With palms together,
Good Morning All,
There it is, the morning sun rising. My goodness how bright! I sat alone in the Zendo this morning. I actually cherish those times when I am alone there. (Please don't take this to mean you shouldn't come!) It is so still, so quiet, save the chirps of sundry birds outside. In such lovely stillness one can reside, yet we each should know that such moments are but brief respites that assist us to navigate clearly through a day.
In the morning we leave for Memphis. I look forward to seeing Dragon Tate, the grandson. I wish we could see Olivia, our little Florida pumpkin,the littlest granddaughter or Sami, our Teenage grand daughter, and our array of children who seem scattered like so many seeds. Maybe in the months to come.
Life is like that. We open our eyes and there it is. We do what is there for us to do, we float along and let the rest drop away. When we get all caught up in the woulda-shoulda mind trap, we sink. No sinking allowed.
In the meantime we love and that's a very good thing. We love our neighbors and our friends. We love our partners. We love the air we breathe and the food we eat and all the good things that make our lives what they are. Its important to be mindful of these things.
Be well.
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Matsuoka
With palms together,
Good Afternoon All,
It is nearly the end of morning. We have been busy around the homestead. Zen Center was a delight this morning and yesterday we had a full house once again! Our Board meeting went well as we reviewed the bi-laws approached one step closer to 501c3 status.
Our Zen Center clearly has grown and matured since we began some 5 or 6 years ago in a small room in my home. We have our own facility, we are offering a full range of zazen, as well as children friendly services. I am personally delighted about the numbers of regular sitters and the group of this forum and its membership. Yet, we are still small and, I hope, homey. Such a good hing.
Today is a very special day. We honor Matsuoka-roshi today. For those of you who do not know, Rev. Dr. Soyu Matsuoka-roshi is my Dharma grandfather. He established several zen Centers in the US in the sixties, seventies, and eighties. Atlanta, Chicago, Long Beach, and through my Teacher, Las Cruces and Cloudcroft. Little is known about him, as he never published a book (although there is one in process). He was born and died in the same month, November. There is a picture of him on our website at http://www.daihoji.org/ as well as http://www.zencenteroflascruces.org/
Without his effort, courage, and willingness to come to America from Sojiji, we would not be gathered here together in person or online. Nine bows to him.
Be well.
Good Afternoon All,
It is nearly the end of morning. We have been busy around the homestead. Zen Center was a delight this morning and yesterday we had a full house once again! Our Board meeting went well as we reviewed the bi-laws approached one step closer to 501c3 status.
Our Zen Center clearly has grown and matured since we began some 5 or 6 years ago in a small room in my home. We have our own facility, we are offering a full range of zazen, as well as children friendly services. I am personally delighted about the numbers of regular sitters and the group of this forum and its membership. Yet, we are still small and, I hope, homey. Such a good hing.
Today is a very special day. We honor Matsuoka-roshi today. For those of you who do not know, Rev. Dr. Soyu Matsuoka-roshi is my Dharma grandfather. He established several zen Centers in the US in the sixties, seventies, and eighties. Atlanta, Chicago, Long Beach, and through my Teacher, Las Cruces and Cloudcroft. Little is known about him, as he never published a book (although there is one in process). He was born and died in the same month, November. There is a picture of him on our website at http://www.daihoji.org/ as well as http://www.zencenteroflascruces.org/
Without his effort, courage, and willingness to come to America from Sojiji, we would not be gathered here together in person or online. Nine bows to him.
Be well.
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Tangles
With palms together,
Good Morning All,
"Not the faults of others, nor what others have done or left undone, but one's own deeds, done and left undone, should one consider." the Buddha
The truth is so hard to take sometimes. We live in a world where it seems we are always judging. Well, I should really speak for myself. I live in a world where I seem to always be judging. In this world is pain and suffering and I realize I am its cause.
If I were t place my sole attention on being the person I know I am, no problem. If I were to look at others as myself, no problem...well, maybe big problem, since I can be pretty hard on myself. But you get the point.
It is so important to take care of one's own business, it is a first step to being upright. Yet so much easier to look somewhere else and pay attention to others.
When we sit zazen we are left with only ourselves. Just us with our breath and our mind and our senses. Yikes! Still, if we have the courage to continue to sit there, we begin to see clearly the work that needs to be done. The ball of yarn begins to unravel of its own accord and there we are, free of the tangles of delusion.
So, we get up off the cushion and do what is there for us to do. All the while letting others do the same.
