With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
In the Diamond Sutra we find a single description of the Way. It is a model for understanding the paramitas. This description comprises the first chapter and simply reflects the Buddha's day.
What does a buddha do? Before noon he puts on his patched robe, picks up his bowl and walks to town. He takes his time, waits patiently in front of a few homes collecting food offerings.He eats, then returns to the grove, takes off his robe, puts his bowl away, washes his feet, and sits down on his cushion. He then turns his "awareness to what is before him."
In this brief description is everything. Buddha demonstrates generosity by making himself available to teach through a variety of means, including asking for help. He demonstrates patience through his quiet standing in front of homes begging. He teaches vigor through walking, washing, and ordering his life after eating. Sitting down on his cushion he practices meditation, And by doing these five without getting caught in them, he demonstrates wisdom.
It is a simple, but challenging life. Simple is not easy. Simple means direct and clear, unencumbered by convolutions of thought and feeling. A buddha's life is one step in front of another, doing what is there to do without jumping up and down in the process.
Does this mean we cannot reflect joy, anger, sadness, or frustration? No. When these arise, they arise and we embrace them for what they are, fleeting feelings reflecting our innermost thoughts. We feel joy, we express joy; we feel frustration, we express frustration. Yet, we do so in ways that are beneficial. Expressing like a cannon is not helpful. Creating hurt and sadness in others is not helpful. We recognize this and work to bring ourselves back to our breath and calm abiding. What is there before us in such circumstances are opportunities to examine ourselves and strengthen and improve our relationships.
The Buddha taught through his simple day, that we should abide in our day as it is. Yet, we engage it with discipline and an eye toward being of benefit to all beings. Let us be that benefit.
Be well.
Organ Mountain Zen
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Paramitas
With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
There are six paramitas in Zen. These are perfections or excellence's. Some might call them values. The paramitas are six manifestations of the facets of our essential face. They are the "what" of us, rather than the "who".
If I ask myself who was I before my father and mother were born, before my father's father, my mother's mother, what would I say? If I said, "Ridiculous, there was no me before I was born!", I could say, "That's skirting the question! I am only approaching the clothing, not the body."
Under the clothes, who is there? Honestly, I must answer with some reference to core elements, eh? Father is there, mother is there. Teachers, friends, neighbors, lovers, wife, children, all are there. The me of me does not exist in a vacuum, the me of me has been, and always will be conditioned, that is, subject to cause and effect and has thus been in existence in some shape or form for infinity. The who of me is always dependent.
So, any word would be incorrect. A word would lead me away from my essential self and into endless philosophical quicksand. We would be entertained, but we would not be any wiser.
If, on the other hand, I asked "What was I before my father and mother were born?" Now this question focuses our attention on something else again. What am I? What is my essential nature? How do I know it? Again, saying any word would be a mistake, I would have to show me myself.
The what of me is purposeful. It is for the sake of, rather than because of (a different, but useful tack on causation). So, too, my essential self The paramitas are expressions of purpose, the purpose of our essential nature, a universal and infinite nature.
Generosity, morality, patience, diligence, meditation, and wisdom are the essential, core and universal aspects of our being. They are not values, they are manifestations. They are the what of us. They are also the purpose of our existence.
Our practice is to uncover and release them.
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
There are six paramitas in Zen. These are perfections or excellence's. Some might call them values. The paramitas are six manifestations of the facets of our essential face. They are the "what" of us, rather than the "who".
If I ask myself who was I before my father and mother were born, before my father's father, my mother's mother, what would I say? If I said, "Ridiculous, there was no me before I was born!", I could say, "That's skirting the question! I am only approaching the clothing, not the body."
Under the clothes, who is there? Honestly, I must answer with some reference to core elements, eh? Father is there, mother is there. Teachers, friends, neighbors, lovers, wife, children, all are there. The me of me does not exist in a vacuum, the me of me has been, and always will be conditioned, that is, subject to cause and effect and has thus been in existence in some shape or form for infinity. The who of me is always dependent.
So, any word would be incorrect. A word would lead me away from my essential self and into endless philosophical quicksand. We would be entertained, but we would not be any wiser.
If, on the other hand, I asked "What was I before my father and mother were born?" Now this question focuses our attention on something else again. What am I? What is my essential nature? How do I know it? Again, saying any word would be a mistake, I would have to show me myself.
The what of me is purposeful. It is for the sake of, rather than because of (a different, but useful tack on causation). So, too, my essential self The paramitas are expressions of purpose, the purpose of our essential nature, a universal and infinite nature.
Generosity, morality, patience, diligence, meditation, and wisdom are the essential, core and universal aspects of our being. They are not values, they are manifestations. They are the what of us. They are also the purpose of our existence.
