With palms together,
Good Morning All,
Heart Sutra, Part Five.
Indeed, there is nothing to be attained; the Bodhisattvas live this deepest wisdom with no hindrance in the mind. No hindrance, therefore no fear. Far beyond delusive thinking, they finally awaken to complete nirvana. All Buddhas, Bodhisattvas of past, present, and future, live this deepest wisdom and therefore reach the most supreme enlightenment.
Once we “arrive” at a place where we realize ourselves fully and see deeply our true nature, we recognize immediately there is, indeed, nothing to be attained. When we live our lives in this way, with this understanding, there are no hindrances. A stone is in our path; we simply step around it. A problem at work; we engage in the process of solving it. Our children are injured, we take the time and offer the love to nurture and heal them. When we are in the present moment, fully, with nothing added, then what could possibly be a hindrance?
It is when we want to be somewhere else, someone else, that we are dissatisfied with our present moment. This “want” is something we add to the moment taking us away from what is there right in front of us. Our lives are more projections than reality and as a result, dispair, and suffering.
When we live in the present moment, fully there, there can be no fear. Moment to moment we live. We breathe, laugh, feel, enjoy. We know from our practice that these moments are not permanent. Each will come and go. We accept this as the way things are, yet continue to live as fully as possible. Fear arises from grasping, a desire not to lose what we think we should have or what we think we cannot live without. In truth, we can live without most things really. We can live, that is what we do. As we appreciate the present moment as the entire universe, it is quite enough.
Living in this way is living nirvana. Living this way is to be a living buddha, the same as all buddhas of all time because all time and all places are here right now in this wonderful moment before us. Experiencing this is experiencing complete, unexcelled awakening.
Organ Mountain Zen
Monday, May 17, 2010
Heart Sutra, Part Four
With palms together,
Good Morning,
Heart Sutra, Part Four,
Hence: in emptiness, no form, no feeling, no thought, no impulse, no consciousness; no eye, no ear, no nose, no tongue, no body, no mind; no seeing, no hearing, no smelling, no tasting, no touching, no thinking, no realm of sight, no realm of thought, no ignorance and no end of ignorance; no old age and death and no end to old age and death. No suffering, no craving, no extinction, no path; no wisdom, no attainment.
Shariputra, one of the Buddha’s two chief disciples, was a master at analysis and a master of the sutras. His skill at comprehension was supreme. It is interesting then, that this sutra utilizes a form of logical phrasing. In this case and at this point, we are taught that the nature of everything is oneness, a state of eternal interconnectedness. And if this is so, then the conclusion is as follows: negation. This is sort of like the approach the great Jewish scholar Moses Maimonides used to define God. We can define the Holy only by saying what He is not.
In emptiness there is nothing of substance. A great river flows and the water finds its way. There are no senses that last, no sense receptors that last, no objects, mental formations, nothing, not even ignorance or a lack of ignorance, that last. Indeed, it would seem that the point of our practice is to arrive at a place outside the paradigm of our usual thinking and understanding where we experience the great breath of the universe itself as our own. When we know this in every fiber of our being then there can be no suffering, no craving, no extinction.
Moreover, we are told there is no path, no wisdom, and nothing at all to attain. This is an exquisite exposition of samadhi. Just open your eyes! That is all there is to it. Open your eyes! See clearly what is right there before you. Don’t add a thing; don’t take a thing away. Just this.
Therefore, what is there to attain? We already possess everything there is. We are perfect just as we are. So, the outside and the inside are one in the same.
(For a history and good discussion of Shariputra, see “Great Disciples of the Buddha” by Nyanaponika Thera and Hellmuth Hecker, Edited by Bhikkhu Bodhi, 2003). Tags:
Good Morning,
Heart Sutra, Part Four,
Hence: in emptiness, no form, no feeling, no thought, no impulse, no consciousness; no eye, no ear, no nose, no tongue, no body, no mind; no seeing, no hearing, no smelling, no tasting, no touching, no thinking, no realm of sight, no realm of thought, no ignorance and no end of ignorance; no old age and death and no end to old age and death. No suffering, no craving, no extinction, no path; no wisdom, no attainment.