Be well.
Good Morning All,
"Not the faults of others, nor what others have done or left undone, but one's own deeds, done and left undone, should one consider." the Buddha
The truth is so hard to take sometimes. We live in a world where it seems we are always judging. Well, I should really speak for myself. I live in a world where I seem to always be judging. In this world is pain and suffering and I realize I am its cause.
If I were t place my sole attention on being the person I know I am, no problem. If I were to look at others as myself, no problem...well, maybe big problem, since I can be pretty hard on myself. But you get the point.
It is so important to take care of one's own business, it is a first step to being upright. Yet so much easier to look somewhere else and pay attention to others.
When we sit zazen we are left with only ourselves. Just us with our breath and our mind and our senses. Yikes! Still, if we have the courage to continue to sit there, we begin to see clearly the work that needs to be done. The ball of yarn begins to unravel of its own accord and there we are, free of the tangles of delusion.
So, we get up off the cushion and do what is there for us to do. All the while letting others do the same.
Be well.
Saturday, November 18, 2006
On Being Outside the Box
With palms together,
Good Evening All,
Is there ever a time when we are ready to live as completely as possible? It would seem we are often living with one foot in the grave, "Oh, don't do that, you'll get hurt!" "Oh, that is just too risky, better not go there!" And so on.
I don't know. I wonder about this sometimes.
One of the reasons we don't live to our full potential is fear, but not so much of getting hurt in the ordinary sense. Rather, this is fear of a different sort; getting hurt in the psychic sense. We are afraid of what people will think of us if we are just ourselves. So we put on, we dress the part, and play roles, never allowing our true selves to emerge.
I remember how liberating it was to find out that even if I make a complete fool of myself, if done honestly, it really didn't matter. People can be hurtful, true. But mostly they are very compassionate and caring human beings. Such liberation is compelling. And I believe people respond best to authentic human beings.
I sometimes laugh a lot. I am also sometimes depressed. I enjoy being with people most of the time. Negative energy and people who seem to be dying before their time are a challenge for me. When I am in their presence, I feel the drain. Yet, I think this is a key practice. To learn to be present in each and every moment and to be open to every being regardless of how I might be feeling at that moment. How else can one be of service? We really don't have the luxury of picking sand choosing our moments to be buddhas
Each of us in a universal being. We each share original mind. Each of us is a particular being. Each of us possess unique qualities. It is up to us to discover and value these things. Being a real person is a necessary first step.
Be well.
Good Evening All,
Is there ever a time when we are ready to live as completely as possible? It would seem we are often living with one foot in the grave, "Oh, don't do that, you'll get hurt!" "Oh, that is just too risky, better not go there!" And so on.
I don't know. I wonder about this sometimes.
One of the reasons we don't live to our full potential is fear, but not so much of getting hurt in the ordinary sense. Rather, this is fear of a different sort; getting hurt in the psychic sense. We are afraid of what people will think of us if we are just ourselves. So we put on, we dress the part, and play roles, never allowing our true selves to emerge.
I remember how liberating it was to find out that even if I make a complete fool of myself, if done honestly, it really didn't matter. People can be hurtful, true. But mostly they are very compassionate and caring human beings. Such liberation is compelling. And I believe people respond best to authentic human beings.
I sometimes laugh a lot. I am also sometimes depressed. I enjoy being with people most of the time. Negative energy and people who seem to be dying before their time are a challenge for me. When I am in their presence, I feel the drain. Yet, I think this is a key practice. To learn to be present in each and every moment and to be open to every being regardless of how I might be feeling at that moment. How else can one be of service? We really don't have the luxury of picking sand choosing our moments to be buddhas
Each of us in a universal being. We each share original mind. Each of us is a particular being. Each of us possess unique qualities. It is up to us to discover and value these things. Being a real person is a necessary first step.
Be well.
Friday, November 17, 2006
Being Real
With palms together,
Good Morning All,
This past Wednesday evening we had one of our Zen Center members who lives in El Paso arrive with his daughter. She is a delightful young lady, smart as a whip, and just a joy to practice with. I invited her to be my assistant and ring the small bell at the appropriate times during the evening. We say together and then we studied a story of the Buddha together. She served our tea before the Dharma talk.
Having children at the Zen Center is a real delight. Children bring a very special energy, as well as a wonderful perspective, to our practice. I have found that children are often very interested in being present, perhaps because they live their lives that way. We can reinforce this and learn from it ourselves by being in the presence of These great teachers.
