With palms together,
Good Evening Everyone,
The Clear Mind Zen Temple will offer a simple Thanksgiving dinner between 5:00 PM and 6:30 PM followed by a Thanksgiving Zen service at 7::00 PM. Our meal will be vegetarian. If you wish to bring a dish to share, it would be very welcome. Please email me your reservation.
Yours in the dharma,
Organ Mountain Zen
Monday, November 22, 2010
Evolution
With palms together
Good Morning Everyone,
Buddha sat under a tree and faced his fears. His adversary threw a world of hurt at him, but he did not budge. What did Buddha know that enabled him to live in such a way, in the open without doors, locks, security guards, or armies? His world included murderers, thieves, and sadists, didn’t it? Yet he chose not to lock himself away. Why?
When we live in fear, we are at fear’s mercy. When we live in suspicion, we live alone. This is not human. Human beings are, by definition, social beings. We depend on each other, nurture each other, and inspire each other: we should not define ourselves as individuals so much as community.
So, fear is a powerful enemy if we experience it, a powerful tool if we wield it. We have been groomed to respond to fear with artifices of protection: armies, police, and militia. Doors, double dead bolts, security systems, weapons, all provide us with a way of coping with fear. Remember though, coping is not dealing. The prehistoric, pre-human mechanism of fight or flight still engages us, short circuiting our reason and our heart. It’s all so natural. Not only do we want to live, we are hard-wired to survive. Yet, these mechanisms for survival are not useful tools in our evolution as human beings. In fact, as the Buddha knew, they are fetters.
As Karen Armstrong pointed out, Buddha wanted to establish a better way of being a human being. He was an anomaly: a single being showing us the way. He lived without fear because he understood, deeply understood, the fact that he did not exist as a solitary, individual being, he was Everybeing.
When we live as Everybeing, every being is us. Every being is to be cared for, loved, and understood. Living as One, there is no two. There is no singular, independent “I” to protect. Nothing for the singular, independent “I” to fear. We are free.
Practice letting go of that which you fear. Open your heart to that which you fear. Find a better way to be a human being. This is the Buddha Way.
Be well
Good Morning Everyone,
Buddha sat under a tree and faced his fears. His adversary threw a world of hurt at him, but he did not budge. What did Buddha know that enabled him to live in such a way, in the open without doors, locks, security guards, or armies? His world included murderers, thieves, and sadists, didn’t it? Yet he chose not to lock himself away. Why?
When we live in fear, we are at fear’s mercy. When we live in suspicion, we live alone. This is not human. Human beings are, by definition, social beings. We depend on each other, nurture each other, and inspire each other: we should not define ourselves as individuals so much as community.
So, fear is a powerful enemy if we experience it, a powerful tool if we wield it. We have been groomed to respond to fear with artifices of protection: armies, police, and militia. Doors, double dead bolts, security systems, weapons, all provide us with a way of coping with fear. Remember though, coping is not dealing. The prehistoric, pre-human mechanism of fight or flight still engages us, short circuiting our reason and our heart. It’s all so natural. Not only do we want to live, we are hard-wired to survive. Yet, these mechanisms for survival are not useful tools in our evolution as human beings. In fact, as the Buddha knew, they are fetters.
As Karen Armstrong pointed out, Buddha wanted to establish a better way of being a human being. He was an anomaly: a single being showing us the way. He lived without fear because he understood, deeply understood, the fact that he did not exist as a solitary, individual being, he was Everybeing.
When we live as Everybeing, every being is us. Every being is to be cared for, loved, and understood. Living as One, there is no two. There is no singular, independent “I” to protect. Nothing for the singular, independent “I” to fear. We are free.
Practice letting go of that which you fear. Open your heart to that which you fear. Find a better way to be a human being. This is the Buddha Way.
Be well
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Life
With palms together
Good Morning Everyone,
The morning light emerges from the dark and I find myself sitting quietly with it. I notice subtle changes expressed through body, speech, and mind. Sitting quietly, being witness, itself changes something in us. The act of just sitting is a deeply profound and life altering experience. It is the heart of the Buddha’s awakening. It is the complete teaching.
What is the teaching? “Things as it is,” says Shunryu Suzuki. What is this? Everyday life manifesting everyday life or, as Uchiyama suggests, self manifesting Self. We practice to live within it.
Just now, for me, this moment contains light. It contains the aftertaste of coffee in my mouth and the still chilled feeling of my bare feet that have not warmed since taking Suki out for her morning ‘business.’ To live within it requires us to notice the life we are, in fact, living. How is it for us? Is this breath enough? Do we cry for more? Want less? Worry about losing it? Gaining it?