Shariputra, one of the Buddha’s two chief disciples, was a master at analysis and a master of the sutras. His skill at comprehension was supreme. It is interesting then, that this sutra utilizes a form of logical phrasing. In this case and at this point, we are taught that the nature of everything is oneness, a state of eternal interconnectedness. And if this is so, then the conclusion is as follows: negation. This is sort of like the approach the great Jewish scholar Moses Maimonides used to define God. We can define the Holy only by saying what He is not.
In emptiness there is nothing of substance. A great river flows and the water finds its way. There are no senses that last, no sense receptors that last, no objects, mental formations, nothing, not even ignorance or a lack of ignorance, that last. Indeed, it would seem that the point of our practice is to arrive at a place outside the paradigm of our usual thinking and understanding where we experience the great breath of the universe itself as our own. When we know this in every fiber of our being then there can be no suffering, no craving, no extinction.
Moreover, we are told there is no path, no wisdom, and nothing at all to attain. This is an exquisite exposition of samadhi. Just open your eyes! That is all there is to it. Open your eyes! See clearly what is right there before you. Don’t add a thing; don’t take a thing away. Just this.
Therefore, what is there to attain? We already possess everything there is. We are perfect just as we are. So, the outside and the inside are one in the same.
(For a history and good discussion of Shariputra, see “Great Disciples of the Buddha” by Nyanaponika Thera and Hellmuth Hecker, Edited by Bhikkhu Bodhi, 2003). Tags:
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Heart Sutra, Part Three
With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
Heart Sutra, Part Three
Daiho-roshi
O Shariputra, remember, Dharma is fundamentally emptiness no birth, no death. Nothing is pure nothing is defiled. Nothing can increase, nothing can decrease.
This fundamental “emptiness” means that nothing that exists has an independent existence. Moreover, even the teachings and reality itself is empty in the same way.
All things, all processes, all energy is subject to change and is, indeed, in constant motion with no fixed point to be experienced or understood. When viewed in this way, our understanding of the acts of birth and death as separate, independent points in time, is false.
Birth and death are named points along a continuum of processes and not as static, independent events. Each are in themselves “empty.” That which has no permanence cannot be “born” as we in the west often understand the term, nor can it die, either. When we truly integrate this understanding, making it part of ourselves, we move beyond birth and death, and remain untouched by them.
This is very difficult for us as we tend to see in both linear and static terms. We see things as “there.” A stone is a stone. This way of seeing arises from a relative view. If we see with an absolute view, a view of hundreds of thousands of kalpas, a stone immediately loses its independence from all other things in all times. It is just one blink in a very large and constantly changing process. In truth, we are all the component parts and pieces, energy and matter of all of existence. Right here, right now, aware of itself.
Notions of purity and defilement arise from delusion, as do notions of increase or decrease. Pure and impure are ideas on the one hand and two sides of the same coin, on the other hand. Our practice invites us to ask, “What’s this?” at each perception and therefore at each breath, as we retain beginner’s mind, we reside in realization.
We live as buddhas by embracing life with dark in one hand and light in the other. Guiding each step is our heart/mind. In such a mind, no birth, no death, no pure, no defiled, no decrease, no increase: just this.
Good Morning Everyone,
Heart Sutra, Part Three
Daiho-roshi
O Shariputra, remember, Dharma is fundamentally emptiness no birth, no death. Nothing is pure nothing is defiled. Nothing can increase, nothing can decrease.
This fundamental “emptiness” means that nothing that exists has an independent existence. Moreover, even the teachings and reality itself is empty in the same way.
All things, all processes, all energy is subject to change and is, indeed, in constant motion with no fixed point to be experienced or understood. When viewed in this way, our understanding of the acts of birth and death as separate, independent points in time, is false.
