With palms together
Good Morning Everyone,
This coming Saturday Clear Mind Zen Temple will offer Zazenkai to any who wishes to participate in an extended practice period. We will begin at 8:00 AM and close at 4:00 PM. Practices will include Zazen (seated meditation), Kinhin (walking meditation), Samu (work meditation). Oryoki (eating meditation), and Study. If you are interested in joining us, please let me know ASAP.
Today: Zazen at 7:00 AM, Zen 101 led by Rev. Kajo at 6:00 PM followed by Zazen at 7:00 PM. Jiisha Soku Shin and I will travel to El Paso this afternoon to join Both Sides/No Sides Sangha for their weekly evening practice.
There are three study groups offered through our Temple: Zen 101 (currently studying the Fukanzazengi) on Tuesday evenings at 6:00 PM); Zen Group (currently studying the Compass of Zen at 4:00 PM Friday), and Women in Zen (meets on Thursdays at 5:30 at our residence).
Don’t forget Tai Chi Chih, the Joy of Movement practice on Wednesday at 4:00 PM! Click here for information about Tai Chi Chih.
We hope to see you soon!
Organ Mountain Zen
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Sunday, December 26, 2010
A Day
With palms together
Good Morning Everyone,
This morning dawns as we pulled together the Zendo after a lovely, if not odd, dinner last night. The meal Soku Shin and I planned failed at the very last minute! Thanks to Soku Sin’s daring we salvaged the meal by turning spinach gnocchi into an egg frittata. And then there were the pies that did’nt get baked well enough…Still, no one seemed to notice as everyone was thoroughly enjoying themselves.
We really do enjoy having people at the Temple for a meal together. There is something about eating together that is so human and so unifying. Perhaps we will establish a meal tradition where one day a week we open the Temple to the public for breakfast and Zazen.
We also paid a visit yesterday to Rev. Kankin in El Paso at his home. It was very good to see him, again and his family, as well. Kankin is a poet of the first order with several volumes of his work in print. He took us into his poet’s office and it felt so much like home. From there we were invited into the living room and a delicious meal with a glass of wine followed by the sort of coffee only Kankin can make.
And now it is time to go into the Zendo and offer ourselves to the Buddha Way.
May we each be a blessing in the universe.
Good Morning Everyone,
This morning dawns as we pulled together the Zendo after a lovely, if not odd, dinner last night. The meal Soku Shin and I planned failed at the very last minute! Thanks to Soku Sin’s daring we salvaged the meal by turning spinach gnocchi into an egg frittata. And then there were the pies that did’nt get baked well enough…Still, no one seemed to notice as everyone was thoroughly enjoying themselves.
We really do enjoy having people at the Temple for a meal together. There is something about eating together that is so human and so unifying. Perhaps we will establish a meal tradition where one day a week we open the Temple to the public for breakfast and Zazen.
We also paid a visit yesterday to Rev. Kankin in El Paso at his home. It was very good to see him, again and his family, as well. Kankin is a poet of the first order with several volumes of his work in print. He took us into his poet’s office and it felt so much like home. From there we were invited into the living room and a delicious meal with a glass of wine followed by the sort of coffee only Kankin can make.
And now it is time to go into the Zendo and offer ourselves to the Buddha Way.
May we each be a blessing in the universe.
Friday, December 24, 2010
Samu
With palms together
Good Morning Everyone,
This morning at 7:00 AM we practiced Zazen at the Temple. Student Yubao and I sat for two periods and practiced one short round of kinhin. I then went to the Veteran’s Park, but no one came to sit. From there, I went to the apartment and now am back at the Temple. I have cleaned the Zendo floor, oiled the wooden ceremonial items, and made a new practice schedule.
Work practice, or “samu” is considered a very important contemplative practice. We work with complete mindfulness. Samu is not about completing the task, but rather, its about entering the task and becoming one with it.
This is it. When polishing the floor, do it with exactly the same mindfulness as polishing the Buddha or cleaning the toilet. Samu should be a graceful practice, regardless of the task. A teacher might come by and say, “Not good enough!” To which we would bow and continue. The “not good enough” is, more often than not, not about the work itself, but rather, our attitude and presence within and about the work. If our focus is on getting the job done so that we can sit back and rest, WRONG IDEA! Enjoy the work, exist in the work, feel the work.
News from Student Glenda in California: Her surgery went well! Please offer her wellness in your practice.
Be well &, be safe,
Good Morning Everyone,
This morning at 7:00 AM we practiced Zazen at the Temple. Student Yubao and I sat for two periods and practiced one short round of kinhin. I then went to the Veteran’s Park, but no one came to sit. From there, I went to the apartment and now am back at the Temple. I have cleaned the Zendo floor, oiled the wooden ceremonial items, and made a new practice schedule.
