Bodhidharma

With palms together


Good Morning Everyone,



Today is Bodhidharma Day and we are able to practice as a result of his effort. We are each Bodhidharma, even today, as we take our position on the zafu, we manifest the essential nature of the ancestors from before Shakyamuni Buddha to today.



Bodhidharma was born, it is believed, in 470 C. E. He traveled to China, interviewed with the Emperor Wu, and eventually settled into a cave near the Shaolin Temple where it is said he practiced facing the cave wall for nine years.



Often portrayed as a wildish sort with eyes bulging, he was clearly an intimidating Master. He often rebuffed those who came to study with him and perhaps this is where the tradition of testing a potential student’s commitment came into being. For Bodhidharma, the practice was not a Sunday morning affair, but a daily, moment-to-moment experience.



People then had the same reasons for not coming to the cushion or to a practice center as do people today. They had families, worked, and otherwise were occupied with matters of consequence, but for a few, there were no matters of greater import than practice.



We sat last night and this morning with Bodhidharma in heart/mind. We are grateful to him for bringing the dharma to China and to Dogen Dai Osho for bringing it to Japan and for Matsuoka Dai Osho for bringing it to the United States and for Hogaku Shozen-roshi for bringing it to us.



May we each as a result, deepen our practice and offer the dharma to any who will sit with us.



Be well.

Our Mind

With palms together


Good Morning Everyone,



It is o’dark thirty and I am awake. What else is there to say? Mornings are indescribably delicious to me: the cool air, the silence, and time pregnant with opportunity.



This morning we will practice Zazen. Throughout the day, we will practice mindfulness. It is our way



With an eye to what is next to do, I am aware that my eye is on what next to do: bring it back, bring it back. The processes of Zen are the same: simple but difficult. Keep your mind, mindfully.



Be well.

To Sustain Ourselves

With palms together




Good Morning Everyone,







It is early and the rice is cooking for the day. It is the beginning of the month and we will soon have money to buy food. In the meantime, rice is nice (thank you KoMyo!) and I am reminded of the scene in the film “Zen” where the Tenzo has no rice at all. The monks drank boiled water. To complicate matters the refrigerator here at the Temple is broken and will need to be replaced. A call to the landlord has begun to get things moving in that direction.







There is a line in the meal chant, "to sustain ourselves, we eat this food." Our practice is to sustain ourselves without much ado. So, we wash the rice and cook it, add what is in the pantry (in this case a bit of turmeric with a hint of mint and beans), and enjoy the process of cooking. I will add the beans a bit later with a little fresh onion. Lunch will be early today as I have a 12:15 appointment with my orthopedic doc.







Before all that, 7:00 AM Zazen; 9:00 AM Zen in the Park, 10:30 meeting with Hogaku-roshi, 12:15 Doctor’s appointment, and later today at 4:00 PM our Zen Discussion Group, followed by 7:00 PM Zazen.







May you each be a blessing in the universe.

Appreciation

With palms together


Good Morning Everyone,



As the title of one of Maezumi-roshi’s books shouts, appreciate your life! Appreciation of every sense, sense organ, and object of the senses is a foundational practice of Zen. What does this appreciation really mean?



I recall classes in college called Art Appreciation and Music Appreciation. They were intended to offer students a sense of the subject matter and often amounted to little more than a survey of the art or music scene and their histories.



Appreciation, however, goes far deeper than a surface scan of a subject. Dates, appearances,, patterns are important, but the work of appreciation is internal. What does it really mean to truly appreciate something?



The Oxford English Dictionary says that appreciation is the ability to estimate a value of something, be sensitive to it, to esteem it, and to be grateful for it. How meaningful, in other words, is something that sits before me? Do I have the ability to value it for itself? Am I grateful for its presence?



It is one thing to like a piece of art, it is a wholly different matter to appreciate it. Dharma dhatu, or the 18 sensory domains, are there for us to appreciate, but not cling to. Because each is fleeting, we should take a moment to be grateful to them not just for making our universe sensible, but also for being points where an emergent buddha touches the universe.



Be well.