Birth and death are named points along a continuum of processes and not as static, independent events. Each are in themselves “empty.” That which has no permanence cannot be “born” as we in the west often understand the term, nor can it die, either. When we truly integrate this understanding, making it part of ourselves, we move beyond birth and death, and remain untouched by them.
This is very difficult for us as we tend to see in both linear and static terms. We see things as “there.” A stone is a stone. This way of seeing arises from a relative view. If we see with an absolute view, a view of hundreds of thousands of kalpas, a stone immediately loses its independence from all other things in all times. It is just one blink in a very large and constantly changing process. In truth, we are all the component parts and pieces, energy and matter of all of existence. Right here, right now, aware of itself.
Notions of purity and defilement arise from delusion, as do notions of increase or decrease. Pure and impure are ideas on the one hand and two sides of the same coin, on the other hand. Our practice invites us to ask, “What’s this?” at each perception and therefore at each breath, as we retain beginner’s mind, we reside in realization.
We live as buddhas by embracing life with dark in one hand and light in the other. Guiding each step is our heart/mind. In such a mind, no birth, no death, no pure, no defiled, no decrease, no increase: just this.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Heart Sutra, Part Two
Heart Sutra, Part Two
Daiho-roshi
O Shariputra, form is no other than emptiness, emptiness no other than form, form is exactly emptiness, emptiness exactly form. Feeling, thought, impulse, and consciousness are likewise like this.
This phrasing is a core teaching arising from our practice. These words are only words: take them to mean nothing at all! They are simply the words we use to describe what we experience and “attain” on the cushion, walking, eating, and/or working in everyday Zen. When we practice with our breath and are deeply here, we see clearly the impermanence of everything.
As we go through our day and notice our breath enter and leave; we experience the comings and goings of mind, feeling, body, consciousness, and so on. Nothing lasts, nothing. Yet everything is here, always.
It is important to see that both sides of this couplet are true: form is emptiness and emptiness is form. If we reside in the first half we are like the monk in the koan sitting on top of that hundred-foot pole, residing in emptiness, nihilistic and worthless. “Getting” that form is emptiness does not mean that it does not matter or that it won’t smack you upside your head. It simply means is like a river flowing, whatever the it of it is.
Emptiness is form is a statement of perfect faith. What goes, will come again. The out breath is only half of the story, as is death, as is life, as is pain, as is pleasure. Moreover, each of the aggregates is the same.
We must trust in the processes of the universe, and when we let our ego-self go, we rise and fall on the waters of form/no form, tranquil or stormy, with perfect equanimity. And we take the next step. We always take the next step. We have vowed to do so.
Daiho-roshi
O Shariputra, form is no other than emptiness, emptiness no other than form, form is exactly emptiness, emptiness exactly form. Feeling, thought, impulse, and consciousness are likewise like this.
This phrasing is a core teaching arising from our practice. These words are only words: take them to mean nothing at all! They are simply the words we use to describe what we experience and “attain” on the cushion, walking, eating, and/or working in everyday Zen. When we practice with our breath and are deeply here, we see clearly the impermanence of everything.
As we go through our day and notice our breath enter and leave; we experience the comings and goings of mind, feeling, body, consciousness, and so on. Nothing lasts, nothing. Yet everything is here, always.
It is important to see that both sides of this couplet are true: form is emptiness and emptiness is form. If we reside in the first half we are like the monk in the koan sitting on top of that hundred-foot pole, residing in emptiness, nihilistic and worthless. “Getting” that form is emptiness does not mean that it does not matter or that it won’t smack you upside your head. It simply means is like a river flowing, whatever the it of it is.
Emptiness is form is a statement of perfect faith. What goes, will come again. The out breath is only half of the story, as is death, as is life, as is pain, as is pleasure. Moreover, each of the aggregates is the same.
We must trust in the processes of the universe, and when we let our ego-self go, we rise and fall on the waters of form/no form, tranquil or stormy, with perfect equanimity. And we take the next step. We always take the next step. We have vowed to do so.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Heart Sutra, Part One
When Kannon, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, was practicing the deepest wisdom, he clearly saw that the five aggregates are empty thus transcending distress and suffering.