Our practice is to uncover and release them.
Be well.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Challenges
With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
In the morning my heart feels the most grounded. I sit, pay attention to my breath, listen to the sounds of my environment, and typically take care of the kitchen, animals, and getting the coffee made. This morning My Little Honey did these as I slept. Apparently, I needed some extra sleep.
Paying attention and opening to what is there are good practice buddies. Resisting engaging an inner voice that wants to interrupt others, inject itself into something, or direct things, is a good third buddy.
Practicing these can be a challenge on two fronts, however. First they are challenges to our own habit energy. Second, they are challenges for those around us. When we attempt to make a change, that change is often met with confusion or resistance by others.
This morning, just now, I was asked to help Judy with a task right in the middle of my writing. I felt irritation. I took a couple of breaths and attempted to do what she asked. Her computer was hanging up, not completing the tasks I was asking it to do. Added frustration and irritation. My mind wandered over to what she had done to her computer to create this situation. Big mistake. Computers are famous for allowing ghosts to get in them and mess things up. Another breath, a smile. While I was working n her machine, son Jason got out her other computer and got the job done... all before I could even shut down the first machine. All the while I am simmering over being asked to step away from my morning routine. Attention to breath, release, smile. Judy wonders what is going on.
Shifting gears, changing course, altering expectations, all of these are challenging for me. I have little problem doing it when the desire to change comes from within me, but serious problems when the request for change comes from outside of me. With practice, these are becoming much less so, yet still, there they are.
After Judy and Jason left to get our new car tagged, I set this writing aside. I did a scan of Judy's computer, made some breakfast and pulled out the vacuum, the furniture polish, and the Windex. Housecleaning was my name. Afterwords, I felt refreshed and ready to come back to you.
Today looks exciting. Plans are for Judy's writer's group meeting at our house at 10:00, streetZen at 10:30, Zen at 3:00, Study Group at 4:00. A full day of practice. I invite anyone who has an interest to join us at streetZen, Zen, and/or Study Group!
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
In the morning my heart feels the most grounded. I sit, pay attention to my breath, listen to the sounds of my environment, and typically take care of the kitchen, animals, and getting the coffee made. This morning My Little Honey did these as I slept. Apparently, I needed some extra sleep.
Paying attention and opening to what is there are good practice buddies. Resisting engaging an inner voice that wants to interrupt others, inject itself into something, or direct things, is a good third buddy.
Practicing these can be a challenge on two fronts, however. First they are challenges to our own habit energy. Second, they are challenges for those around us. When we attempt to make a change, that change is often met with confusion or resistance by others.
This morning, just now, I was asked to help Judy with a task right in the middle of my writing. I felt irritation. I took a couple of breaths and attempted to do what she asked. Her computer was hanging up, not completing the tasks I was asking it to do. Added frustration and irritation. My mind wandered over to what she had done to her computer to create this situation. Big mistake. Computers are famous for allowing ghosts to get in them and mess things up. Another breath, a smile. While I was working n her machine, son Jason got out her other computer and got the job done... all before I could even shut down the first machine. All the while I am simmering over being asked to step away from my morning routine. Attention to breath, release, smile. Judy wonders what is going on.
Shifting gears, changing course, altering expectations, all of these are challenging for me. I have little problem doing it when the desire to change comes from within me, but serious problems when the request for change comes from outside of me. With practice, these are becoming much less so, yet still, there they are.
After Judy and Jason left to get our new car tagged, I set this writing aside. I did a scan of Judy's computer, made some breakfast and pulled out the vacuum, the furniture polish, and the Windex. Housecleaning was my name. Afterwords, I felt refreshed and ready to come back to you.
Today looks exciting. Plans are for Judy's writer's group meeting at our house at 10:00, streetZen at 10:30, Zen at 3:00, Study Group at 4:00. A full day of practice. I invite anyone who has an interest to join us at streetZen, Zen, and/or Study Group!
Be well.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Tea Cups
With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
The day is dawning cold. I feel my body much more acutely than ever before as I age and the temperatures are low. Those first bends and twists to feed the dogs, make the coffee and load the dishwasher are each mindfulness moments in themselves: great teachers!
I spent a good deal of last night studying a wonderful book on Buddhist yoga entitled, "Mindfulness Yoga, the Awakened Union of Breath, Body, and Mind" by Frank Jude Boccio. This is a serious book which relies heavily on the sutras to make its case for yoga as a contemplative practice. I was fascinated by Boccio's depth of presentation using sources from teachings regarding the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Noble Path, the Heart Sutra, the Sutra on the Full Awareness of Breathing, the Tao Te Ching, Thich Nhat Hahn, Shunryu Suzuki, his present teacher, Samu Sunim, and many, many others. While I practice yoga daily, even as a contemplative aspect of my morning practice, I never quite related it to Buddhism in general or Zen.in particular.
