With palms together,
The comments in the comments sections of the news stories regarding the Arizona shootings make me feel as sick as the actual shootings. Liberal loonies, Right wing fascists, Dumb this, Stupid that, each polarized side blaming the other and, in the process, ratcheting up the already high emotion. Are liberals to blame? Are conservatives accountable? Can we actually talk to one another these days?
Violence and threats of violence seem to be part of the political landscape at this point. Packages are igniting, rocks thrown, bullets fired, all over what? How to be a better society? I think not. We live in (and support) a culture of violence in both word and deed. We should not be surprised by recent events.
Our media share a lot of responsibility in the current situation. Television networks like Fox News and MSNBC, conservative radio programs like Rush Limbaugh and Michael Savage, liberal commentators on Air America, commentators who use sarcasm and poison to get position and ratings, all share in this. Yet, we can hear it now: “We can’t be responsible for ‘nut cases.’ “ No? Why not? Every media outlet knows ‘nut cases’ are out there and the media mentioned plays to them. It’s like saying we poured gasoline on a tinderbox and jumped up and down regarding the tinderbox itself and then said, “We have no responsibility” in the lighting of the match that sends it into flames. Right.
If we are to remain a civilized world (and this status is, at this point, questionable) we must be willing to listen to each other and get to the source of each other’s point of view. I fear at this stage of the process, the political landscape, which is to say, the landscape of every one of us, has been stained with hate. It is very challenging to be in the presence of those who dislike or hate us. Even more challenging to be willing to listen to their point of view with an open heart/mind.
Both Left and Right need to be less left or right and more for the common good. Precious little of that is evident these days. Yet, under it all, moral conscience is the fuel. We want to be a better society and have been de-railed by those who would rather have hot tempers gain ratings than cool heads solving problems. Maybe it is time to sit down together and shut up. Maybe it is time to listen and allow ourselves to care with compassion.
Be well
Rev. Dr. Harvey Daiho Hilbert
Abbot, Clear Mind Zen Temple
Las Cruces, NM
Organ Mountain Zen
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Gain
With palms together
Good Morning Everyone,
Mushotoku. This is something we all need to practice. It means practicing with no aim at all. It is, as Phillipe Coupey says, the philosophical essence of Soto Zen. What does it mean to practice with no aim, no idea of gaining anything, not even satori? It means releasing oneself from ideas.
We practice to practice and practice is all there is. In everyday life our practice is to be awake and present to everything: the feel of water on our hands as we wash them; the feel of toilet paper; the scent of the person we are sitting next to. Nothing escapes our attention and nothing sticks.
We might take issue with this. We might want more. We might come to this practice to become better people, healthier people, less troubled, less angry, or less stressed, but these will act as stains on our practice. Our want needs to drop away.
This practice begins and ends with you. In the beginning it is the small you, the “small mind” of your existence. In the end, it is the big you, the “Big Mind” of the universal that is present.
What was your face, the face you had before your father and mother were born? Is it possible to harm this face? Is it possible to kill this face? To abuse this face?
Hopefully a whisper in your ear: “No.”
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
Mushotoku. This is something we all need to practice. It means practicing with no aim at all. It is, as Phillipe Coupey says, the philosophical essence of Soto Zen. What does it mean to practice with no aim, no idea of gaining anything, not even satori? It means releasing oneself from ideas.
We practice to practice and practice is all there is. In everyday life our practice is to be awake and present to everything: the feel of water on our hands as we wash them; the feel of toilet paper; the scent of the person we are sitting next to. Nothing escapes our attention and nothing sticks.
We might take issue with this. We might want more. We might come to this practice to become better people, healthier people, less troubled, less angry, or less stressed, but these will act as stains on our practice. Our want needs to drop away.
This practice begins and ends with you. In the beginning it is the small you, the “small mind” of your existence. In the end, it is the big you, the “Big Mind” of the universal that is present.
What was your face, the face you had before your father and mother were born? Is it possible to harm this face? Is it possible to kill this face? To abuse this face?
Hopefully a whisper in your ear: “No.”
Be well.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Awareness
With palms together
Good Morning Everyone,
Our Zen 101 group is doing well. Last night we discussed the passages of the Fukanzazengi that relate to the Buddha and Bodhidharma and how it was that they practiced Zazen. There is a Japanese word, Kakusoku, which refers to maintaining awareness. In Zazen, it is the effort of practicing not-thinking.
We sit with no particular aim in mind. We sit just to sit. Naturally, the world rushes to us in the form of sensations, thoughts, and feelings. We need to move. We need to check on something. Our body is not cooperating. Judgments arise: this is stupid, I hate zazen! What, is the timekeeper asleep?
Kakusoku means we notice and return to this moment, as it is, letting everything we are thinking, feeling, or otherwise sensing, fall away. Letting without deliberation. Letting in the sense of allowing. The reality of our world is that everything changes. Kakusoku is our actual experience of this.
The TV commercial asking “What’s in your wallet,” might be adapted here to “What’s in your mind?”
Or as I often say to myself, “What’s this?” with no expectation of following my answer except to ask again and again, "What's this?"
