With palms together,
Good Afternoon All,
Over this last few days I have been practicing mindfullness in motion. Practices this as a participant-witness through my day, moving, sitting, eating, talking, listening with full attention. This full attention is special, however, as it is attention without effort. Just witnessing the breath, the sound, the smell, the sight, the mental imaginings, all the while knowing that they are unreal is the truest sense.
I listen now to the baby giggle, then cry, and the delicate chopping and slicing sounds of my son's knife as it expertly cuts through myriad fresh vegetables and herbs as he prepares our evening meal. The conditioned air flows across my face and through the hair of my newly growing beard on my face.
In each moment a lifetime of experiences.
We are so rich each of us. The whole world of experience is ours for the willingness to touch it. It is such a shame that we withdraw so often, blunt our senses, and cloud our minds with the clippity-clap of notions.
Live awake.
Be well.
Organ Mountain Zen
Monday, May 22, 2006
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Happiness
With palms together,
Good Morning All,
To see is to experience the world as it is, to remember is to experience the world as it was, but to imagine-ah, to imagine is to experience the world as it isn't and has never been, but as it might be. The greatest achievement of the human brain is its ability to imagine objects and episodes that do not exist in the realm of the real, and it is this ability that allows us to think about the future. As one philosopher noted, the human brain is an "anticipation machine," and "making future" is the most important thing it does.
From the new book, 'Stumbling on Happiness' By DANIEL GILBERT
courtesy, NY Times Review of Books
Yes, this is one of the functions of the human brain, a great evolutionary step. The ability to imagine has been key to our survival and to our dominance of this planet. It has also lead us down the primrose path of delusion. Don't we all enjoy 'being somewhere else'? Especially when the present isn't as we 'expected' or 'desired'? We day dream, fantasize, and otherwise dream travel: on vacation most of the time.
The practice of Zen is a tool to help us come back to reality. It teaches us to live in the present moment, regardless of the quality of that moment.
Now some may ask why we should want to do that. And those who have been raised on or who are hooked on alternative realities such as television, gaming, film, would have a hard time answering, I suspect, so comfortable and interesting is virtual life.
Yet, in truth, alternative realities and mental imaginings are simple mental constructs, having no more validity than the phosphorescent dots on the old TV screen.
There are uses for such realities, but they are uses only, not habitats.
Time to wake up!
Time to wake up!
Be well.
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Defining the Spiritual Situation, 2
With palms together,
Good Morning All,
So, we hae a continuum of understanding of God from "No God" on one side to "God" on the other with a thousand shades of gray in between. Each shade presents its own unique hue, its own understanding of the role of the "believer" and the "clergy." Each contains its own "domain assumptions."
Manuel argues that we Buddhists are above and beyond a notion of God. This might be one side of the continuum. Understanding the issue, of course, from the subject's point of view. Do I want to even acknowledge the possibility of an object, subject asks? The Buddha himself seemed to want to avoid these discussions because he felt they were not useful to the goal of the Buddha Way.They are of the sort that philosophers often get to: how many angels can dance on the head of a pin?
Yet, my commentary is not so metaphysical. It is quite practical.
Our understanding of the universe guides us. Our willingness to drop away self and be enfolded by all is an important ingredient to our daily practice. The idea of God is clearly a human invention, and in primitive cultures this idea was anthropomorphised so that we could either better understand our conception of God or control him through supplication.
Some have argued that God is none other than a reflection of ourselves and so has evolved as have we through the centuries. No doubt this is true. And if true, where are we today?
To dismiss God dismisses entire cultures and their very powerful beliefs. Dismissing this means not understanding those cultures and such a lack of understanding can be deadly, especially in the contempory climate. Jihad is, afterall, a "holy war."
None of my discussion was intended to argue for or against a personal belief or point of view, only that we use a frame of reference within which we might understand how various peoples use God or a notion of God in their lives. Even atheists have a God they rail against, otherwise they would be mute. Often their understanding of such a God is of the Judeo-Christian variety, often punitive and primitive in conception. Such a notion becomes a straw man in an argument and suggests a simplistic examination of the whole thing.
God, however, is a universal phenomenon, not constrained by the human mind, not created in the human mind. God as the universe, the intricate processes, the outside and the inside, the very fabric of existence, is hardly an anthropomorphism. We in Zen might understand God as shunyata itself. Or not.
Be well.
Good Morning All,
So, we hae a continuum of understanding of God from "No God" on one side to "God" on the other with a thousand shades of gray in between. Each shade presents its own unique hue, its own understanding of the role of the "believer" and the "clergy." Each contains its own "domain assumptions."
Manuel argues that we Buddhists are above and beyond a notion of God. This might be one side of the continuum. Understanding the issue, of course, from the subject's point of view. Do I want to even acknowledge the possibility of an object, subject asks? The Buddha himself seemed to want to avoid these discussions because he felt they were not useful to the goal of the Buddha Way.They are of the sort that philosophers often get to: how many angels can dance on the head of a pin?
Yet, my commentary is not so metaphysical. It is quite practical.