The other text I was absorbed in, as the temperatures in the living room dropped, was Deepak Chopra's new release, "Reinventing the Body, Resurrecting the Soul". Much like some of Chopra's earlier work, this book focuses its light on the notion that we have extraordinary powers to make our bodies better, healthier and more in-tune with the cosmos. He divides the work into two major sections, one focused on body, the other on soul, and presents what he refers to as major "Breakthroughs" in thinking and practice. He draws on multiple sources from Christianity to Buddhism to the Hindu scriptures, reflecting these in the light of science as he understands it. Throughout, but not overly intrusive, are exercises the reader can do which render small diagnostic statements. The message: we have the ability to transform ourselves.
While I reserve judgement on the Chopra text, I do find books like his stimulating in terms of re-directing my own thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in a way that can only be described as positive. There is a basic existential quality to the notion of taking personal responsibility to awaken ourselves, take care of our body/mind/heart, and so on. Yet, the danger is in believing that this work is so powerful that it can replace normative medicine on the one hand, and that if we do get sick, it is somehow our fault for not doing the "right" things or not having a "healthy" attitude, on the other hand.
This is where the Zen comes in, I think. We take each step, mindful of the step and all that is in each moment. We assume our responsibilities with due diligence. Yet we do not define ourselves through them. Terms like healthy, unhealthy, right, wrong, good, bad, are descriptors of values. We use them, but should not hold onto them.
Life offers us itself. Like it or not, we are one with it. If we oppose life, we will ultimately fail and be miserable in the process. If we reside in life, no problem. Everything becomes our clay with which to create ourselves. We might make strong cups from this clay or weak ones. If the cup is broken we can mend it. It is a tradition in Tea Service that the oldest, most broken and repaired cups are the most highly valued. Let us each become treasured tea cups.
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
The day is dawning cold. I feel my body much more acutely than ever before as I age and the temperatures are low. Those first bends and twists to feed the dogs, make the coffee and load the dishwasher are each mindfulness moments in themselves: great teachers!
I spent a good deal of last night studying a wonderful book on Buddhist yoga entitled, "Mindfulness Yoga, the Awakened Union of Breath, Body, and Mind" by Frank Jude Boccio. This is a serious book which relies heavily on the sutras to make its case for yoga as a contemplative practice. I was fascinated by Boccio's depth of presentation using sources from teachings regarding the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Noble Path, the Heart Sutra, the Sutra on the Full Awareness of Breathing, the Tao Te Ching, Thich Nhat Hahn, Shunryu Suzuki, his present teacher, Samu Sunim, and many, many others. While I practice yoga daily, even as a contemplative aspect of my morning practice, I never quite related it to Buddhism in general or Zen.in particular.
The other text I was absorbed in, as the temperatures in the living room dropped, was Deepak Chopra's new release, "Reinventing the Body, Resurrecting the Soul". Much like some of Chopra's earlier work, this book focuses its light on the notion that we have extraordinary powers to make our bodies better, healthier and more in-tune with the cosmos. He divides the work into two major sections, one focused on body, the other on soul, and presents what he refers to as major "Breakthroughs" in thinking and practice. He draws on multiple sources from Christianity to Buddhism to the Hindu scriptures, reflecting these in the light of science as he understands it. Throughout, but not overly intrusive, are exercises the reader can do which render small diagnostic statements. The message: we have the ability to transform ourselves.
While I reserve judgement on the Chopra text, I do find books like his stimulating in terms of re-directing my own thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in a way that can only be described as positive. There is a basic existential quality to the notion of taking personal responsibility to awaken ourselves, take care of our body/mind/heart, and so on. Yet, the danger is in believing that this work is so powerful that it can replace normative medicine on the one hand, and that if we do get sick, it is somehow our fault for not doing the "right" things or not having a "healthy" attitude, on the other hand.
This is where the Zen comes in, I think. We take each step, mindful of the step and all that is in each moment. We assume our responsibilities with due diligence. Yet we do not define ourselves through them. Terms like healthy, unhealthy, right, wrong, good, bad, are descriptors of values. We use them, but should not hold onto them.
Life offers us itself. Like it or not, we are one with it. If we oppose life, we will ultimately fail and be miserable in the process. If we reside in life, no problem. Everything becomes our clay with which to create ourselves. We might make strong cups from this clay or weak ones. If the cup is broken we can mend it. It is a tradition in Tea Service that the oldest, most broken and repaired cups are the most highly valued. Let us each become treasured tea cups.
