Open Field

With palms together,


Good Morning Everyone,

For km

In an open field,

There is no place Or desire To hide.

In an open field,

Sun and moon, Rain and snow, Mud and dust,

Each are One.

Reside in open heart,

There, no harm can come

Daiho

There will be no zazen in the condo today as I am traveling to the Refuge early for a day trip. II will resume my regular schedule Monday morning adding Peace Camp at Peace Lutheran Church in between morning sitting periods.



Be well.

Press Release

For Immediate Release:








New Zen Center to Open!







The Order of Clear Mind Zen announces it is scheduled to open its new headquarters and Clear Mind Zen Center at 642 Alameda Boulevard, Suite E in Las Cruces, NM. Clear Mind Zen Center will offer a complete array of Zen Buddhist and contemplative services, including daily Zen meditation at 7:00 AM and 7:00 PM as well as a full Zen Buddhist service at 9:00 AM on Sunday mornings. The Center will also offer monthly zazenkai and quarterly sesshin retreats. .







The Abbot of the Order, Rev. Harvey Daiho Hilbert, says that the Center plans to offer Zen Instruction, classes on Zen Buddhism, Mindfulness Training, and Stress Management through meditation. Included in this array of services are discussion groups, T'ai Chi Chih and Yoga classes.





Rev. Daiho is an ordained Zen Buddhist monk who was given Dharma Transmission and authorization to teach through his Master, Rev. Hogaku Shozen McGuire. He was awarded the degree of "Roshi" in 2005. Over the last several years, Daiho offered what he called "streetZen" or "Zen in the Park." He is a disabled combat veteran of the Vietnam War and a former psychotherapist who holds both a Masters and PhD in Social Work. He nows lives and practices as a full time Zen Buddhist Monk.







The Center will open its doors on August 16 with plans for an Open House under development. For additional information call Rev. Daiho at 575-680-6680. The Order of Clear Mind Zen is a New Mexico non-profit religious corporation and is on the web at: http://clearmindzen.org













Contact: Rev. Harvey Daiho Hilbert-Roshi

Telephone: 575-680-6680

Oneness

With palms together,




Good Morning Everyone,







Our discussion group wrestled with the Faith Mind poem yesterday afternoon. The poem is quite a piece of work. I believe it should be read like a Teisho, an expression of the speaker’s Buddha Nature. It is a challenge to apply to everyday life unless one is willing to let go of thoughts about it.







Is it possible to be without preferences, distinctions, or ideas? Is it a worthy aim to reside that way?







As long as I am breathing, I will make a choice to breathe. I will breathe in order to live and will find meaning in that choice. What I must practice to do is practice. In the practice is the falling away of “self” and with this falling away, preferences and distinctions, reason and ideas. No preferences means residing in openness and receptivity.







The part that fascinates me is where the author says, in effect, that to reside in Big Mind is to realize its non-existence. Non-duality denies itself because when there is no duality, there is no oneness. Oneness requires something apart from it to make it sensible.







For those theists among us, this would also be true of God. If we were to become one with the Infinite, the Infinite would cease to exist because to exist it needs the finite.







This is what it means to say all dharmas are empty.







Be well.

Wisdom

With palms together,




Good Morning Everyone,







Walking Suki last night and again this morning, I was delighted with the sky and the smell of the desert air after a storm. The grass was wet, the shrubs perky, and the air clean. Fresh.







Someone on the main list noted that we often post with “raw honesty.” This is a challenge in our world. In our world, appearance is nearly everything. To be honest to a fault is to reveal a fault and faults are not acceptable in our world. Blemishes will not do. Indecision, error, inconsistency: these are an anathema to leadership and yet, these very traits are often major aspects of reflective wisdom.







Of late, I have myself suffered a sort of crisis in confidence, doubting myself, my choices, and sometimes even my value to the Zen community. Conditions are always changing and, in my case, rapidly. Adaptation to these changes requires a willingness to be fluid and, in essence, free-forming. What was, no longer is; what will be is not known, and what is, changes with every breath.







So, the occasional “breaks” from posting (which rarely exceed a day or two) and the felt need to go off to the Refuge are more expressions of my insecurity on the one hand, and a need to center, on the other hand, than statements of an actual plan. With the Order finally gaining a Temple space, I will feel much less dis-eased and far more focused on our mission.







Throughout all this, I have tried to post my thoughts and feelings on the processes and relate them somehow to the experience as a Zenster. I believe this is a teaching in itself. I know I am learning from it.







May we each be a blessing in the universe today.



Today at CMZT



7:00 AM. 7:00 PM, Zazen at Condo Zendo



8:30 AM Peace Camp



9:00 AM Zen in the Park



1:00 PM Sign Lease



4:00 PM Zen Discussion Group

Zen

With palms together,




Good Morning Everyone,







For me, Zen is nothing more than a process of unfolding. In such a process, there is nothing really to teach except the process itself. Each of us experiences the process individually and in our own way and time. What is essential is our attitude, or our stance, toward each moment as it arises.







Being open, allowing what we think is real and true to fall away, this is Zen.







This falling away may be sudden or gradual, but with practice it will happen. Some of us resist: who wants to be empty?







Some of us dive right in: who wants to be solid?







Most of us just practice, not at all concerned about outcome: this is the way.







Be well.

Today

With palms together,


Good Morning Everyone,



In the interest of full disclosure, it is dark outside. The candles in the Zendo are casting that warm light that they do under such conditions, almost begging for all other light sources to be excluded. The incense wafts through the room, as the open window allows a breeze. Desert air is always so refreshing in the morning.



We are excited that the Order will finally have a home of its own. I will keep you posted.



Today:



7:00 AM Zazen at Zendo

8:30 AM Peace Camp Zazen at TBE

2:00 PM Dokusan with Ron at Zendo

5:00 PM Dokusan with Shoji on Skype

7:00 PM Zazen in Zendo



Be well.

Rest Over

With palms together,

We found a delightful space for our Temple this afternoon.  A Letter of Intent is on its way.  I am very hopeful. Dharma Combat will resume this Friday at 4:00 PM. at Student Kathryn Soku Shin Masaryk's residence.

Be well.

Sitting schedule as follows:

Daily at 7:00 AM and 7:00 PM at Condo Zendo

Monday and Friday at 9:00 AM at Zen in the Park at Sagecrest Park, corner of Roadrunner and Frontier.

Sunday Services: 7:00 AM (informal), Formal at 9:00 AM.