For me, every thought, feeling, and sensation is a source of wonder and, more often than not, delight. I am just so thankful to be alive, grateful for being born a human being, and humbled by the gift of my practice.
Morning Zen at 9:00 at Clear Mind Zen Temple
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
The morning light emerges from the dark and I find myself sitting quietly with it. I notice subtle changes expressed through body, speech, and mind. Sitting quietly, being witness, itself changes something in us. The act of just sitting is a deeply profound and life altering experience. It is the heart of the Buddha’s awakening. It is the complete teaching.
What is the teaching? “Things as it is,” says Shunryu Suzuki. What is this? Everyday life manifesting everyday life or, as Uchiyama suggests, self manifesting Self. We practice to live within it.
Just now, for me, this moment contains light. It contains the aftertaste of coffee in my mouth and the still chilled feeling of my bare feet that have not warmed since taking Suki out for her morning ‘business.’ To live within it requires us to notice the life we are, in fact, living. How is it for us? Is this breath enough? Do we cry for more? Want less? Worry about losing it? Gaining it?
For me, every thought, feeling, and sensation is a source of wonder and, more often than not, delight. I am just so thankful to be alive, grateful for being born a human being, and humbled by the gift of my practice.
Morning Zen at 9:00 at Clear Mind Zen Temple
Be well.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Matsuoka Day
With palms together
Good Morning Everyone,
What to keep, what to let go of? What to revere, what to dismiss? When traveling to another country to offer the dharma, what would you bring? What would you leave behind? I recall a film or TV show from my childhood where the last scene involved such a question, if it was the end of the world and you were escaping to establish humanity on another planet, what single book would you bring?
Rev. Dr. Zengaku Soyu Matsuoka-roshi was one of the first Japanese Zen Masters who were dispatched by Soto Shu headquarters in Japan to face this choice as he entered the United States. In 1949, Matsuoka-roshi established the Chicago Zen Buddhist Temple, the first Soto Zen Temple to be established in the United States.
Zengaku Matsuoka-roshi was a powerhouse Zen Master, a black belt, he often travelled across America introducing Zen Buddhism wherever he could. He established Zen Centers across the US. Although all of this is true, his pioneer work was eclipsed by the later stellar growth of the Zen Centers in San Francisco and Las Angeles.
Matsuoka-roshi tried to remain true to his mission as he understood it: to introduce and create an American form of Zen. He modified the forms and ceremonies, making them far less ostentatious and monastic. He recognized the lay nature of Zen in America. He thought the temple forms in Japan were correct for Japan but too “fussy” for America (quote from Kozen Sampson).
I fear though that the temptation of successors who feel the need to look to Japan to legitimate their Zen has, and will, result in an abandonment of their founder’s mission here in the US. From my point of view, this is an abandonment of true Zen, as well. We are not Japanese monastics. We are American lay Zen Centers. Lay practice in America must find itself. Its forms and ceremonies must have meaning to American hearts and minds and not be dress-up versions of Temples continents away.
So, on this Founder’s Day, the day we honor our founding teacher, Zengaku Soyu Matsuoka-roshi, I would invite us to look deeply into what we are actually all about. I invite you to study Matsuoka’s teachings before you make judgments of him. Recently, the Atlanta Soto Zen Temple under the direction of Taiun Elliston published two collections of Matsuoka’s Dharma talks. They are a special gift to us today. Please consider ordering one or both of them. Go here: http://www.lulu.com/aszcpublications
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
What to keep, what to let go of? What to revere, what to dismiss? When traveling to another country to offer the dharma, what would you bring? What would you leave behind? I recall a film or TV show from my childhood where the last scene involved such a question, if it was the end of the world and you were escaping to establish humanity on another planet, what single book would you bring?
Rev. Dr. Zengaku Soyu Matsuoka-roshi was one of the first Japanese Zen Masters who were dispatched by Soto Shu headquarters in Japan to face this choice as he entered the United States. In 1949, Matsuoka-roshi established the Chicago Zen Buddhist Temple, the first Soto Zen Temple to be established in the United States.
Zengaku Matsuoka-roshi was a powerhouse Zen Master, a black belt, he often travelled across America introducing Zen Buddhism wherever he could. He established Zen Centers across the US. Although all of this is true, his pioneer work was eclipsed by the later stellar growth of the Zen Centers in San Francisco and Las Angeles.
