Be Resolute

With palms together,


Good Morning Everyone,



I have been meaning to write this for some time now. It is about our practice...or more accurately, our relationship to our practice. Please take it in the spirit it is intended, that of a support to our practice, a reminder of what we are about.



Our Zazen practice is best not done as a solitary experience, nor is it one done as we please. Zazen is a disciplined practice. Zazen is not a practice we can chose to do or not do on a whim or to quit doing for any reason. For buddhas and bodhisattvas, Zazen is our life. We should set a time, set a length of time, and set a place: then follow our schedule. Practice alone is a weak practice: It allows for far too many bad habits to develop and continue.



Zazen is also not a practice that allows for wiggling, hesitation, bathroom going, water sipping, or other activities that reveal our lack of concentration and discipline. Zazen is seated meditation where our eye is steady and our resolve firm. We notice and let go, returning to our present mind. We notice and let go, returning to our present mind. Oh, did I say, we notice and let go, returning to our present mind?



Where is wiggling? Where is hesitation? Where is bathroom going? These are preparatory activities do them before the timing bell rings or during kinhin.



Practice to reside in stillness. Gently disallow an urge to move around. Encourage yourself to remain resolute. From my own experience, when I sit, often my left leg begins to spasm. I could easily excuse myself, get up and go to another room. I work hard at remaining on the cushion, making small adjustments here and there. I work at dealing with thoughts that I might be disturbing others in the Zendo. This work is done on the cushion, not off of it. I have faith that each of us has the capacity to do this, but we must develop the willingness to resolutely do so. The reward is an ability to be present in the midst of whatever is swirling around in your life, as well as an open heart.



Be well.

Adaptation

With palms together,


Good Morning Everyone,



We woke up a bit later than usual with a degree of stiffness related to the weekend’s training both in Zen and in Half Marathon. The combination of seated Zen, hiking, and bike riding, coupled with some yoga, was a bit much…not over the top, but enough to push the muscles to adapt.



Adaptation is part of our evolutionary process. In Zen we call it “unfolding.” We always begin where we are and take a step. As a result of the step, especially if it is outside of our comfort zone, we are stressed a bit and essentially forced to adapt. This is not unlike the koan process John Daido Loori discusses in his edited text, “Working with Koans.” Nor is it unlike the shikantaza of Soto Zen. In either case, our practice is to go deeper, go deeper, only to come to who we are, which is essentially universal adaptation or universal change.



Accordingly, it is against our nature to try to remain the same. It is against our nature not to let go and adapt. I feel for those suffering in sameness, or those wishing to return to some prior state of an imagined “happier time,” as such desires are the cause of great suffering and act as a barrier to living fully in the here and now.



Today, step out of your comfort zone. Do something that pushes your limits a bit. Allow your humanity to do its thing. Adapt.



Be well.

Zazenkai

With palms together,


Good Morning Everyone,



So, it is 4.7 miles from the apartment to the Temple, more or less. I say more or less because it depends on the route. As a pedestrian or bike rider, we add 3 tenths of a mile because we must loop around a sweeping and complex intersection to get to a tunnel which takes us under I-25 in order to continue down Main Street. Main Street itself is a poor example of pedestrian or bicycle –friendly traffic. The sidewalks are sporadic and the bike lanes, if they exist, are in serious disrepair. I noticed, however as I went along, that these “flaws” became generous teachers along the way.



Anyway, yesterday was Zazenkai day at our Zen Temple. We began at 10:00 and closed at 4:00. It was wonderful. We had four Zen participants, including myself. We added two more as the day passed. Then in the afternoon, two women walked in with a small child. They were interested in what we were doing. At the point they came in we were in the middle of a study group discussing Master Dogen’s Genjo Koan. They listened and began to participate When the bell for Zazen rang, we accommodated them, shortened our sitting periods and taught them the practice. Soku Shin, during the first period, took the little girl into the library/office and offered her drawing materials.



Student Alice taught our newcomers the proper technique for kinhin, and Student Yubao offered Tea Service, filling the cups to the brim and knelling down in service without spilling a drop! Disciple Dai Shugyo was our energetic and ever mindful Ino, inviting bells to ring and clappers to clap. As for myself, I practiced great love for all who were present. As Tenzo, I prepared the midday meal and served our group. Each time I practice this role, I gain a renewed appreciation for Master Dogen and his teaching regarding cooking our life.



In the end, our group coalesced into a group that sat upright, offered the Dharma to world, and with the fueko, transferred the merit generated by our practice to all beings.



To me, this is how a Zen Temple operates. Rigidity, clinging to forms, is a curse; no forms and no diligence is also a curse: it must take on the way of compassionate understanding.



I was very pleased that our steadfast little group opened their hearts to newcomers in this way.



So, the walk to the Temple was 4.7 miles and the bike ride back was 4.7 miles, and each mile was spent in mindful contemplation of the joy of simple things.



Be well.



PS. Hannamatsuri Sesshin will be held in Las Cruces April 8.9. and 10. Please consider joining us for all or part of this practice period. Let me know by email if you plan to attend.

Westboro Baptist Church

With palms together,


Good Morning Everyone,



The news this morning assures us that the US Supreme Court stands with the First Amendment of the Constitution, even when that speech is loathsome. As abbot of the Order of Clear Mind Zen, I offer my response to the Rev. Phelps below:



The Order of Clear Mind Zen responds to Rev. Fred Phelps, Westboro Baptist Church, Topeka, Kansas.



