Dirt

With palms together,


Good Morning Everyone,



In the Vimalakirti Sutra, the bodhisattva Manjushri addressing the Buddha, says, "Noble sir, one who stays in the fixed determination of the vision of the Uncreated is not capable of conceiving the spirit of unexcelled perfect enlightenment. However, one who lives among created things, in the mines of passions, without seeing any truth, is indeed capable of conceiving the spirit of unexcelled perfect enlightenment.



[For] Noble sir, flowers like the blue lotus, the red lotus, the white lotus, the water lily, and the moon lily do not grow on the dry ground in the wilderness, but do grow in the swamps and mud banks.



Just so, the Buddha-qualities do not grow in living beings certainly destined for the uncreated but do grow in those living beings who are like swamps and mud banks of passions. Likewise, as seeds do not grow in the sky but do grow in the earth, so the Buddha-qualities do not grow in those determined for the Absolute but do grow in those who conceive the spirit of enlightenment, after having produced a Sumeru-like mountain of egoistic views.



Noble sir, through these considerations one can understand that all passions constitute the family of the Tathagatas. For example, noble sir, without going out into the great ocean, it is impossible to find precious, priceless pearls. Likewise, without going into the ocean of passions, it is impossible to obtain the Mind of Omniscience."



Our Bodhisattva of Wisdom is saying something very important here. A flower grows in dirt. Its roots are dirty and wet; it’s stem is upright, strong; and its flower rises into the open air as if to touch the sky. Which is pure, which impure? Which is dirty, which is clean? We cannot have the flower without the stem, nor the roots. The dirt is as necessary as the air, sun and sky. Moreover, which is not the flower? Where does the flower begin and end?



This morning I dug two small trenches, filled them with rich soil, and planted two rows of onions. I covered the tiny bulbs with more dirt, then the sand that is our native soil. I added water. My fingers felt the wet bulbs and the tiny roots. I was careful to set the greens upright. I cannot say any of this was impure, nothing was dirty. Each time such a thought arises, I work to put it in the largest context possible. See the particular, but never forget its context; see context, but never forget the particular. Both inter-are.



Be well.



Today at CMZ Temple: 5:30 Women’s Zen Group at our residence, 7:00 PM Zazen at Temple Zendo, Yoga at 7:30 at Temple Zendo.



PS. My thanks to Students Kanu and Ron for joining Team Zen!

Morning Note

With palms together,


Good Morning Everyone,



This morning I woke stiff and a little sore. I lanced two blisters and taped them. Today was a arm and shoulder workout, which I did with a little lighter weights than usual, and only did two sets each of the exercises in my plan, plus my normal ab workout. After this, Kathryn and I went for a 1.5 mile desert jog. A little light stretching and I am feeling much better.



I went over to son Jason’s and borrowed back my Trek bike, washed and lubed it, and then waxed the frame. It looks pretty nice. Kathryn and I will do a little riding soon.



We sat down yesterday afternoon and looked at some up-coming charity races. We think we will do the “Iron Bunny” (5k) in El Paso toward the end of April (supports ALS disease association) and a Run for Public Health (8k) in May, which supports the Wounded Warrior Project. So, if anyone wants to join Team Zen to benefit these causes, let us know.



At our post race dinner last night we found Student Alice had, indeed, completed the race! She started far behind Yubao and I in the starting lineup, though, so we never saw each other. She was very pleased with herself, as were we with her, “Bravo Alice!”



This evening at Clear Mind Zen Temple we will practice Zazen at 7:00 PM and Yoga at 7:30 PM.



Be well!

Bataan Race Report

With palms together,


Good Afternoon Everyone,



This morning Student Yubao and I lined up in the chaos of the White Sands Missile Range’s Bataan Death March Memorial race with 6500 marchers. We could not find Student Alice and neither of us had her cell number. The wind was horrible, gusting easily into the 40 MPH range, and steady at 20-25 MPH. It was chilly and dark. The wind made fast work of Yubao’s hat which he bought on our last long hike through the desert.



As the start time approached, after the Star-Spangled Banner was sung by singer Ricky Lee, the announcer did a Roll Call of those Bataan Survivors present and one’s who died over the year since the last March. Three survivors voiced “Here!” There was an eerie silence as the deceased were called out. A fly-over by the Air Force ended the opening ceremonies and the cannon blasted our start.