Consequence

With palms together


Good Morning Everyone,



There are no consequences: a simple, but powerful, sentence. This does not mean that “bad” things do not follow “bad” things, or that “good” things do not follow “good” things, but rather, it means:

1. things are what they are, in the moment they are,

2. and when we are one with (and in) them, notions such as good, bad, right, wrong, past, future, are meaningless.



Consequence assumes linearity of time and a dualistic separation of subject and object. When we reside in the moment, we are residing in the moment as it is.



Some might argue that if there were no consequences, that is, no separation between subject and object and perception of linear time, we might misbehave, run amok, and otherwise cause grievous devastation. To them I say, “Look around.” Living in dualism with consequentialist ethics has not shown us much.



What is the alternative? Simple really, live precisely, exactly, and squarely in this moment. Focus your complete attention on your intention in the situation, not the consequence. Consequence, karma, is what it is: do not be afraid. Here is the thing. When we practice, when there is no self, no ego-driven intention, behavior can be other-centered. When our intention is other-centered, love can arise, compassion can be present, and our fear falls away.



With no hindrance in the mind, no fear.



Be here now.

Sangha Building

With palms together


Good Morning Everyone,



If I want to build a sangha, I do not look for Zen Buddhists or even Buddhists for that matter. That would be a big mistake as I would be likely to collect a motley crew of people with all sorts of ideas about Zen.

No. First, I wouldn’t look period. I would find a place and set a time, and then I would just sit. Second, I would welcome whoever came to sit with me. The key is openness and keeping our eye on the ball: practice. I might post a flier or two. I would ask my friends. I would first and last, however, practice.



People too often set out with ideas in mind. This is not the Zen way. We do not chase ideas. We practice zazen.



Training is important when we get past just sitting. Instruction is important before and during our zazen. We never get past just sitting. Training in the forms is an issue for Zen Temples and Practice Centers. Important, yes, but not essential.



What is essential first is that we understand what we are doing and second, our limitations. We are practicing zazen. Instruction on this practice is readily available and quite simple. Its practice is difficult. We should be careful not to allow the fact that we do not have a sangha, room, or building to take us away from our practice. We always have a park or a tree or a sidewalk or some other public space we can just sit in. Kinhin can be practiced pretty much anywhere and at anytime. And mindfulness practice becomes a deeply ingrained way of life.



Let the labels go. Zen Buddhists? Not necessarily. People willing to sit down with us and take the backward step? Yes! Compassionate hearts? Yes! Diligent hearts? Yes!



It is the practice that is essential, nothing else.



Be well.

The Deep End

With palms together


Good Morning Everyone,



Stepping off into the deep end of the pool requires a few things. Courage, faith, and a certain foolhardiness, as well as a sense of centered acceptance of life as it presents itself. We must have faith in our ability to swim without aid of the pool bottom. We must have the courage to test that faith. We must be reckless enough to take the chance itself. Lastly, but I think most importantly, we must know our center intimately enough to know that regardless of any possible outcome, including drowning, we will be serene in the process. Serenity in this case, is a palpable acceptance of what is.



So if we are swimming, serene. If we are fearful, serene. If we are drowning, serene. We must use the word, centered, here to help us make sense of what I am calling serene. It isn’t that we are not struggling to stay afloat if something happens and we have begun to drown. We are struggling. But we are struggling knowing we are struggling and being completely with that struggling. When we are one with something that thing no longer exists opposed to us, but is us.



Recently I felt incredibly lonely. It was a day where I spoke to no one, saw no one, and even was prevented from doing computer work by the fact that I was going through a thorough scan of my computer, a process that took nearly four hours. During that time I faced myself quite directly. I saw the risks I have taken clearly. Family and friends are not what they were. I have changed my relationship to them. They rarely call and, to be honest, I rarely call them. It’s just not the same.



So, I sat at my desk in my little study/bedroom and experienced deep loneliness. It was my deep end of the pool. I went through self-pity, deep questioning of my motives, and a variety of feelings from fear and anger to hurt and sadness. In the end, I discovered I am OK. Here I am in this moment writing to you and offering something, I don’t know what.



I am a monk. I practice zazen. This is my new pool and my new stroke. Be well.