Kannon, Avalokiteshvara, Kuan yin: all are names for the personification of compassion. This is the aspect of being that listens to the cries of the universe and replies with him or her self. We just don’t sit there; we are compelled to act to relieve the suffering of others. This is a key principle of Zen.
Even Bodhisattvas, awakened beings, practice zazen. This sutra teaches us that when they practice deeply and as they see into the essence of existence they see a single truth: all existence lacks a permanent foundation. All is one and all is process. Constantly changing, constantly moving.
As human beings we often miss this because of our perspective. We are often in a mental world, a dualistic world, a time-focused and time obsessed world. Self and other appear different, separate, yet, shift the perspective, change the paradigm, and there it is, revealed to us, our true nature.
If we were oak trees, our lifespan would be a very long event relative to that of a human being. Yet, even so, we would each still be born, grow, and die. Nothing remains forever.
To practice the deepest wisdom is to live the deepest wisdom, not just think it or even be aware of it or awake to it. The “deepest wisdom” must be us, revealed through the oneness of our actions. In doing so, we “transcend” suffering.
This is to say we still experience pain, of course, but we take care of the pain as it is and as it arises. If I cut my finger; I take care of the cut. My dog is hurt; I take care of my dog. I break a glass; I sweep it up. Nothing special, this is just the seamless activity of living and dying.
So each of the basic elements that comprise our human life: form, feeling, thought, impulse, and consciousness are also without an independent self-existence. They are “empty.” To realize this in our lives is to relieve our suffering in the deepest sense. Form comes and goes, as do feelings, as do thoughts, and so on. None of these exist independently of each other, each must have each other in order to arise and when the conditions for their existence are no longer there, they release, making room for others to arise. For us to become invested in maintaining a thought or a feeling or even our lives beyond our natural life spans or independent of each other is a sort of greed, certainly folly, and always results in suffering.
Kannon, Avalokiteshvara, Kuan yin: all are names for the personification of compassion. This is the aspect of being that listens to the cries of the universe and replies with him or her self. We just don’t sit there; we are compelled to act to relieve the suffering of others. This is a key principle of Zen.
Even Bodhisattvas, awakened beings, practice zazen. This sutra teaches us that when they practice deeply and as they see into the essence of existence they see a single truth: all existence lacks a permanent foundation. All is one and all is process. Constantly changing, constantly moving.
As human beings we often miss this because of our perspective. We are often in a mental world, a dualistic world, a time-focused and time obsessed world. Self and other appear different, separate, yet, shift the perspective, change the paradigm, and there it is, revealed to us, our true nature.
If we were oak trees, our lifespan would be a very long event relative to that of a human being. Yet, even so, we would each still be born, grow, and die. Nothing remains forever.
To practice the deepest wisdom is to live the deepest wisdom, not just think it or even be aware of it or awake to it. The “deepest wisdom” must be us, revealed through the oneness of our actions. In doing so, we “transcend” suffering.
This is to say we still experience pain, of course, but we take care of the pain as it is and as it arises. If I cut my finger; I take care of the cut. My dog is hurt; I take care of my dog. I break a glass; I sweep it up. Nothing special, this is just the seamless activity of living and dying.
So each of the basic elements that comprise our human life: form, feeling, thought, impulse, and consciousness are also without an independent self-existence. They are “empty.” To realize this in our lives is to relieve our suffering in the deepest sense. Form comes and goes, as do feelings, as do thoughts, and so on. None of these exist independently of each other, each must have each other in order to arise and when the conditions for their existence are no longer there, they release, making room for others to arise. For us to become invested in maintaining a thought or a feeling or even our lives beyond our natural life spans or independent of each other is a sort of greed, certainly folly, and always results in suffering.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Life Unfolds
With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
This morning, awake early, I am considering my practice. I have decided stop attending the Discussion Group and Torah Study at Temple Beth El and am committing to expanding my street practice to six days a week, each beginning at 9:00 AM.