I felt great. The weather got better as the sun rose over the mountains. The huge crowded field made it seem easy to get through the first two miles of the race. It did not thin out until about mile 9. At mile 5-6, we made a left turn and began our ascent. It was here I felt the flush I sometimes feel. It’s as though I cannot feel my left arm and hand and a sort of halo feeling arises. It’s the sort of thing I used to feel years ago when I was epileptic (from the gunshot wound to my head in Vietnam).



I checked my pulse and maintained my pace. But did tear open a “Zone” bar as I climbed. It seemed as though that hill was going to last forever. In fact, it was about a 3.5 miles according to my Garmin. Anyway, the relief of getting to the top was short-lived as winding through these desert trails led to the infamous “sand pit,” a stretch of about two miles of ankle deep sand. I immediately recognized the value of those silly looking cloth ankle covers some fortunate, smarter than I, hikers were wearing.



Student Yubau, a Chinese man in his mid-forties, called me on my cell phone (he had slipped into the Gulf Stream of Speed-racers early, leaving me in the dust) to tell he had finished the race. Good grief. But it was good to hear his voice.

As we approached the finish line at about a mile out, I decided to pick up my pace by jogging. Kathryn Soku Shin was to greet me at the finish, but alas, I was too quick for her and went over the finish line at 4:24:18, according to me Garmin.



The crowd support was marvelous and the volunteer support was superb. It was a pleasure seeing such dedication and support from so many people along the way. A tired soldier with US Army Spandex was struggling under a tree to get his long pants on. I assisted him. In return he offered me his really cool Army space blanket, which of course, was Olive Drab on one side, and silver on the other. I thanked him and sat down on the grass to inspect my blisters. Along came Kathryn, which was delightful. We had some lunch, a beer, and a truly delicious ride home.



While I do not support war, it is good to know we have such wonderful people in service to protecting us from those who would do us harm. Let us never again confuse the war with the warrior. It was an honor to March with them.



Be well.

Dharma

With respect,








Thank you very much Kobutsu for both sharing this insightful and powerful piece of writing, but also for the person you are. Thank you also for taking the time to call me, it is always a moment pregnant with the possibility of awakening to speak with you. Reading this piece reminded me so much of my ten years of work in child protective services, work as much for myself as for the children and families I was asked to work with. How to feel compassion for a perpetrator of sexual violence on a small child? How to understand a family system that produces and allows such behavior?





Such work changes us and also, I think, invites us to examine deeply, the phrases and jargon we Zennists drape ourselves with. Buddha nature is nature and nature is the universe: not all sweetness and light. Stars collide, civilizations brutalize one another, and individuals eat each other for lunch. All dharmas. Life unfolds.







Releasing ourselves from the grip of our thoughts and feelings about such things to just enter the situation is, I suspect, the best approach. When beings suffer we are there, not to help as your quote suggests, but to liberate.







Here's the thing, it seems to me we all live in cages. We all use our situation and condition to justify our behavior regardless of that behavior's morality. To free ourselves from the cage is to free ourselves from the whole structure: ego, id, and super-ego, on the individual level, but also from macro social structures, as well. We brutalize ourselves daily with our ideas, our values, and our economicic systems. A cage by another other name is still a cage.







To use the logic of the Buddha in his Diamond Sutra, to free ourselves from Dharma labels, such as being Zen practitioners, we must realize we are not Zen practioners. Because of this we are Zen ptractitioners. So, what does this mean? It means to me, just do what is in front of you to do.







Be well.







Daiho





"You need not enter a monastery, but make a monastery of your heart."

Soyu Matsuoka



Harvey Daiho Hilbert

Order of Clear Mind Zen

Telephone: 575-680-6680







--- On Thu, 3/24/11, Kobutsu Malone wrote:





From: Kobutsu Malone

Subject: Re: Greetings

To: "Harvey Daiho Hilbert"

Date: Thursday, March 24, 2011, 5:13 PM





http://www.engaged-zen.org/articles/Kobutsu-Paradox.html























On Mar 24, 2011, at 7:01 PM, Harvey Daiho Hilbert wrote:



With palms together,



Kobutsu, I hope you are well. I am writing to ask if you would offer a few words/insights to one of my students who has expressed an interest in prison work. He is a very bright, engaged scientist, who also holds a 3rd degree black belt, and will become a novice priest in April.