Matsuoka-roshi tried to remain true to his mission as he understood it: to introduce and create an American form of Zen. He modified the forms and ceremonies, making them far less ostentatious and monastic. He recognized the lay nature of Zen in America. He thought the temple forms in Japan were correct for Japan but too “fussy” for America (quote from Kozen Sampson).
I fear though that the temptation of successors who feel the need to look to Japan to legitimate their Zen has, and will, result in an abandonment of their founder’s mission here in the US. From my point of view, this is an abandonment of true Zen, as well. We are not Japanese monastics. We are American lay Zen Centers. Lay practice in America must find itself. Its forms and ceremonies must have meaning to American hearts and minds and not be dress-up versions of Temples continents away.
So, on this Founder’s Day, the day we honor our founding teacher, Zengaku Soyu Matsuoka-roshi, I would invite us to look deeply into what we are actually all about. I invite you to study Matsuoka’s teachings before you make judgments of him. Recently, the Atlanta Soto Zen Temple under the direction of Taiun Elliston published two collections of Matsuoka’s Dharma talks. They are a special gift to us today. Please consider ordering one or both of them. Go here: http://www.lulu.com/aszcpublications
Be well.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Stress
With palms together
Good Morning Everyone,
Stress is a powerful experience of thoughts colliding. We concern ourselves with what might happen, imagining all sorts of things, and come, sometimes, to a place of utter paralysis. Under such conditions we are rather like the proverbial deer in the headlights: stopped dead in our tracks, staring right at the danger, and completely unable to move. At such times, it is important to open our so-called third eye.
Our third eye is the eye of wisdom. It is the eye that sees the entire universe. It is the eye that places all things in the larger context. When seeing with this eye we can ask ourselves critical questions because the pressure is off. Third eye is the eye of Big Mind, expansive and infinite; it can help us see what is really important and what is not.
Maybe it’s not so much the third eye that allows this view, but perhaps instead, it is the backward step we take in order to open it. Taking the backward step is the Zen way of stopping, opening, and contextualizing. In this step we become Teflon mind. We experience everything, but nothing sticks.
We deliberately settle ourselves, open ourselves to our breath, and experience just being in our seat. Thoughts and feelings come; thoughts and feelings go. The third eye opens and we are immediately at ease: No hindrance of the mind, therefore no fear. Our heart may now open and experience with great compassion this moment as it is.
What is most important in this moment is this moment itself. I am grateful for it.
Be well.
Today: 9:00 Zazen in Veteran's Park, 4:00 Zen Discussion Group, 5:30 Zazen
Good Morning Everyone,
Stress is a powerful experience of thoughts colliding. We concern ourselves with what might happen, imagining all sorts of things, and come, sometimes, to a place of utter paralysis. Under such conditions we are rather like the proverbial deer in the headlights: stopped dead in our tracks, staring right at the danger, and completely unable to move. At such times, it is important to open our so-called third eye.
Our third eye is the eye of wisdom. It is the eye that sees the entire universe. It is the eye that places all things in the larger context. When seeing with this eye we can ask ourselves critical questions because the pressure is off. Third eye is the eye of Big Mind, expansive and infinite; it can help us see what is really important and what is not.
Maybe it’s not so much the third eye that allows this view, but perhaps instead, it is the backward step we take in order to open it. Taking the backward step is the Zen way of stopping, opening, and contextualizing. In this step we become Teflon mind. We experience everything, but nothing sticks.
We deliberately settle ourselves, open ourselves to our breath, and experience just being in our seat. Thoughts and feelings come; thoughts and feelings go. The third eye opens and we are immediately at ease: No hindrance of the mind, therefore no fear. Our heart may now open and experience with great compassion this moment as it is.
What is most important in this moment is this moment itself. I am grateful for it.
Be well.
Today: 9:00 Zazen in Veteran's Park, 4:00 Zen Discussion Group, 5:30 Zazen
Thursday, November 18, 2010
A Day
With palms together
Good Morning Everyone,
Tuesday night we had our first Zen 101 group meeting. I was not happy with myself. I spoke far too much. We love to talk about Zen, don’t we? Good grief. The good news is that after all the talking we sat for two periods.
Wednesday morning the Zendo is empty. I sat in the quiet and joined its emptiness. There is only this space, you know, and my breath kept me close to home. With it, I centered myself in the here and now.