I am re-working a teaching I prepared years ago addressing Post-traumatic Stress and will use it as a foundation for offering a one-day retreat I will call, “The Zen of Trauma: Practice for Life.” Over the next few days, I will post segments of the teaching, and then place the entire piece on Clear Mind Zen’s various websites and blogs. I would like to offer the retreat in about six weeks.
Life events are often very much like a kyosaku. Something happens that, making no mistake about it, opens our eyes, and causes us to be present. I experienced a small version of this last night and spent much of the evening with myself facing myself as a result. I noticed how needy I was for distraction: I walked a bit, took a short drive, washed clothes, and sat still. It was in that latter posture that I was able to settle down.
Our practice is this: notice, do; notice, do; notice, do. In each, we make small adjustments, take our breath to our heart, and live deeply in the moment.
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
This morning, awake early, I am considering my practice. I have decided stop attending the Discussion Group and Torah Study at Temple Beth El and am committing to expanding my street practice to six days a week, each beginning at 9:00 AM.
I am re-working a teaching I prepared years ago addressing Post-traumatic Stress and will use it as a foundation for offering a one-day retreat I will call, “The Zen of Trauma: Practice for Life.” Over the next few days, I will post segments of the teaching, and then place the entire piece on Clear Mind Zen’s various websites and blogs. I would like to offer the retreat in about six weeks.
Life events are often very much like a kyosaku. Something happens that, making no mistake about it, opens our eyes, and causes us to be present. I experienced a small version of this last night and spent much of the evening with myself facing myself as a result. I noticed how needy I was for distraction: I walked a bit, took a short drive, washed clothes, and sat still. It was in that latter posture that I was able to settle down.
Our practice is this: notice, do; notice, do; notice, do. In each, we make small adjustments, take our breath to our heart, and live deeply in the moment.
Be well.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Mokusho
With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
It is 43 degrees outside and I see evidence of the sun rising over the mountains. We will sit at Veteran’s Park at 10:00 AM, although I am thinking of placing street practice Monday through Friday at 9:00 AM beginning next week. In this way, all of our street Zen practices will begin at the same time (and place) and these will integrate with Sunday Zen Services at Mokusho Dharma Center, also beginning at 9:00 AM.
Yesterday morning I completed the filing forms and mailed them to the State in order to become a State of New Mexico Non-profit corporation and I have an appointment to look at a space this afternoon for the Dharma Center.
The space is near the Federal Building in downtown Las Cruces that will make it especially convenient for people. Disciple KoMyo in California has made us a few gifts for the new Center: a set of Taku and a Han. We will install the Han at our July sesshin.
Mokusho Dharma Center plans to offer daily zazen, personal Zen instruction, weekly Zen Services, monthly Zazenkai, and quarterly Sesshin. In addition we will offer Yoga and body shaping classes several times a week.
I am getting very excited about opening a new Dharma Center here in Las Cruces and look forward to working with you to bring about abundant peace in the world around us.
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
It is 43 degrees outside and I see evidence of the sun rising over the mountains. We will sit at Veteran’s Park at 10:00 AM, although I am thinking of placing street practice Monday through Friday at 9:00 AM beginning next week. In this way, all of our street Zen practices will begin at the same time (and place) and these will integrate with Sunday Zen Services at Mokusho Dharma Center, also beginning at 9:00 AM.
Yesterday morning I completed the filing forms and mailed them to the State in order to become a State of New Mexico Non-profit corporation and I have an appointment to look at a space this afternoon for the Dharma Center.
The space is near the Federal Building in downtown Las Cruces that will make it especially convenient for people. Disciple KoMyo in California has made us a few gifts for the new Center: a set of Taku and a Han. We will install the Han at our July sesshin.
Mokusho Dharma Center plans to offer daily zazen, personal Zen instruction, weekly Zen Services, monthly Zazenkai, and quarterly Sesshin. In addition we will offer Yoga and body shaping classes several times a week.
I am getting very excited about opening a new Dharma Center here in Las Cruces and look forward to working with you to bring about abundant peace in the world around us.
Be well.
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