Where's the Beef?

With palms together,
Good Morning All,

As we awaken we say, "This morning I vow with all beings to see the world clearly as it is and to end violence and bring compassion to all beings." In the evening we say, "This evening, as I go to sleep, may all beings rest and be renewed through peace and love."

In this way we open and close our day by placing our attention on our true purpose in life, to nurture and support all beings. It is not that we are instruments of these things, rather, we are these things. Being the instrument of something creates a separation between the thing and the tool, as if they were not exactly the same. Being an instrument of compassion is not the same as being compassion.

We each have work to do through each day for the rest of our lives. The paycheck of this work is immediate. When we open our eyes, there it is. Both work and reward are the exact same thing: a manifestation of our true nature.

Be well.

As zero and one do their dance, infinity happens.

The Silence of the Lion

With palms together,
Good Morning All,

The day is unfolding slowly, as Saturdays do. There are clouds in the sky and the air is cool. I am parked under a down comforter with Tripper at my side. My Little Honey is talking to our daughter and getting ready to leave for Knitters Guild. I will be alone with the furboys for the morning.

Whatever will I do?

Setting aside the obvious dog walking, breakfast eating, meditation, and writing, nothing special. This is as it should be. Life lived as one page to the next where our focus is on the page we are reading is best. Other pages are what they are and will turn as they may, but this very page is us.

Pete-kitty sits
like a small lion
staring at my fingers
as they press these keys.
Silence unfolds.

Be well.

Our Morning Star

With palms together,
Good Morning All,

Yes, the earth has clearly tilted. Cooler temps, snow in places, and a cloudy sky this morning. We hustle just a little more in the morning and wrap ourselves with layers of clothing. I try not to give in so much to this temptation. Cold can be refreshing. Just as heat can be soothing. Yet, too much of either and we are in trouble.

Today we should recognize the Buddha's achievement. He worked so hard for so many years only to discover in an instant that what he sought he already possessed, as do all of us. The most profound teaching, I suspect, is to stop seeking. This stopping, this deep abiding in silence with self allows for our release of self, paradoxically, and the concomitant discovery that there is no abiding self.

Let us each witness the morning star in the same way.

Be well.

Our Own Authority

With palms together,

Good Morning All,

Someone wrote to ask me to speak more on the notion of walking in one's own authority. Since today is December 7th, the day Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, perhaps this is a good day for such a comment. Brian Victoria wrote a book entitled Zen at War and in it he reveals the behavior of Japanese Zen monks during World War II. Apparently, many were fervent nationalists, anti-Semites, and other such very un-Buddhist things. The question arises, then, how could this be?

First, a monk's vows do not exempt a monk from his or her civic obligations. We should all be good citizens. The question is, what does that mean? My sense is that a good citizen is a buddha. This means a person whose eyes are wide open, who lives in non-dualist terms and can easily move in the relative and absolutes that make our universe.

Walking in one's own authority requires inside information, so to speak. This inside information is a realization of our true nature, our original face, if you will: that face "we" had before "our" parents were born. Such information is always with us, it is a part of us, but we must find it ourselves through our practice.

We could call this face God, if you will, or Buddha Mind, or the Universal, or simply Vast Emptiness. It really doesn't matter what it is called, what matters is that it is both experienced and actualized by us in our lives. When this happens, the precepts become our own manifestations of this realization so that when we are in particular social situations, we know what to do and this doing is our own, as well. Yet, it corresponds precisely and exactly to Buddha Dharma.

This is outside meeting inside and vice-verse: resolving both.

So, when a monk is asked to do something which goes against his or her Buddha nature, he or she must find a skillful way of engaging the request to turn it into a teaching lesson for the universe. This is what it means to "save all beings." The lessons can be myriad.

This said, it is possible, probable even, that religious institutions become corrupt and power-hungry. In Zen, this is also the case. Monks argue over status and Temple politics, shuffling for this advantage or that: the same as any work environment. They can also become servants of the civil government and the mob majority. However, it should not be. If we work the program as is said in other paths, then "letting go of self" and humility are the greatest teachers. So there's the rub, when letting go of self, where does our authority go?

