Dharma Gates

With palms together,


Good Morning Everyone,



There are mornings when the air is just right. This was one of them. We went out for a short desert walk (my long walk is tomorrow), and we had the top down on the old Saab as we drove over to the trailhead. The air was crisp and delicious. Out of the car and on the trail, we could feel the morning sun warming the air as we walked. Suki, of course, was searching for rabbits and quail, crossing this way and that, but always keeping us in view.



Sand, sun, stones, cool desert air, these are dharma gates. I struggle at times to keep myself upright in them, especially with others along the way. Mindfulness is clearly required while hiking in the desert or for training of any kind. Concentration, for me, often disallows conversation while exercising. Focus is critical. Its like my brain will not allow stereo, everything has to be monaural.



So, we often walk in silence, though at times I say a word or hear Soku Shin say a word or two, we do not need the words: the beauty is that we are on the path together. Suki’s darting keeps us alert, as do the sand, stones, and sun. In the end we return home feeling connected, present, and ready for the day.



Be well.

Buddha Nature

With palms together,


Good Morning Everyone,



Suki has taken to sleeping on the top of the back of the living room sofa. From this vantage point she can both sleep and scan. In the car she sits upright on the center console. Suki is awake. If a dog has buddha-nature, what does it say about the nature of that nature?



Is it still buddha nature when not realized? And what exactly, would that say about the buddha nature, if it were, or, on the other hand, if it weren’t?



One aspect of buddha nature is that it is inherent in everything. It pervades the universe and some argue it is the universe itself. We might think of it as a Buddhist form of panentheism. It is in everything, but is not the thing itself.



Another aspect of the buddha nature is its manifestation. I have said the buddha nature is essentially universal process, a sort of infinite, in all directions and all times, metabolism. We might say that whatever it takes to support this metabolism is an aspect of the manifestation of its nature. Some might argue, therefore, that killing in order to eat is a manifestation of the buddha nature. On our walks in the desert we see hawks seeking mice. We might simply assert this is the natural way, but such an assertion is not quite accurate. We could say, “poor mice” or “happy hawks.” In this we recognize the buddha nature of killing to survive, but also recognize our feelings about the predator and prey.



Dogen says flowers fall even though we love them and weeds grow even though we do not like them. In this he is saying something about the buddha nature. It is pervasive, contained in both weeds and flowers, but it is also in our feelings about these things and their fate. We might realize our attachment to flowers and our disdain for weeds, but we practice to recognize they are all part of the buddha nature itself.



So, hawks are happy when they eat mice. Mice are happy when they eat grain. Grains are happy when they eat from the soil. The soil is happy when it eats from everything that dies. When we realize the universal oneness of this process, there is no birth or death. We each experience our birth and death and realize the value we place on these, we realize our buddha nature. We are happy when we realize our truth.



Be well.

Wisconsin

Strike.

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.