Connections

With palms together,


Good Morning All,



This morning I reviewed the headlines on CNN, Huff Post, and Yahoo News, and I must say, the world is still there as it has always been, but why on earth did Monopoly get rid of the “Iron” token? I just don’t get it. Here was a piece that always reminded me of my grandmother’s ironing with one of those cast iron Irons heated on a cook stove. Pleasant memories of a time when people made do, worked hard, and lived in accordance with the natural rhythm of things. How very Zen of them!

For three years I lived like that at my Mountain Refuge, making a fire in the wood stove early in the morning, preparing breakfast from scratch, chopping wood, feeding my horses, and going to bed just after sundown as I had no electricity. Life at the Refuge was slow and in accordance with the natural cycles of the seasons. It was hard, but there was a sweet flow to it as I often spent time on the deck in the mornings watching the sun peak through the pines and having conversations with the stellar jays or hummingbirds. I think that time helped me a great deal to strengthen my practice, sitting Zazen alone as I did at my altar or on the slats of the wooden deck. I miss it very much.

Yet, here I am today with devices surrounding me, connecting me to a larger and larger world, but to what end? I know the connections possible with smart phones, PCs, and tablets can reveal our interconnected and interdependent nature, but I often reflect, as I scan through Facebook posts, texts, and email, just how much we seem to squander our time on the superficial and mundane. Yet, maybe this is necessary as it reveals our very human need to connect and share with others the details of our lives.

I know when I lived in the mountains far away from others, others seemed, as they were, far away. My connections there were to the maul I used to chop cedar, the alfalfa I fed the horses, and whether it was to rain that day demanding then a furious effort to collect the rain water so precious for survival.

It seems the common denominator, then, is connection. We human beings do not live as solitary individuals, we live in connection. It is my willingness to value those connections that seems most important to me. And maybe they are to you, as well.



Be well

Support for our Temple

With palms together and begging bowl in hand,




It is that time of month that I pick up my begging bowl and ask for your generosity in support of our Temple. Will you please offer something? Donate in person or through PayPal on our Order's website at www.clearmindzen.org.



Our mailing address is:



Order of Clear Mind Zen

642 South Alameda Blvd., Suite E

Las Cruces, NM 88005



We appreciate the time and money you offer. Thank you very much.

Gassho

Daiho's Personal Retreat & Schedule

With palms together,


Good Morning All,



As many of you know, Rev. Shukke Shin and I have established a routine wherein I practice a personal retreat at the Zendo the first weekend of each month and she does the same in El Paso on the third weekend. My retreat begins on Thursday evening at 7:00 PM and continues through Sunday service. As it happens, then, I will host Zazenkai each first Saturday and lead services on the first Sunday. This schedule will also be our Sesshin schedule at each quarter.



All are welcome to join me at the Temple during my retreat. It is always good to have others to practice with and I would deeply appreciate your company. There is one exception to the schedule below. This Friday I have an appointment to have my motorcycle serviced at 9:00 AM on Friday. This should not take more than two hours. I will return to the Temple after it is completed.





Roshi’s Personal Retreat Schedule



Thursday Evening

07:00-8:00 PM Zazen and Closing Ceremonies



Friday and Saturday

04:30 Wake and Wash

05:00-06:30 Gym

06:30-07:30 Breakfast

07:30-09:00 Recite Three Refuges, Wisdom Heart Sutra, Opening Tea Service, Teisho, Zazen: Three Periods

09:00-10:00 Walk/Jog

10:00-11:00 Zazen: Two Periods

11:00-11:30 Break

12:00-01:00 Lunch

01:00-01:30 Zazen: One Period

01:30-02:30 Samu

02:30-03:30 Zazen: Two Periods

03:30-05:00 Writing/Study Practice/Break

05:00-07:00 Dinner, Samu

07:00-08:00 Zazen: Two Periods

08:00 Close, Recite the Hanya Shin Gyo, the Four Great Vows.



Sunday

04:30-05:00 Wake and Wash

05:00-06:30 Gym

06:30-07:30 Breakfast

07:30-10:00 Zazen, Break and Samu

10:00-11:30 Sunday Services

"The Zen of Trauma"

With respect to all,




After due consideration, I have reduced the price of my downloadable Kindle book, "The Zen of Trauma" to $0.99. If you wish to download this book, go to Amazon.com and search for the title. It is a Kindle edition and you may download it to your PC or MAC if you also download the free Kindle software.



I am putting the finishing touches on my next little book, "The Zen of Everyday Life" which will be the second in the series.



Yours,

Daiho

Do We Mean What We Say?

With palms together,




This morning I woke at 3:45 and practiced Zazen followed by a short, but fully engaged yoga routine. At lighting my morning incense I had the thought that I was offering this wonderful gift to the universe. The thing is, do I really mean it? When I vow to free all beings, when I open my heart to compassionate living, what exactly do I really mean? Do I include hostage takers, mass murderers, child abusers, and all manner of people who do loathsome acts of terror and violence? These are part of the universe to which I offer the sweet gift of incense, aren’t they? And those who hate? And those who steal?



Often I simply say these words. Often they are just a part of the morning and evening liturgy. To the extent this is true they are, indeed, meaningless. If I vow to develop compassion and work to open my heart just to close it the moment I am confronted with something or someone who threatens me or others what am I?