Just as yesterday is but a memory and tomorrow a dream, this moment is a fiction as well. Anything I might say about it is not it. Yet words come from deep inside. It can be lonely inside our heads. Words invite thinking and thoughts become company.
We try to escape our present-moment-self with words and ideas. Rather like making things up as we go, our universe unfolds in our mind’s eye. Yet, our way is not to escape, but rather, to live each moment as it comes and as it presents itself as it is. So, we notice our thoughts, notice our feelings, and let them go.
So, during the day yesterday I dealt with banks. I dealt with social security, and I dealt with my feelings. They are now gone and I remain.
Today: 7:00 AM Zazen, 12:00 Clergy Luncheon, 5:00 PM Dokusan with Student Shoji, 7:00 PM Zazen.
All the while, through the day, we will finish building small tans (raised platforms) for oryoki (eating meditation).
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
Tuesday night we had our first Zen 101 group meeting. I was not happy with myself. I spoke far too much. We love to talk about Zen, don’t we? Good grief. The good news is that after all the talking we sat for two periods.
Wednesday morning the Zendo is empty. I sat in the quiet and joined its emptiness. There is only this space, you know, and my breath kept me close to home. With it, I centered myself in the here and now.
Just as yesterday is but a memory and tomorrow a dream, this moment is a fiction as well. Anything I might say about it is not it. Yet words come from deep inside. It can be lonely inside our heads. Words invite thinking and thoughts become company.
We try to escape our present-moment-self with words and ideas. Rather like making things up as we go, our universe unfolds in our mind’s eye. Yet, our way is not to escape, but rather, to live each moment as it comes and as it presents itself as it is. So, we notice our thoughts, notice our feelings, and let them go.
So, during the day yesterday I dealt with banks. I dealt with social security, and I dealt with my feelings. They are now gone and I remain.
Today: 7:00 AM Zazen, 12:00 Clergy Luncheon, 5:00 PM Dokusan with Student Shoji, 7:00 PM Zazen.
All the while, through the day, we will finish building small tans (raised platforms) for oryoki (eating meditation).
Be well.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Jailer
With palms together
Good Morning Everyone,
This morning I woke vowing not only to free beings from suffering, but also to write a morning message to you. This business of vowing to free all beings even though they are numberless has been a thread of conversation between me and disciple Dai Shugyo of late. What does this vow mean? How can this be done?
I say, “Show me a piece of paper with only one side!” Nothing comes out of his mouth. A good start.
When we focus our attention on the words, we are going in the wrong direction. Yet words and their meaning are our way of communicating. Yes, I agree. They are one way, but not the only way and often the words are less a communication of something than an invitation to something. In this case, an invitation to move our mind.
Where is your mind? If it is on freeing, it is in jail. If it is on doing, it is in jail. If it is on numberless beings, it is also in jail. If I ask you to show me a piece of paper with only one side and you place your mind on sides, it’s in jail. If it is on paper, it’s in jail. So, what is jail?
The Buddha looked directly at his jailor and named him, but it wasn’t the naming itself that freed him, it was his actualization of the jailor himself that released both he and his jailor. When we actualize freedom, when we actualize non-duality, we release ourselves: there is paper with no sides, indeed, there is no paper. There is the place where numberless beings are free, as indeed, no beings exist there to be freed.
Beings are numberless, I vow to free them.
Good Morning Everyone,
This morning I woke vowing not only to free beings from suffering, but also to write a morning message to you. This business of vowing to free all beings even though they are numberless has been a thread of conversation between me and disciple Dai Shugyo of late. What does this vow mean? How can this be done?
I say, “Show me a piece of paper with only one side!” Nothing comes out of his mouth. A good start.
When we focus our attention on the words, we are going in the wrong direction. Yet words and their meaning are our way of communicating. Yes, I agree. They are one way, but not the only way and often the words are less a communication of something than an invitation to something. In this case, an invitation to move our mind.
Where is your mind? If it is on freeing, it is in jail. If it is on doing, it is in jail. If it is on numberless beings, it is also in jail. If I ask you to show me a piece of paper with only one side and you place your mind on sides, it’s in jail. If it is on paper, it’s in jail. So, what is jail?
The Buddha looked directly at his jailor and named him, but it wasn’t the naming itself that freed him, it was his actualization of the jailor himself that released both he and his jailor. When we actualize freedom, when we actualize non-duality, we release ourselves: there is paper with no sides, indeed, there is no paper. There is the place where numberless beings are free, as indeed, no beings exist there to be freed.
Beings are numberless, I vow to free them.
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