July 29

With palms together,

Good Morning Everyone,



Today concludes our three week commitment to Peace Camp here in Las Cruces, NM. Each morning at 8:30 AM we offered meditation training to children participating in Peace Camp. It has been, as always, a joy to do this practice. Children are often the most receptive of students, although, on occasion (as was the case this year) there are a few who are such wiggle worms that they find the practice too much to bear. In their presence, my own mind wanders.



This wandering mind catches me in my complacency and teaches me that I am only as far along the way as the next breath allows. Wiggle worm children became my most excellent teachers, then, offering themselves and their discomfort as questions to be addressed through my practice.



Notice. Let go. Learn. Such a deal!



Today: Peace Camp at 8:30, Morning Zazen at 9:30, and Evening Zazen at 6:00 PM.



A reminder: Zazenkai from 9:00 to 4:00 next Saturday the 6th of August. So far, only one reservation. If you plan to attend, please email me. Thank you.



Be well.

July 26

With respect,

Today at Clear Mind Zen Temple we will offer meditation at Peace Camp at 8:30 AM, Zazen at Temple at 9:30 AM, again at 6:00 PM, and Zen 101 at 7:00 PM. In addition, we have a Peace Village Board Meeting at 1:45 and dokusan at 3:30.



Please consider joining us for zazen and the Zen 101 group!



Be well,

July 25

With palms together,

Good Morning Everyone,



This morning we offer meditation training to the youngest of the Peace Campers during week three of our three week event. It is always a joy to offer this training. Children come to it very naturally with much less self awareness and perceived threats involved.



When adults come to it, they often bring with them all the issues that have dogged them through their lives: judgments, worries, and stiff, unyielding bodies.



We can learn a lot from practicing with children. Bring an open and unattached mind, allow your body to unfold and go in the direction of the training, and check your ego at the door. We call this Shoshin, “Beginners Mind.”



Today at CMZT: Peace Camp at 8:30, Zazen at 9:30, Zazen at 6:00 PM, Comparative Religion Group at 7:00 PM.



Be well.

July 24

With palms together,

Good Morning Everyone,



Yesterday was a good day, as days go. We rested, we walked, we visited with friends, and I painted. Practice can take many forms. In fact, all forms are practice. This is not to say forms are practice. Rather, anything we do is a practice when we approach it with an unmoving mind.



When I paint, for example, I let the painting speak for itself. I sometimes wrestle with what it is saying, but in the main, open myself to its teaching. The same for writing. I was saying to Soku Shin the other day that when I was writing plays, the characters took on a life of their own and held lengthy discussions in my head. I simply wrote down what they were saying. Likewise, the paining is in the canvas. It simply has to be revealed. It is the same for all other activity.



So, too, our true nature. An unmoving mind is a mind that knows nothing, only perceives, and allows perception to have its place without being mistaken for the thing itself. It leaves no traces, yet is everywhere.



Be well.



Today: Sunday Services at 10:00 AM.

July 23

With palms together,

Good Morning Everyone,



This morning we woke late as we were up into the night. Our wagessa group did well, although there was a degree of nervousness being reported regarding the actual process of sewing. This is an area where Zen practice is extremely helpful. Just a stitch. Just a breath. Nothing more. Our practice is to stay in the stitch and the breath and let all of the rest go. Practice.



Once the wagessas are completed, we will take them to a shop and have the embroidery applied.



Then, when the student is ready, as determined by the Teacher, we will conduct a ceremony and the person will take The Three Treasures and the Pure Precepts as their own.



What comes after is all about one’s willingness to manifest one’s true nature.



Be well.

July 22

With palms together,

Good Morning Everyone,



Today will be a busy day. We have Peace Camp at 8:30 AM, Zazen at 9:30 AM, Dokusan throughout the afternoon, and our Wagessa Sewing Event at 7:00 PM. Our Air Card is supposed to arrive today which will give us 5 gigs of data transfer for Internet services per month. This past billing cycle we used almost 3. So, I will be doing dokusan via Skype today at the Temple while also waiting for the card to arrive via Fed Ex.



The sewing of a Wagessa is a first step in entering the Buddha way. It is offered to those who take the Three Refuges and the Three Pure Precepts. You must have studied for three months with a Teacher in our lineage, completed one Zazenkai or sesshin, and have sewn the Wagessa in order to complete the ceremony. A Wagessa is a single strap that is worn around the neck. It is a miniature Buddha Robe. Compared to a Rakusu, they are easy to sew.



Those who were in attendance at the Rakusu class decided they wanted to sew a Wagessa as well, so Soku Shin organized this event which will happen at 7:00 PM this evening. If you are interested in sewing a Wagessa, please come to this meeting. We have all the materials.



There seems to be some confusion about this process. Let me clarify. In the Order we have several steps students are welcome to take. Each step must be in training with a Teacher. These are Sanbo, Jukai, Unsui, and Shukke. Students continuing after Jukai take either the Dharma Teacher Path or the Priesthood Path. While it is recommended that a student do these in this order (Sanbo followed by Jukai), a Student may, with the Teacher’s permission, enter the path at Jukai and “skip” Sanbo. This is because Jukai includes the Three Refuges and the Three Pure Precepts. If a student has studied with a Teacher for a year, done the required sesshin and Zazenkai, and sews a Rakusu, there is no reason to first do Sanbo, then do Jukai. They may be done as one ceremony. Several members of our Order are in various stages of this process. Please confer with me if you are confused about it and whether or not it is appropriate for you to do one versus the other or both.



As a reminder, August Zazenkai will be from 9:00 AM through 4:00 PM on Saturday August 6th. Please make your reservation soon.

Lastly, we will no longer host a Women in Zen Group due to a lack of attendance. For those whose only weekly contact with the Temple was through this group, please consider joining us for Sunday Services or any of our weekday practice periods.



Be well.

July 21

With palms together,



Good Morning Everyone,







Last night we received word that our daughter in law, Lynda, who just gave birth to grandson Evan, was hospitalized due to a cardiac issue as yet unspecified. Son Jacob and Baby Evan are doing well, though Jacob is feeling very stressed and is very worried. I offered to go to them to assist. He will let me know soon if that is necessary.







When our children suffer we suffer. We are invested in their health, happiness, and well-being. Our suffering is most acute as we realize our complete powerlessness to resolve their suffering. We move into ”what if” thoughts and create all sorts of awful scenarios thereby, mentally experiencing our powerlessness. In truth, though, there is much that can be done. We can lessen the grip of our attachments by understanding that we are not at all in control of life as it unfolds. We can turn our attention to the teaching that life is now offering us. We can cut-off the thoughts that create the suffering. We can focus our attention on the exact situation at hand, offering our support, researching the issues, and then make changes. But most of all, we can love those around us as deeply as is possible.







Love of this sort requires a letting go of ideas and relaxing into realities. We practice to let go of our ideas about how things should be, and reside in how things actually are. We turn our attention to what we have: our breath, our love, and our attention, knowing that even these are short-lived and impermanent. Yet, these are it. And they are enough.



Today at CMZ: Peace Camp at 8:30, Zazen at 9:30, Zazen at 6:00 PM, Women in Zen at 7:00 PM.



Be well.