Dear Rev. Phelps,



I have just read that the US Supreme Court upheld your right to free speech. I am thankful that they did so and, personally, I want to thank you for offering us the opportunity to work on compassion and to practice forgiveness of your hate and the great suffering you and your Church inflict on human beings in the midst of their own great suffering. It is a challenge to offer you love, I admit. The suffering you cause in the name of your faith is very great. My first instinct is to want harm to come to you, to want you to suffer with the rest of us. But your anger and your pain are evident and I sense they offer you protection from those who hate you.



From this I learn that hate is a barrier to compassion. Hate protects us from pain, but prevents us from touching our own humanity and it is this loss that is most tragic in your life. The fact is, you cannot love. For you to love would require you to drop the barriers your hate provides. That would be far too painful for you.



So, while my disgust is there, and my desire to harm you is there, it arises out of my love for those you harm, and my desire to protect them from your hate. I could say I practice the Buddha Way for you, to free you from your suffering, but ultimately, though, I practice the Buddha way for myself, sir, because as you stumble in your darkness seeking light, you cause me to examine my own heart and I am able to see my own humanity. Powerful feelings are great teachers. Yet, we must be willing to be taught by them. In your freedom to speak, may you learn the responsibility of that speech; may you look upon the hearts that you harm and feel their pain. In this feeling the opportunity arises to experience compassion and the way for you to be truly free presents itself.



May we both, then, be free from suffering.

Notes

With palms together,


Good Morning Everyone,



Today at the Temple we will host Zen 101 at 6:00 PM, practice Zazen at 7:00 PM, and practice Yoga at 7:30 PM.



After two months or so meeting at 3:00 PM for Yoga and rarely having anyone come, we have decided to move our yoga practice to 7:30 PM Monday through Thursday, following Zazen at 7:00. Each practice period will be approximately 30 minutes in duration.



If anyone should wish to practice yoga, t’ai chi chih, Zazen, or have a personal teaching interview at anytime in the day, please call me at 575-680-6680 for an appointment.



Tai Chi Chih continues to meet at 6:00 PM on Wednesdays.



Our Friday 4:00 Zen Group will continue to meet and is followed by Zazen at about 5:30 PM.



Lastly, we will conduct Zazenkai this Saturday from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Please call or email your reservation. A small donation of $10.00 would be appreciated.



Be well.

Firewood and Ash

With palms together,


Good Morning Everyone,



The outdoor temperature is 25 degrees Fahrenheit. Here I thought southern New Mexico was ready for spring. Expectations gets me in trouble every time!



We were talking about the section of the Genjokoan yesterday at Temple which addresses firewood being firewood and ash being ash and firewood not becoming ash. Firewood has its own life as firewood; ash has its own life as ash. We might add that the burning itself has its own life as burning, as well.



Dogen’s point is simple: each being has its own past, present and future, and each of these is both separate and empty. Treat your present moment life with great respect. When ash, do not try to recapture yourself as firewood. When firewood, do not worry about becoming ash. Life is the burning, the constant metabolic process we call the cosmos.



When we practice we see this clearly. I am in this moment, there is no other. My memory of my life is just a memory; my concern about tomorrow is just my concern. What is most important is what I do now. Yet, as Okamura-roshi points out, even now is empty. We cannot capture it and hold it. So, in this sense, it is our function in this constant burning that matters most. The present moment gives rise to opportunity for action.



For those caught in the past or worried about the future, release yourselves. Rather than focusing on your thoughts about the past or future, reside in the action of the present. Sounds easy, but it takes a lifetime of practice.



Be well.

A Day Off

With palms together,


Good Morning Everyone,



It is Saturday and our day off so the Temple is closed today. Already this morning in our residence’ Zendo we sipped espresso coffee, did contemplative yoga, and completed a light dumbbell workout. I then took Suki for a short walk to the park and back, and am just now ready to sip some regular coffee. Soon, I will go into what we are calling, “the Art Room” (oy, soooo pretentious!) and take a long look at the canvas I am working on.



It is an Iris. I wanted it lit by moonlight, but fear that will require a dark sky and darker ground. Maybe some artistic license will help. I think I’ll just let my heart/mind do what it do.



Sitting in the Art Room is a good practice, as I see it. I have a stool in front of the easel and a large window to the right. On a table in front of the window is a hibiscus and a bougainvillea. The latter is in bloom. On my left is a table with paints, brushes, sponges and water jars. Of course paper towels are scattered about and often litter the place. I enjoy this spot and sit here often with no real intention to pick up a brush. But I look at the empty palette and the lovely colors and, well, I just can’t help myself. Its rather like writing, I suspect. I sit here in front of this little notebook and there it is, keys to be touched, words to be written, thoughts to be composed. I just do.



Yesterday at the Zen group, as we explored the Four Noble Truths, I asked what, if anything, connected the last truth to the third truth. I mean, how, exactly, does following that forth path end suffering? Rather, what is the operant mechanism? The easy answer is it’s the Middle Way. But that really doesn’t satisfy. I like to think that the word for “Right,” that is, “Samma,” is key. This word means “complete” or “perfect” as in seeing something completely as it is without desire to alter a thing. When we are in a place where we can appreciate what is for what is, we are able to let go of expectations. Every cherry blossom, pear, life, is perfect and complete as it is. So, I think the way these eight paths connect to the cessation of suffering is through a deliberate opening of our grasp on shoulds, coulds, and oughts. As things change, which is what everything does, we can begin to appreciate change itself.



How bright is a full moon?



Be well.