Our understanding of the universe guides us. Our willingness to drop away self and be enfolded by all is an important ingredient to our daily practice. The idea of God is clearly a human invention, and in primitive cultures this idea was anthropomorphised so that we could either better understand our conception of God or control him through supplication.
Some have argued that God is none other than a reflection of ourselves and so has evolved as have we through the centuries. No doubt this is true. And if true, where are we today?
To dismiss God dismisses entire cultures and their very powerful beliefs. Dismissing this means not understanding those cultures and such a lack of understanding can be deadly, especially in the contempory climate. Jihad is, afterall, a "holy war."
None of my discussion was intended to argue for or against a personal belief or point of view, only that we use a frame of reference within which we might understand how various peoples use God or a notion of God in their lives. Even atheists have a God they rail against, otherwise they would be mute. Often their understanding of such a God is of the Judeo-Christian variety, often punitive and primitive in conception. Such a notion becomes a straw man in an argument and suggests a simplistic examination of the whole thing.
God, however, is a universal phenomenon, not constrained by the human mind, not created in the human mind. God as the universe, the intricate processes, the outside and the inside, the very fabric of existence, is hardly an anthropomorphism. We in Zen might understand God as shunyata itself. Or not.
Be well.
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Fences
With palms together,
Good Morning All,
Ever since I was a little kid I wondered how borders existed. I often looked at maps of the world, scouring the continents looking at the lines separating one country from another and wondering what they looked like on the ground. As a kid I thought maybe there were actual lines and that it must be some body's job to go around painting them, like they do on roads. As an adult I still wonder about these lines dividing us as a species. I wonder about how these divisions divide us rather than bring us together. I wonder about the fear that is created through groupings, the discrimination that develops, and often think about the world as a place without boundary as a place without limits.
When we drop our boundaries, in one sense, we create possibilities for expansion. Companies know this. International corporations see boundaries as impediments and actively work within them to make them non-existent. Would it not be wise to eventually find a way to live on this planet as if we are all part of the same family of man?
Creating fences, putting armed soldiers along our borders, seems unwise to me. It creates a police state of sorts, and further divides us. True security, it seems to me, comes with friendship and intermarriage, where all people see themselves as family.
Threats to the family will always exist, well at least as long as there are both vast differences between haves and have-nots and as long as groups of people suffer and die while others live and thrive.Increasing the height of the fence will not stop that.
Be well.
Good Morning All,
Ever since I was a little kid I wondered how borders existed. I often looked at maps of the world, scouring the continents looking at the lines separating one country from another and wondering what they looked like on the ground. As a kid I thought maybe there were actual lines and that it must be some body's job to go around painting them, like they do on roads. As an adult I still wonder about these lines dividing us as a species. I wonder about how these divisions divide us rather than bring us together. I wonder about the fear that is created through groupings, the discrimination that develops, and often think about the world as a place without boundary as a place without limits.
When we drop our boundaries, in one sense, we create possibilities for expansion. Companies know this. International corporations see boundaries as impediments and actively work within them to make them non-existent. Would it not be wise to eventually find a way to live on this planet as if we are all part of the same family of man?
Creating fences, putting armed soldiers along our borders, seems unwise to me. It creates a police state of sorts, and further divides us. True security, it seems to me, comes with friendship and intermarriage, where all people see themselves as family.
Threats to the family will always exist, well at least as long as there are both vast differences between haves and have-nots and as long as groups of people suffer and die while others live and thrive.Increasing the height of the fence will not stop that.
Be well.
Sunday, May 14, 2006
Charity
With palms together,
Good Afternoon All,
The first of the Six Paramitas is Dana, or Genersoity. I enjoy this paramita very much as it reminds me that to be generous means to be so without self. Any reminder to drop away self is a good thing. We spend so much of our day wrapped up in ourselves, that to get out of the wrapper is actually quite liberating.
In the Diamond Sutra, the Buddha taught that a man should "bestow alms, uninfluenced by any pre-conceived thoughts as to self and other selves..." and if in "practicing charity, conceives within his mind...conceptions discriminating himself from other selves, he will be like a man walking in darkness and seeing nothing." (Goddard translation, p.90-91).
This has some very specific meaning and teaching. Similar to the Christian notion that if a man asks for a coat, you should also give him your cloak. Thought to self, and judgement as to the worthiness of others has no place in these teachings.
The moment self enters, judgement and discernment enters, we are in the darkness and delusion of dualism. The heart of the Buddha's teaching is compassion for others as a starting point and an end in itself. In this sense, then, we enter charity and become charity, within this charity there is no me, no you, no beggar or almsgiver. Being generosity is being Buddha.
Another definition of Mutual Aid.
Be well.
Good Afternoon All,
The first of the Six Paramitas is Dana, or Genersoity. I enjoy this paramita very much as it reminds me that to be generous means to be so without self. Any reminder to drop away self is a good thing. We spend so much of our day wrapped up in ourselves, that to get out of the wrapper is actually quite liberating.
In the Diamond Sutra, the Buddha taught that a man should "bestow alms, uninfluenced by any pre-conceived thoughts as to self and other selves..." and if in "practicing charity, conceives within his mind...conceptions discriminating himself from other selves, he will be like a man walking in darkness and seeing nothing." (Goddard translation, p.90-91).