I am a human being. It’s really that simple. I am an imperfect being on a path. There are many rocks, fallen trees, and other debris on this path. It would be both foolish and naïve of me to think that just because I practice lighting incense, investigating my body and heart through exercise and zazen, mouthing vows along the way, that I should be any different than any other animal comprising the human race. Acceptance of this fact is a very important practice as it leads to honest and authentic personal inquiry. With such inquiry each step we take along the path will be the same: honest and authentic.



Each time I recite a vow and notice my mind is elsewhere, each time I walk a step, lift a weight, or sit down on the practice cushion, noticing I am elsewhere, I am offered an opportunity to truly practice. Accepting I am a human being with flaws means I accept the human condition. This means understanding that I am no different fundamentally than any of those I may loath or wish not to extend my compassion. In realizing this and working with this, I open my heart just a little farther.



Be well

Local Note: We will host Study Group at 6:00 PM and practice Zazen at 7:00 PM at the Temple. I hope to see you there!

Wasting Trash

With palms together,




This morning I sat outside in our courtyard looking at the stars. It was 28 degrees. Not bad as I was wearing a robe and my running tights. With each breath thoughts arose. I considered the Bataan Memorial Death March and whether I would finish it. I considered the few dirty dishes in our sink. I considered the coffee brewing in our kitchen. And so on. A shooting star caught the corner of my eye. That speck, caught in our atmosphere, flamed out and I was reminded of my age. We each will flame out at some time. I was reminded of a conversation I had yesterday at the café in Mesilla. My friend told me his neighbor had died in his sleep a few days ago. He was 68. I will be 67 next month. It seems as we age we hear such stories and, like the shooting star, we are reminded of the brief time we have in awareness.



In one of the 101 Zen Stories there is a story about a monk who is admonished not to waste his time. Our study group on Thursday considered this. What does this mean? Can time be wasted? What assumptions are present for such an idea to be expressed? In another text there is a story about a monk who wondered what to do with the trash he had just swept up. His teacher told him there was no trash and went about experientially teaching the young monk the truth of this statement. Waste and trash are similar. They dismiss the value of what is there before us. The moment I had sitting outside in the cold this morning was every bit as valuable as doing something in service to others. Every moment is precious, made ever the more so by reminders that some of us die early in the flash of a moment.



Waste is a concept we create because we add value to something else. Trash is a concept we create because we cannot see the value of that which we call trash. Yet everything, like every moment, has intrinsic value and should not be dismissed. We need to learn to look deeply at what is there before us. To do this we need to practice the art of looking past our judgments, for judgments we will, as a matter of course, make. When we can see the value of a moment regardless of what else we have to do, we have the opportunity to develop gratitude for simply being. When we can see the value of what we have called trash we will eventually be able to embrace that which we have diminished.



May we practice to be blessings in the universe.

Empty Cup

With palms together,




There is nothing to be gained from the practice of Zen. So we say. We say that when we have a gaining idea when we come to practice we will miss the mark. This is so when our practice is pure, but not all practices are pure, which is to say, many of us come to practice with a need. We need to be more relaxed, more at peace, less angry, less depressed and so on. Few of us come to practice with the aroused thought of enlightenment. It has occurred to me that to talk of enlightenment is to miss the mark in two ways. First, it is not wise to talk of that which cannot be thought, only realized. Second, and most importantly, it does not address the needs of those in attendance.



The Buddha was a medicine man. He applied skilful means after he made a diagnosis of the ills of the person in front of him. Not all medicine was the same nor was it delivered in the same way. When I look out at the faces in my Zendo as I am about to offer a Dharma talk, it is important that I understand what the needs are of those in front of me. There is a strong pressure to give them what I believe they need rather than what they believe they need. As to “needs” we are too often both mistaken. There are differences between what they believe they need, what I believe they need, and what we each, in fact, need. An appreciation of this deepens my appreciation of the Buddha as he sat in front of ailing crowds offering medicine so skillfully. We must be empty cups.



Bromides like “only go straight,” or “just sit,” are not helpful and reflect, in my opinion, a lack of skill on the part of the teacher. Like Gutei’s finger they are only useful when uttered by the original Master, a Master who has assessed the situation and offers his or her teaching authentically. Copycats need not apply.



When we disallow what we “know” we have little recourse but to throw ourselves into the literal, actual, moment. We must address those sitting in front of us who have come to the Zendo for something. In this, we are left with ourselves. Such a thing can be scary, hence, our all too often reliance on bromides, snippets from other Masters, and tricks such as the crack of a stick. What are we doing?



Frankly, I don’t know. What I do know is that I too often completely miss the mark. I believe it is important to begin where the student is (to borrow a phrase from Social Work). The only way to do that is to ask the student to describe where they are and what they want or need. More importantly, though, we must believe them and teach to that need. It is important to stay in the present, as well. The Ancients teach us much, but ubiquitous referencing of dead guys is a little like the constant referencing of scripture in the Christian tradition: boring and unhelpful.

Lastly, a caution from the film, Chicago: when on the ropes, “razzle dazzle them!” The energy and quick spatter of profundities we sometimes use as teachers might make good theatre, but is hardly the intimate heart to heart touching students may require. I believe Zen students want something real. They want something authentic. And they want something both fresh and relevant. To gain such medicine both students and teachers must be willing to be honest, speak up, and take risks. It’s not all on the teacher, thank goodness. Students must use their voices and touch their hearts as they stumble through their practice. After all, if the physician is not given accurate, authentic information from the patient how will he or she properly treat the ailment?



Be well