But first we need to get off our adult high horse.
How? Zazen teaches us that all things are our teachers when our self drops away. Being willing to drop away our self importance goes hand in hand. Books such as "The Little Prince" and "The Velveteen Rabbit" are really bodhisattvas who lead us to important realizations.
Be well.
Be well.
Team Zen:
Rev. Harvey So Daiho Hilbert, Ph.D. May All Beings Be Free From Suffering
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Thursday, November 16, 2006
Walk Softly
With palms together,
Good Morning All,
My apologies for missing yesterday. I am just a little overwhelmed with Yahoo 360, Zen Center, and buying a new house. Our apartment complex, a beautiful gated community, has been sold and is being converted into condominiums. We have the choice of buying or moving at the end of our lease. So we have been looking about for a house and weighing the pros and cons of purchasing the unit we are in.
Yahoo 360 has been a real ride, as they say. I get a ton of messages, requested to be friends, and the odd assortment of very strange messages like "What kind of crack did you smoke as a kid!" Hmmm. What I am impressed with is the sincere nature of most of the comments and questions. The heartfelt requests for assistance in dealing with life's issues. I have been deeply humbled by these.
So, lately, I am spending much time quietly trying to address the suffering, the questions, and the odd thoughts that this Internet experience seems to be evoking. Our world clearly is getting immediate and intimate. Quick IM conversations with Chinese, Iraqis, Iranians, Thais, Japanese...longer conversations with Westerners seeking some sort of assistance with the challenges of their practice, and the occasional solicitation for romance has kept me quite busy. I am grateful for this opportunity to be of service.
In the end, I am reminded just how similar we all are. Each of us, regardless of country or spiritual path seems to be seeking similar things. We seek happiness. We seek peace. We seek a sense of safety and security. And we seek prosperity. This is common ground. May we each walk upon it softly.
Be well.
Good Morning All,
My apologies for missing yesterday. I am just a little overwhelmed with Yahoo 360, Zen Center, and buying a new house. Our apartment complex, a beautiful gated community, has been sold and is being converted into condominiums. We have the choice of buying or moving at the end of our lease. So we have been looking about for a house and weighing the pros and cons of purchasing the unit we are in.
Yahoo 360 has been a real ride, as they say. I get a ton of messages, requested to be friends, and the odd assortment of very strange messages like "What kind of crack did you smoke as a kid!" Hmmm. What I am impressed with is the sincere nature of most of the comments and questions. The heartfelt requests for assistance in dealing with life's issues. I have been deeply humbled by these.
So, lately, I am spending much time quietly trying to address the suffering, the questions, and the odd thoughts that this Internet experience seems to be evoking. Our world clearly is getting immediate and intimate. Quick IM conversations with Chinese, Iraqis, Iranians, Thais, Japanese...longer conversations with Westerners seeking some sort of assistance with the challenges of their practice, and the occasional solicitation for romance has kept me quite busy. I am grateful for this opportunity to be of service.
In the end, I am reminded just how similar we all are. Each of us, regardless of country or spiritual path seems to be seeking similar things. We seek happiness. We seek peace. We seek a sense of safety and security. And we seek prosperity. This is common ground. May we each walk upon it softly.
Be well.
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
The Senses
With palms together,
Good Morning All,
There are some sounds that are very comforting. The sound I hear right now is Pepper's breath as he sleeps by my feet. The sound yesterday was the laughter of good friends enjoying a serendipitous meal together. Sounds are a true picture of the nature of things, We cannot hold onto them. And memory is pale in comparison. Yet there they are in our experience. Direct, they lift us up, yet leave us just instantly.
All of the senses are like this.
We suffer when we try to keep them close. We suffer when we value one over another.
So, regardless of the sound, hear it; regardless of the sight, see it. Appreciate the moment.
Be well.
Good Morning All,
There are some sounds that are very comforting. The sound I hear right now is Pepper's breath as he sleeps by my feet. The sound yesterday was the laughter of good friends enjoying a serendipitous meal together. Sounds are a true picture of the nature of things, We cannot hold onto them. And memory is pale in comparison. Yet there they are in our experience. Direct, they lift us up, yet leave us just instantly.
All of the senses are like this.
We suffer when we try to keep them close. We suffer when we value one over another.
So, regardless of the sound, hear it; regardless of the sight, see it. Appreciate the moment.
Be well.
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