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
Our Zen 101 group is doing well. Last night we discussed the passages of the Fukanzazengi that relate to the Buddha and Bodhidharma and how it was that they practiced Zazen. There is a Japanese word, Kakusoku, which refers to maintaining awareness. In Zazen, it is the effort of practicing not-thinking.
We sit with no particular aim in mind. We sit just to sit. Naturally, the world rushes to us in the form of sensations, thoughts, and feelings. We need to move. We need to check on something. Our body is not cooperating. Judgments arise: this is stupid, I hate zazen! What, is the timekeeper asleep?
Kakusoku means we notice and return to this moment, as it is, letting everything we are thinking, feeling, or otherwise sensing, fall away. Letting without deliberation. Letting in the sense of allowing. The reality of our world is that everything changes. Kakusoku is our actual experience of this.
The TV commercial asking “What’s in your wallet,” might be adapted here to “What’s in your mind?”
Or as I often say to myself, “What’s this?” with no expectation of following my answer except to ask again and again, "What's this?"
Be well.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
prelude
With palms together
Good Morning Everyone,
Already it is a lovely morning. The temperature is a reasonable 32 degrees with signs that it will rise into the 50s. The sky is a clear blue. The sun is beginning to peak over the mountains. I have my running clothes laid out and ready. The coffee just finished being made. All is right here in the Mesilla Valley.
Zen is like that. Everything is itself. No pretense. Pretense is an anathema to true Zen. The coffee is made. A Zen teaching. The sun is in the sky. A Zen teaching. And the teaching itself? Life is to be lived and experienced directly. We do not shy away from this or that; this or that is our life.
So, time for a run. Let's do it!
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
Already it is a lovely morning. The temperature is a reasonable 32 degrees with signs that it will rise into the 50s. The sky is a clear blue. The sun is beginning to peak over the mountains. I have my running clothes laid out and ready. The coffee just finished being made. All is right here in the Mesilla Valley.
Zen is like that. Everything is itself. No pretense. Pretense is an anathema to true Zen. The coffee is made. A Zen teaching. The sun is in the sky. A Zen teaching. And the teaching itself? Life is to be lived and experienced directly. We do not shy away from this or that; this or that is our life.
So, time for a run. Let's do it!
Be well.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Practice
With palms together
Good Morning Everyone,
Yesterday afternoon after Zen services, Soku Shin, Suki, and I went for a desert hike. We ended up doing 4.2 miles over often very rough terrain. It was very good getting out and doing something physical. I have missed the awareness that comes with it: the air was crisp, the sun was high, and the sky very blue. A wonderful combo for a hike.
At the Temple I addressed that part of the Master Dogen’s Genjokoan that speaks to the study of the Buddha Way, the part that says, “To study the Buddha Way is to study the self” and “to study the self is to let the self fall away.” “To let the self fall away is to be realized by the myriad things.” So, the Buddha way is a selfless way, a way leading to unification with all things. And when we are unified? Does the we of We continue to be? Or is there just the all of All, leaving All empty, as well? I think it is so.
Long distance running, bicycling, entering a koan, becoming one with the mountains: such unifications leave no two. But no two means no one. And so? Dogen says a trace is left, emerging from our falling away. Awakening is a teaser, if you will, like a movie trailer, or the spots on the TV wetting your appetite for the next show. One cannot be without two; non-duality demands duality.
Good grief, when I talk like this I get a headache. Or I want to tape my mouth shut. It’s all so meaningless. What is meaningful? The sitting itself. The living itself. The doing, it’s the doing, that is important and meaningful, not the talking about the doing.
We manifest through our practice. So, for those who don’t sit, who don’t have the discipline to practice get a grip. Do what you do! Regardless of what comes up, be there. It’s our life.
Now that I have said this, I am saying I am also saying I am back in the training saddle.
Obligatory Running Note (ORN): 7/10ths mile at o’dark-thirty in the freezing cold of the New Mexico desert air.
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
Yesterday afternoon after Zen services, Soku Shin, Suki, and I went for a desert hike. We ended up doing 4.2 miles over often very rough terrain. It was very good getting out and doing something physical. I have missed the awareness that comes with it: the air was crisp, the sun was high, and the sky very blue. A wonderful combo for a hike.
At the Temple I addressed that part of the Master Dogen’s Genjokoan that speaks to the study of the Buddha Way, the part that says, “To study the Buddha Way is to study the self” and “to study the self is to let the self fall away.” “To let the self fall away is to be realized by the myriad things.” So, the Buddha way is a selfless way, a way leading to unification with all things. And when we are unified? Does the we of We continue to be? Or is there just the all of All, leaving All empty, as well? I think it is so.
Long distance running, bicycling, entering a koan, becoming one with the mountains: such unifications leave no two. But no two means no one. And so? Dogen says a trace is left, emerging from our falling away. Awakening is a teaser, if you will, like a movie trailer, or the spots on the TV wetting your appetite for the next show. One cannot be without two; non-duality demands duality.
Good grief, when I talk like this I get a headache. Or I want to tape my mouth shut. It’s all so meaningless. What is meaningful? The sitting itself. The living itself. The doing, it’s the doing, that is important and meaningful, not the talking about the doing.
