Ocean

With palms together,
Good Evening Everyone,

Is eternal life, that is, the practice and realization of Zen, simply the absence of an I? No drop of water is independent from an ocean. At various times we are drops, whole waves, and even the ocean in its entirety. Our practice is to be at ease attaining one in the same.

Be well.

The Student and the Teacher

With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
The night sky invites my eye. I am sitting at my dining room table next to the picture window. When I turn off the lights, it is as though I am sitting in a planetarium. There is such beauty in the early morning. The sound of the heating system, or the boys padding around on the tile floor, or the crunch of somebody nibbling at the dog food I just put down: these are the sounds moving through the darkness.
It is good to have this time. I face a very busy day today, as Wednesdays typically are for me. Gentle time to be aware, unhurried, and unfolding is precious. Such moments are true teachers.
The lessons involve the mysteries of our personal connection to that which is hidden. How we face these mysteries is important. With open or closed eyes? With open or closed ears? With open or closed heart?
Be still and pay attention I whisper to myself.
Be well,

Swimming in Everything

With palms together,

Good Morning Everyone,



This morning I will drive over to Temple Beth El and do what I am calling Contemplative Practices there. Beginning Monday I will do this daily on weekdays at 7:00 AM. Contemplative Practices are Morning Prayers, Meditation, and Yoga. Each to be done mindfully, slowly, and with the aim of developing gratitude, compassion, and patience for the day.



For me, Zen practice is a universal componant to all contemplative practices. Zen in stillness (seated practice), and Zen in motion (eating, walking, yoga, weghts, tai chi, work, etc.), are all one in the same thing: mindful living



When we live mindfully: we are living with an open heart, open to the Infinite. Whether we call this the Infinite, Big Mind, Buddha Nature, Christ, God, a Highr Power, or simply the Highest Good, is irrelevant. In fact, what we call it can be problematic if the term we use denotes a static conception or image because of our natural inclination to grasp such a thin and hold onto it.



So, it is a challenge to live without nouns! Life as continuous, never-ending process, has nothing stable upon which to stand. This lack of firm foundation is very scary. Yet, like being underwater in a pool, our environment completely surrounds us and as we relax into it we join it. Pure freedom, yes, but most importantly, we are in a position to taste life as it is, rather than as we think it is.



Be well.

Forest

With palms together,

Good Morning Everyone,



Last night I was working on a paper concluding a course of study in Judaism and I found myself just writing as I do in my blogs. It is a mistake I think to try to consider a religious point of view as one thing or another.


The practice is to just be.



So, in the middle of writing, I composed this:



The Infinite does not speak to me,
It whispers, kisses, and hovers.
It rises thrugh my fingers
with each touch of a key
on my keyboard
like fingers touching a mirror.
there It is,..
Tactile dialogue
as words pirouette.


I think I like being lost in the wilderness of a forest where nothing has a name and everything is just there before me. It makes every touch count.

Be well.

Valentine's Dday

With palms together,

Good Morning Everyone,



Today is one of those days, oy, one of those days, where cards and candy, flowers, and schmaltz flow like tidal waves, and at the speed of light, yet.



I will freely admit, I am not fond of Valentine's Day. I feel it is so artificial, so contrived,and worse, shallow.



People spend so much time and money on cards, candy, and other ready-mades, and so little time and energy on the real thing.



Love is hard. It is work. Love requires things of us we are so often unwilling to give. A piece of paper with a sentiment? Please.



Couples grow, relationships change. Sometimes they deepen, sometimes they remain stuck in romantic notions of by-gone times. Love requires a willingness to risk living in new growth. It requires a recasting of ideas, thoughts, and behaviors.



We love our partners and are committed to them. But this love is dynamic and changes over time. and because this is so, the nature of the relationship must change. Often deeper, sometimes in different directions, we work to hold on to an ever-changing ground.



The test of a relationship and the people in it is their willingness to release themselves from the bondage of history and step into a deeper, more satisfying present. Love is not two dimensional, it is incredibly multidimensional with surfaces facing in all directions.



Today I vow to open my heart to all those dimensions and directions..



Be well,

Clearing Away Stuff

With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,

The morning air is cold and the sky is dark. I put on the fire in the fireplace, made some coffee, and spent a little time picking up books. Somehow, my library spread through the living room and dining area, across the counter, and over my desk. Odd papers, folders, and a few pens completed the mess. This is the inevitable result of writing. We want our sources right in front of us. So, too, practice.

Our primary source in practice is ourselves. We sit facing a wall. Nothing else is there. This form isolates us and because this is so, it offers an opportunity to experience without secondary sources, i.e., the constant flow of voices and images around us.

This practice is a source of life and vitality. As things clear away, our life reveals itself as directly as possible. Like being able to see the granite counter under the books, we can see what is there rather than what we think is there.

When I take away the clutter clarity returns and with it our life energy rises.

Be well

A Question

With palms together,

Good Morning Everyone,



As some of you might know I am just completing a two year course of study with Rabbi Citrin at Temple Beth El in Las Cruces. The program, called "Journeys", explored historical, liturgical, theological, and personal issues surrounding Judaism and its practices. I am now knee deep in writing a paper to complete the program. A reader of my blog at Tricycle asked me a question and I thought I would take some time this morning to address it. The question was:



Hello Roshi , please I am curious how the mix of being a Buddhist priest and a Jewish lay teacher/student works ?



This is at once both a complex and simple question. There are those in both faith traditions who would argue that it does not work. They might be hooked on their tradition, unwilling to see more deeply what the aim is, or they might fear competing agendas, and so on. On the other hand, there are many who have viewed my effort with curiosity, appreciation, and even gratitude.



Contemplative practices have much in common and every faith tradition has a tradition of contemplative practice. It happens that in Zen and Judaism, thee are so very many parallels and points of agreement that synchronicity is not such a problem as it might be in other blends.



Mystical Judaism, through the teachings of kabbalists and the Hasidim, posit a view of God that is as nearly identical to Zen's view of Big Mind as is possible. Meditation has been traced to Jewish ancestors back to and including Abraham. And in both cases, the practice is the focus, not the beliefs.



I have found that each inform and deepen the other. One tills the soil, as the other plants seeds, one nurtures, the other reaps, one bakes, the other feasts, and in the end, manifestation of holiness. A holiness not holier than thou, but a holiness that reveals the sacred nature of all things.



People seem very interested in learning. I have taught very well attended classes in Jewish Spirituality, Kabbalah, Mussar,and conduct two weekly meditation periods at the Temple. The congregation, initially suspicious, has warmly accepted me over the years and I was even elected to the Board of Directors.



The Zen world has had a little more difficulty, I think. For one, most people's understanding of Judaism is quite shallow, even erroneous. Stereotypes prevail in both cases and these offer both practice opportunities and teaching moments.



For me personally, the path has been torturous as I am just a tad too serious. Prone to go black and white, I cut off my nose despite my face at times. Engaging however, in the torture is essential to deepening our faith, whether its faith in the Everything or faith in a practice.



As a result I have come to deeply appreciate the truth of the statement that there are many windows in the mansion of the Infinite. And great wisdom in letting go of our grasp of idols regardless of who made them and what they point to.



Be well.