ask for a meal, of course without any meat.You know, Buddha lived a hard life, and he had little income. So he had to ask kind-hearted people to offer him some food. Therefore I think Buddha doing that is not a kind of practice.

This story and tradition comes from the Diamond Sutra, section one. According to one commentator, Chiang Wei-nung (1871-1938), "The purpose of begging is to conquer egotism and arrogance, to overcome attachment to flavor and taste, to concentrate the mind on cultivating the Way, and to cause others to be embarrassed." (please refer to the Red Pine translation with extensive commentary).

In the culture of India at the time, and still today, beggers (bhikkus) simply stand or sit with a bowl. It is commonly understood that the bowl is to receive offerings. Buddha made this a practice by remaining silent, understanding a higher purpose was involved, a teaching to both giver and receiver, if you will.

The giver was offered an opportunity to practice generosity, the monk practiced patience, standing or sitting meditation, diligence, and wisdom. Moreover, wrapped in the buddha robe, they practiced morality. Thus, in this practice all six of the Buddhist paramitas are at work.

In Zen we call this practice tokuhatsu. It is part of engaged Zen practice.

Be well.

Help Needed

Hello All,

A new version of our Clear Mind Zen website is up. We have re-worked our graphic logo to correspond with the emblem sewn on our Order's rakusus. Shortly we will collapse the links on the site into categories to make it more navigable and visually pleasing. If you have suggestions, I would be happy to hear them.

Clear Mind Zen sangha is growing. I would like to establish a Temple outside of my home once again. Incense, candles, zafus and zabutons are needed. Printed material is needed. Rent would be needed.

I am asking for donations to establish a Clear Mind Zen Center here in Las Cruces. If you have a spare dollar or two, please consider going to our website and offering it to us through our donation link to PayPal.

If you would be interested in joining us in Las Cruces at a Center, please let me know.

I look forward to being in-service to you.

A deep bow of appreciation.

Respect

With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,

As our work week begins, may we each approach our work as a spiritual activity, that is to say. an activity of mindful practice. Our daily lives, including our work, are a laboratory for I-Thou, I-It examination. Do we approach things as things without value, merit, or dignity? Do we treat the bus driver with the same respect as out rabbi or priest? When we touch the keys of our computer are we experiencing the universe and at the same moment plastic?

Spirituality is nothing more than awareness of life in its entirety. We cannot shut out this, open that. Everything is necessary. Everything has a purpose. Our, perhaps unique, position as human beings is that we can come to a place where we are able to experience this.

Respect, contrary to opinion, is not earned, it is given.

Be well.