Again, I hope you are well. I look forward to hearing from you soon.



In gassho,



Daiho







"You need not enter a monastery, but make a monastery of your heart."

Soyu Matsuoka



Harvey Daiho Hilbert

Order of Clear Mind Zen

Telephone: 575-680-6680

The Wholehearted Way

With palms together,


Good Morning Everyone,



The morning began at 2:00 AM with Suki being sick. I cleaned the carpet and walked her. She seemed to feel better, went to sleep, as I tried myself to recover my dreams. Soku Shin was dead to the world. Good. She really needed the rest. So, up again at 4:30, I began with Zazen, did a arms and shoulders weight workout, and followed that with a yoga routine. After writing this note, I will head out into the desert for a 2.8 mile hike. Then return to paint. My afternoon is filled with dokusan interviews. This evening the women gather for their Zen group and I will practice Zazen and yoga at the Temple beginning at 7:00 PM. Such is my day.



A new student and I have been studying the Bendowa, an essay by Master Dogen on the practice of the Wholehearted way. I consider this often through the day. Am I wholeheartedly present? Is my mind divided? I notice, that often it is, and I gently bring it back together in a simple breath with my shoulders open and my eyes cast downward. I think this is a good practice, to notice and return, notice and return. It should be a moment to moment practice.



In this practice, as I breath in, I release my mind and let the present environment in. Who is there before me? What is going on? How am I responding? Release. Release. Release.



Soku Shin just left to take her car in for servicing. Suki and I need our morning aerobic work. It is time, then, to close.



Be well.

Morning Practice

With palms together,


Good Morning Everyone,



This morning we rose early. It feels good to get up early sometimes, but then again, it feels good to sleep in on occasion. This morning I went through my morning yoga routine feeling ever-so-tight and feeling as if springs were uncoiling in the process. Yoga when done slowly and mindfully is such a centering, contemplative practice. I followed this with an easy leg workout with weights: squats and calf-raises, then for abs, crunches and knee tucks. In a week or two I will increase this day’s workout to include lunges and much heavier weight.



Last night at Temple we explored a few fragments of Master Dogen’s “Fukanzazenji.” It was a good discussion, I thought, about coming to experience what is true and already present within us: our buddha-nature. Once this unfolds and we see it clearly, everything in our lives has the portent of teaching and learning: from downward facing dog to making coffee in the morning to typing such a message as this. Once our eyes are open, we can actually see.



I like to think of it as similar to walking in our own authority, the authority of substance. Knowing, one need not speak. Everything is there in every gesture. Now, to get ready to go out the door for a walk.



Be well.

A Day

With palms together,


Good Afternoon Everyone,



This morning I am still nursing a blister on my left foot’s Big Toe…I need it to heal for Sunday’s race at White Sands Missile Range. So, I have not walked but a half mile or so over the last two days. Kathryn (Soku Shin) and I did go down to the Rio Grande where we biked two miles the day before yesterday. (It was very beautiful at sunset!)



What I have been doing is yoga twice a day and weights. This morning I punched up my weight routine, pulled out my old workout log, and re-did it to reflect a few changes. As it stands: Monday and Thursday are Arms and Shoulders, Tuesday and Friday are Chest and Back, Wednesday is Legs, Abs are daily. Yoga is twice daily. Tai Chi Chih is Wednesday. I am going from three sets of 8 reps heavy, building to five sets of 8 heavy.



On the aerobic side: After the Bataan Death March on Sunday, I thought I would move back to running, since I think I have solved the foot issues (at least temporarily) so Monday is a Slow Run, Tuesday is a Walk, Wednesday is a Tempo run, Thursday is a Walk, Friday is an Easy Run, Saturday is a Long Run, Sunday is Off.



This said, Zazen is my main contemplative practice, although I work hard to train in a contemplative mode in all things I do. Zen, as I taught last night, is an every moment thing: Zen is life itself. In everything we do, we should do it aware that we are doing it. There is no room for auto-pilot in life. Life is far too short for that sort of thing.



This evening at Clear Mind Zen Temple, we will host Zen 101 at 6:00 PM, practice Zazen at 7:00 PM, and practice Yoga at 7:30 PM. Please consider joining us!



Be well.