A buddha understands that our authority is never ours, but is an aspect of our True Nature. One who has realized this True Nature manifests it; one who has not, who only aspires to do so, does not. Seeking this authority in a religious structure will never do. In fact, the religious structure becomes a serious hindrance to achieving Clear Mind.

Monks who do bad things are not walking in their own authority and this is their mot serious sin.

Be well.

Appreciate

With palms together,
Good Morning All,

We talk a lot about being present. Yet thoughts of pleasant things take us away as well. Thoughts of quiet beaches or retreats in the mountains or just a walk along river at dusk. One wonders what it is that is so challenging about this very moment in our lives.

Perhaps we do not know how to appreciate what we have and perhaps we are lead to believe by advertisers that what we have is never enough. Our culture is a consumer culture, sadly. Because consumers eat their surroundings rather than participate in them. Surroundings are for our pleasure, our toys are for our amusement, people are to meet our needs: we are the center of the universe.

Being present means being a full participant in life as it is.

My Little Honey has a wonderful habit of finding the value in whatever she has and in whatever she is doing. She has some old yarn, she makes something with it. Everything has its value and she finds real pleasure in each thing. She can giggle at the silliest things. I hear her and look over, and there she is admiring an old piece of cloth, part of a doll, or some little thing she has just knitted...that is to say, created with her own hands.

These are moments of real value. The pictures on the t.v. are just phosphorescent dots on a screen.

Be well

What's Your Moment?

With palms together,

Good Morning All,

This morning is different. I was up late last night and fell asleep in the Zendo. My Little Honey slept in the bedroom. My dogs slept in the Zendo with me, as did Pete-kitty. So this morning My Little Honey crawled onto the futon and found a place amid all the little heart beats. Of course, Tripper was very unhappy that he had a rival for my attention. Rather than unfolding, this folded into an awakening experience for me: all hair and wet tongues and heartbeats.

So, I got up and made the coffee, decided I had enough enlightenment and sat down in the living room to clear my head of the fur and hair that can be my life.

Since the coffee is made, My Little Honey has decided she should join me, and all the other heartbeats followed. It is said that wherever we go, there we are.

Life is like that.

No escape.

So, what can we do? We enjoy the moment by shifting gears, as is said today. We let go of our expectations and enjoy the ride as it is. When we consciously do this it is possible to be taught. Drivers never learn, they are too busy driving.

You might say, but how do we ever get anywhere? And I answer, where is there to get? When we achieve something we want something else. We we have something, it gets old and we want something new. When we have some money, we want some more. When there is always somewhere to go, we never arrive.

Yet, to live in the moment does not mean there is no tomorrow or that we cannot plan for, and build toward, a future. It means that in each moment, even if it is a planning moment, we experience it as fully and as completely as possible. To do this requires something of us.

We have to disappear and allow the present to be us.

Be well.

Living and Learning

With palms together,

Good Morning All,

 

Our Rohatsu sesshin was a powerful one. We were completely full and on Sunday, had several people sitting in the kitchen and two in the foyer of the Zen Center.  Soon we will need a larger building, I suppose.

 

A deep bow of gratitude to each of you in attendance!

 

We all sat zazen very well. I must say, though, that our silence was broken late Saturday afternoon when one of the participants,Jeremy, requested the kyosaku and as I went to smack his shoulder I missed, hitting his neck!  As I bowed and apologized, the whole Sangha erupted in laughter...this is what sitting hour after hour will do to you!

 

Sesshin should not be tense. Neither should zazen.  Neither should life.  These are experience.  Experience itself is neutral.  It is what it is. We add to it our various spins.  We like this, we dislike that.  People should be this way, not that way.  And so on. It is this discerning mind that takes us away from Buddha Mind. 

 

Buddha Mind appreciates life as it is: sweet, sour, salty, torrid. Each of these is a pointer, so to speak.  Appreciate and use the pointer, but then move on. So, while we can laugh at the Roshi's mistake, we should not carry it with us. I need to be completely mindful and present with my kyosaku and not assume I know how to use it well.  

 

What do you need?

 

Be well.