Work practice, or “samu” is considered a very important contemplative practice. We work with complete mindfulness. Samu is not about completing the task, but rather, its about entering the task and becoming one with it.
This is it. When polishing the floor, do it with exactly the same mindfulness as polishing the Buddha or cleaning the toilet. Samu should be a graceful practice, regardless of the task. A teacher might come by and say, “Not good enough!” To which we would bow and continue. The “not good enough” is, more often than not, not about the work itself, but rather, our attitude and presence within and about the work. If our focus is on getting the job done so that we can sit back and rest, WRONG IDEA! Enjoy the work, exist in the work, feel the work.
News from Student Glenda in California: Her surgery went well! Please offer her wellness in your practice.
Be well &, be safe,
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Zen
With palms together
Good Morning Everyone,
Please indicate whether you would like to attend a Friday Discussion and Zazen tomorrow at 4:00 PM by reply.
My apologies to Member Rose for not getting back to the Temple in time for Tai Chi Chih. It seems we were delayed on business in T or C, NM. Soku Shin and I went there to meet our webmistress and re-imburse her for the new ISP service. We also shopped for statuary and found a lovely Kwan Yin for the ceremonial table. Soku Shin herself found a beautiful Medicine Buddha. On the way back to the Temple we needed gasoline and that became a techno-nightmare. Needless to say, we didn’t get into town until after 5:00.
Recently, I have begun training our evening students how to use the various instruments that are used during a service. We tend to have 3-4 people so one gets the mokugyo; one gets the large bell, one the small bell, and one, the inkin (acting as timekeeper).
It is a delight to see the ensemble at work. Students are getting the feel for the rhythm and texture of the service’s chants and, as a real benefit, a sense of participation and deep learning. As in all other aspects of Zen, we must do the thing, not just talk the thing.
This past Tuesday evening at our Zen 101 Group, we were talking about an aspect of the Fukanzazengi and I used a piece out of Harada-roshi’s text, the Essence of Zen, to make a point. There is Zen in activity and Zen in stillness he offers. The idea is that every moment is our practice: walking, sitting, driving, chopping onions; it’s all Zen when our mind in unified.
We cannot be thinking about the wooden fish when using it to lead a chant, we must just invite the sound contained within it to arise. It is the same with the bell and gong, the knife and onion, and all other instruments and activities of living.
Being one requires practice. Perhaps we will practice together this evening at the Temple. Zazen at 7:00 PM.
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
Please indicate whether you would like to attend a Friday Discussion and Zazen tomorrow at 4:00 PM by reply.
My apologies to Member Rose for not getting back to the Temple in time for Tai Chi Chih. It seems we were delayed on business in T or C, NM. Soku Shin and I went there to meet our webmistress and re-imburse her for the new ISP service. We also shopped for statuary and found a lovely Kwan Yin for the ceremonial table. Soku Shin herself found a beautiful Medicine Buddha. On the way back to the Temple we needed gasoline and that became a techno-nightmare. Needless to say, we didn’t get into town until after 5:00.
Recently, I have begun training our evening students how to use the various instruments that are used during a service. We tend to have 3-4 people so one gets the mokugyo; one gets the large bell, one the small bell, and one, the inkin (acting as timekeeper).
It is a delight to see the ensemble at work. Students are getting the feel for the rhythm and texture of the service’s chants and, as a real benefit, a sense of participation and deep learning. As in all other aspects of Zen, we must do the thing, not just talk the thing.
This past Tuesday evening at our Zen 101 Group, we were talking about an aspect of the Fukanzazengi and I used a piece out of Harada-roshi’s text, the Essence of Zen, to make a point. There is Zen in activity and Zen in stillness he offers. The idea is that every moment is our practice: walking, sitting, driving, chopping onions; it’s all Zen when our mind in unified.
We cannot be thinking about the wooden fish when using it to lead a chant, we must just invite the sound contained within it to arise. It is the same with the bell and gong, the knife and onion, and all other instruments and activities of living.
Being one requires practice. Perhaps we will practice together this evening at the Temple. Zazen at 7:00 PM.
Be well.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
No Sound
With palms together
Good Morning Everyone,
This morning I am awake to the sounds of silence. What sounds are those? The sound of no-sound. No-sound is the sound of presence. Just this, as it is, with nothing added.
No-sound, like no-seeing or no-thinking, is a serious challenge for us and so it is core to our practice.
When we walk and we think we are walking are we walking? Is this Zen in motion? Or is Zen in motion just walking? Consider this.
When I say I am awake to the sound of silence, to no-sound, it simply means there is no I in the “I am.” “I am” is nothing more or less than a fiction derived from language. How can this be? Where is the “I” in the sudden close-by crack of thunder? Practice no-sound. Practice no-I.
Be well.