We manifest through our practice. So, for those who don’t sit, who don’t have the discipline to practice get a grip. Do what you do! Regardless of what comes up, be there. It’s our life.
Now that I have said this, I am saying I am also saying I am back in the training saddle.
Obligatory Running Note (ORN): 7/10ths mile at o’dark-thirty in the freezing cold of the New Mexico desert air.
Be well.
Friday, December 31, 2010
World Healing Day
With palms together
Good Morning Everyone,
This morning I offered a prayer at our local World Healing Day vigil. It is the third time, I believe, I have been invited by the religious community here to do so. Various clergy were present, as well as congregational members from different faiths. It seemed the theme this year was eliminating the things that separate us. I chanted the first part of the Heart of Wisdom Sutra and offered words regarding the three poisons, their antidotes, and the process of receiving and giving in terms of healing. My heart was with those who believe borders are necessary, as I see this need as based primarily in fear.
Afterwards, at breakfast, a participant talked with me about his concern that “illegal’s” are getting resources we cannot afford. He has a point. Medical care is expensive, especially when it is done through ERs. ERs are pretty much the sole source of care for the uninsured He thought children born in the US of illegal’s parents should not be allowed to be US citizens.
I asked him what the alternative might be. I asked him if he thought sick people and the dying should be left to fend for themselves and quite possibly die on the streets? No answer. The consequences of not caring for people when they are ill are not contained to the ill. Moreover, denying critical care to people who are suffering is cruel. Such cruelty is a toxin that attacks our heart.
I am such a bleeding heart liberal. I actually believe to make a healthy world requires making healthy people. And quite frankly, I could care less what country they are from, what color or ethnicity they are, and whether they are here “legally” or “illegally.” After all, this country was founded by illegal immigrants.
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
This morning I offered a prayer at our local World Healing Day vigil. It is the third time, I believe, I have been invited by the religious community here to do so. Various clergy were present, as well as congregational members from different faiths. It seemed the theme this year was eliminating the things that separate us. I chanted the first part of the Heart of Wisdom Sutra and offered words regarding the three poisons, their antidotes, and the process of receiving and giving in terms of healing. My heart was with those who believe borders are necessary, as I see this need as based primarily in fear.
Afterwards, at breakfast, a participant talked with me about his concern that “illegal’s” are getting resources we cannot afford. He has a point. Medical care is expensive, especially when it is done through ERs. ERs are pretty much the sole source of care for the uninsured He thought children born in the US of illegal’s parents should not be allowed to be US citizens.
I asked him what the alternative might be. I asked him if he thought sick people and the dying should be left to fend for themselves and quite possibly die on the streets? No answer. The consequences of not caring for people when they are ill are not contained to the ill. Moreover, denying critical care to people who are suffering is cruel. Such cruelty is a toxin that attacks our heart.
I am such a bleeding heart liberal. I actually believe to make a healthy world requires making healthy people. And quite frankly, I could care less what country they are from, what color or ethnicity they are, and whether they are here “legally” or “illegally.” After all, this country was founded by illegal immigrants.
Be well.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
McDonalds
With palms together
Good Morning Everyone,
At McDonald’s this morning getting an Egg McMuffin without Canadian Bacon, an order which baffles the young man taking it. He wasn’t quite sure what to do and, in spite of searching the little keys on the register, the price kept coming up as the same as that with the bacon. This, he said, was what caused his confusion. I agreed. It seems that a corporation as large and wealthy as McDonald’s could figure out a way to have the “No Canadian Bacon” key reduce the price of the sandwich, but apparently, this is not the case. We call this greed.
One might ask, “Roshi, why eat at McDonald’s then?” I might reply, “Brilliant idea!” The trouble is, these pesky critters are everywhere and open all hours. On the road, the consistency of quality can be pretty much counted on. Whereas, the Mom and Pop operations, which do not have fancy cash registers that lock choices to a very narrow range, are not known quantities.
Eating at McDonald’s is not a good idea and I really don’t recommend it, but, more often than not, there is one near you when traveling, and the coffee is good and hot enough to really enjoy.
What did that Third Patriarch say about preferences?
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
At McDonald’s this morning getting an Egg McMuffin without Canadian Bacon, an order which baffles the young man taking it. He wasn’t quite sure what to do and, in spite of searching the little keys on the register, the price kept coming up as the same as that with the bacon. This, he said, was what caused his confusion. I agreed. It seems that a corporation as large and wealthy as McDonald’s could figure out a way to have the “No Canadian Bacon” key reduce the price of the sandwich, but apparently, this is not the case. We call this greed.
One might ask, “Roshi, why eat at McDonald’s then?” I might reply, “Brilliant idea!” The trouble is, these pesky critters are everywhere and open all hours. On the road, the consistency of quality can be pretty much counted on. Whereas, the Mom and Pop operations, which do not have fancy cash registers that lock choices to a very narrow range, are not known quantities.
Eating at McDonald’s is not a good idea and I really don’t recommend it, but, more often than not, there is one near you when traveling, and the coffee is good and hot enough to really enjoy.
What did that Third Patriarch say about preferences?
Be well.
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