This has some very specific meaning and teaching. Similar to the Christian notion that if a man asks for a coat, you should also give him your cloak. Thought to self, and judgement as to the worthiness of others has no place in these teachings.
The moment self enters, judgement and discernment enters, we are in the darkness and delusion of dualism. The heart of the Buddha's teaching is compassion for others as a starting point and an end in itself. In this sense, then, we enter charity and become charity, within this charity there is no me, no you, no beggar or almsgiver. Being generosity is being Buddha.
Another definition of Mutual Aid.
Be well.
Saturday, May 13, 2006
The News and the Spirit
With palms together,
Good Morning All,
The morning news is bothersome, as always. People killed. Expolsions. Domestic spying. Lawsuits. Sometimes it is good practice to avoid the newspaper and internet news services. The type and level of information, speed of delivery, and tone is poisonous to the spirit.
Yet, we don't really want to live as ostriches.
It is important to know your world and the happenings within it. It is important to know what your government is doing, how it is doing it, and the goals it claims in the process. Our government does not seem to be as forthcoming as it might be. We are fighting a war, it claims.
Remember the works of fiction that warned us in school? 1984, Brave New World, Player Piano (the first Kurt Vonnegut jr. book which was quite interesting in light of today's world)?
Here we are. Of course its not the same. The threats are real. And so are the psychological processes of leading through fear. Like lemmings, we are willingly giving up our rights to privacy. We are giving up our money and many of our freedoms to wage wars of peace and end fear and intimidation by Third World sets of people wanting to bring back the Middle Ages.
I am one who believes terror wins when we decide to become fearful, hiding, and secret. A brave society is a society that remains free and above board even when threatened. A compassionate society cares about our enemies, nurtures the poor and the weak regardless of race, creed, or national origin. A smart society lives beyond superstition and the fear of fundamentalists and their devil.
When your heart is closed, you die regardless of whether you are safe. When your heart is open, you live even if you are in danger.
Be well.
Good Morning All,
The morning news is bothersome, as always. People killed. Expolsions. Domestic spying. Lawsuits. Sometimes it is good practice to avoid the newspaper and internet news services. The type and level of information, speed of delivery, and tone is poisonous to the spirit.
Yet, we don't really want to live as ostriches.
It is important to know your world and the happenings within it. It is important to know what your government is doing, how it is doing it, and the goals it claims in the process. Our government does not seem to be as forthcoming as it might be. We are fighting a war, it claims.
Remember the works of fiction that warned us in school? 1984, Brave New World, Player Piano (the first Kurt Vonnegut jr. book which was quite interesting in light of today's world)?
Here we are. Of course its not the same. The threats are real. And so are the psychological processes of leading through fear. Like lemmings, we are willingly giving up our rights to privacy. We are giving up our money and many of our freedoms to wage wars of peace and end fear and intimidation by Third World sets of people wanting to bring back the Middle Ages.
I am one who believes terror wins when we decide to become fearful, hiding, and secret. A brave society is a society that remains free and above board even when threatened. A compassionate society cares about our enemies, nurtures the poor and the weak regardless of race, creed, or national origin. A smart society lives beyond superstition and the fear of fundamentalists and their devil.
When your heart is closed, you die regardless of whether you are safe. When your heart is open, you live even if you are in danger.
Be well.
Friday, May 12, 2006
Alive
With palms together,
Good Morning all,
We have recently moved a small cafe table and two chairs into my home Zendo, along with my handweights, a small library of books, and the orchid My Little Honey gave to me for our anniversary.
The orchid sits just beyond this laptop computer and as I type it draws my attention. It is a sort of mindfullness bell. We all have such small, but important objects in our lives. A flower, a photograph, a key: something that captures us for just a moment and in thsat moment enables us to settle down, draw in our breath and center ourselves.
It is so easy to overlook these small treasures. Our world is full of large distractions, noisy, glitsy, sexy, important. Yet, as anyone who has lived awhile understands, these are all passing. Yesterdays headlines are yesterday, with all that implies.
The small treasures, on the otherhand, are constant. Though the flower may lose its bloom, and the lock for the key be no more, the treasure is in the moment we take ro draw our breath. The moment we become aware we are alive.
Be well.
Good Morning all,
We have recently moved a small cafe table and two chairs into my home Zendo, along with my handweights, a small library of books, and the orchid My Little Honey gave to me for our anniversary.
The orchid sits just beyond this laptop computer and as I type it draws my attention. It is a sort of mindfullness bell. We all have such small, but important objects in our lives. A flower, a photograph, a key: something that captures us for just a moment and in thsat moment enables us to settle down, draw in our breath and center ourselves.
It is so easy to overlook these small treasures. Our world is full of large distractions, noisy, glitsy, sexy, important. Yet, as anyone who has lived awhile understands, these are all passing. Yesterdays headlines are yesterday, with all that implies.
The small treasures, on the otherhand, are constant. Though the flower may lose its bloom, and the lock for the key be no more, the treasure is in the moment we take ro draw our breath. The moment we become aware we are alive.
Be well.
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