A reminder: Tai Chi Chih today at 4:00, Zazen at 7:00 PM
Good Morning Everyone,
This morning I am awake to the sounds of silence. What sounds are those? The sound of no-sound. No-sound is the sound of presence. Just this, as it is, with nothing added.
No-sound, like no-seeing or no-thinking, is a serious challenge for us and so it is core to our practice.
When we walk and we think we are walking are we walking? Is this Zen in motion? Or is Zen in motion just walking? Consider this.
When I say I am awake to the sound of silence, to no-sound, it simply means there is no I in the “I am.” “I am” is nothing more or less than a fiction derived from language. How can this be? Where is the “I” in the sudden close-by crack of thunder? Practice no-sound. Practice no-I.
Be well.
A reminder: Tai Chi Chih today at 4:00, Zazen at 7:00 PM
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Morning Note
With palms together
Good Morning Everyone,
First, I want to thank you for your generosity of heart. It is important that our sangha finds support for itself through its members. Second, I want to invite each of you to write to me personally with your thoughts or questions or request a Skype personal interview. I am at your service.
Our online sangha is struggling right now. There is a conflict about our sangha asking for donations and the linkage between my teaching and donation. As I see it, my teaching belongs to the sangha and a sangha is composed of members. The question is what constitutes membership? In my view, the main element is a commitment to practice. The key word is commitment. A commitment is more than a word, it is an word turned into action. A commitment without action is hollow.
What sort of action? From my point of view, the very least is a communication stating one’s desire to be a member. Add to that a financial commitment (practicing generosity), a social action commitment (practicing the three pure precepts) and practicing Zazen (the practice of meditation). This completes the membership.
Our society seems to have developed an idea that ideas are all that matter. As if to say it is enough to think about Zen, Sangha, Practice and somehow we will magically manifest our Buddha Nature. Not so. We must practice and practice requires a relinquishment of ideas, especially of self.
I am grateful for your presence. I am grateful for this Sangha. Thank you.
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
First, I want to thank you for your generosity of heart. It is important that our sangha finds support for itself through its members. Second, I want to invite each of you to write to me personally with your thoughts or questions or request a Skype personal interview. I am at your service.
Our online sangha is struggling right now. There is a conflict about our sangha asking for donations and the linkage between my teaching and donation. As I see it, my teaching belongs to the sangha and a sangha is composed of members. The question is what constitutes membership? In my view, the main element is a commitment to practice. The key word is commitment. A commitment is more than a word, it is an word turned into action. A commitment without action is hollow.
What sort of action? From my point of view, the very least is a communication stating one’s desire to be a member. Add to that a financial commitment (practicing generosity), a social action commitment (practicing the three pure precepts) and practicing Zazen (the practice of meditation). This completes the membership.
Our society seems to have developed an idea that ideas are all that matter. As if to say it is enough to think about Zen, Sangha, Practice and somehow we will magically manifest our Buddha Nature. Not so. We must practice and practice requires a relinquishment of ideas, especially of self.
I am grateful for your presence. I am grateful for this Sangha. Thank you.
Be well.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Nothing to Attain
With palms together
Good Morning Everyone,
In the Heart Sutra we are told that everything is empty. Everything changes, that is, so nothing is either what it appears to be or what it is. We have no eye, ear, nose, tongue, no body, no mind and therefore there is no seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting or touching, and no thinking. Yet, there they are when we look in a mirror: eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind. When we practice Zazen, when we enter the stillpoint, these fall away, meaning we experience truth.
In the largest context all things are not things at all. All is one, nothing is separate. This thing over against that thing is an illusion perpetrated on us by our brain. Yet, even so, when entering the stillpoint, even one is no more. For one to have any reality, there must be another, two. So, not even one is real: no wisdom and no attainment; there is nothing to attain.
This morning we practice Zazen at 9:00 AM in the Zendo. The Zendo is home to the Sangha. Please join us.
Be well.
P.S. Last night I had a candle accident, melting some wax on the office carpet. Any ideas as to how to get it up?
Good Morning Everyone,
In the Heart Sutra we are told that everything is empty. Everything changes, that is, so nothing is either what it appears to be or what it is. We have no eye, ear, nose, tongue, no body, no mind and therefore there is no seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting or touching, and no thinking. Yet, there they are when we look in a mirror: eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind. When we practice Zazen, when we enter the stillpoint, these fall away, meaning we experience truth.
In the largest context all things are not things at all. All is one, nothing is separate. This thing over against that thing is an illusion perpetrated on us by our brain. Yet, even so, when entering the stillpoint, even one is no more. For one to have any reality, there must be another, two. So, not even one is real: no wisdom and no attainment; there is nothing to attain.
This morning we practice Zazen at 9:00 AM in the Zendo. The Zendo is home to the Sangha. Please join us.
Be well.
P.S. Last night I had a candle accident, melting some wax on the office carpet. Any ideas as to how to get it up?
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