Be well.
Friday, December 25, 2009
Christmas
With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
There are so many, many levels of understanding related to Christmas. I see them on a continuum. On one end of the pole is Christmas as a celebration of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth who came to be called a Messiah by some and whose followers later made a deity. On the other end of the pole is a holiday, one among many, but nothing particularly religious. In between, a vast array of meanings, each according to the person experiencing the day.
Another dimension is that of like and dislike: those who go completely and gleefully nuts on one end; those who aggressively go "bah, humbug!' on the other. This is accompanied by still another dimension, that of sacred and profane. It gets so confusing.
Someone could not believe Jesus was anyone particularly special and yet hold the secular nature of the holiday sacred! Case in point, the response to those "bah-humbuggers" out there, which is typically, "Ah come on, its something everyone enjoys!" or "Can't you get into the spirit of the day?!"
In my own family, we have those who believe Jesus was God and those who don't. We have those who wish the whole thing would just go away and those who delight in everything about it except its religious origin.
I confess, most of the "season" I wish it would just go away. But on the day itself, when all the craziness is said and done, I do enjoy witnessing the delight in people as they offer and receive the blessings of the day.
Wherever you might be in the scatter-gram result of my ridiculous multi-dimensional analysis, I wish you some delight today even if its as simple (and as miraculous) as the delight of being able to perceive yourself in the world.
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
There are so many, many levels of understanding related to Christmas. I see them on a continuum. On one end of the pole is Christmas as a celebration of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth who came to be called a Messiah by some and whose followers later made a deity. On the other end of the pole is a holiday, one among many, but nothing particularly religious. In between, a vast array of meanings, each according to the person experiencing the day.
Another dimension is that of like and dislike: those who go completely and gleefully nuts on one end; those who aggressively go "bah, humbug!' on the other. This is accompanied by still another dimension, that of sacred and profane. It gets so confusing.
Someone could not believe Jesus was anyone particularly special and yet hold the secular nature of the holiday sacred! Case in point, the response to those "bah-humbuggers" out there, which is typically, "Ah come on, its something everyone enjoys!" or "Can't you get into the spirit of the day?!"
In my own family, we have those who believe Jesus was God and those who don't. We have those who wish the whole thing would just go away and those who delight in everything about it except its religious origin.
I confess, most of the "season" I wish it would just go away. But on the day itself, when all the craziness is said and done, I do enjoy witnessing the delight in people as they offer and receive the blessings of the day.
Wherever you might be in the scatter-gram result of my ridiculous multi-dimensional analysis, I wish you some delight today even if its as simple (and as miraculous) as the delight of being able to perceive yourself in the world.
Be well.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
My Aching Nose
With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
My teacher often would say to me, "If I grab your nose and twist it, you would yell!" The trouble with reaching a state of non-duality is those reaching it often believe they will reside there, should reside there, and ought to be able to reside there...forever. Not so.
We are human beings living with a central nervous system and all of it's attendant functions. Our senses perceive, our brain organizes, processes and responds. Even when we realize the reality constructed by our brain is not the reality that exists as it is, we still must deal with our CNS and it's chemical and electrical processes.
Creating a pause between thought, feeling, and behavior is only one step. Some get stuck in the pause. Believing that pause is the same as emptiness. It is not. We must take a next step. A next breath. A next meal. We must continue to function in the world.
So then, what is this function? Is it to sit in serene reflection under a bodhi tree? Perhaps. Facing the world with a clear mind reveals function. When angry, love. When desperately hungry, eat. When caught in the traps of mind, practice. Our universe presents its state to us. When we have a clear mind, we see this state and respond accordingly. It is not a one size fits all world. Nor is it a world we can separate ourselves from.
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
My teacher often would say to me, "If I grab your nose and twist it, you would yell!" The trouble with reaching a state of non-duality is those reaching it often believe they will reside there, should reside there, and ought to be able to reside there...forever. Not so.
We are human beings living with a central nervous system and all of it's attendant functions. Our senses perceive, our brain organizes, processes and responds. Even when we realize the reality constructed by our brain is not the reality that exists as it is, we still must deal with our CNS and it's chemical and electrical processes.
Creating a pause between thought, feeling, and behavior is only one step. Some get stuck in the pause. Believing that pause is the same as emptiness. It is not. We must take a next step. A next breath. A next meal. We must continue to function in the world.
So then, what is this function? Is it to sit in serene reflection under a bodhi tree? Perhaps. Facing the world with a clear mind reveals function. When angry, love. When desperately hungry, eat. When caught in the traps of mind, practice. Our universe presents its state to us. When we have a clear mind, we see this state and respond accordingly. It is not a one size fits all world. Nor is it a world we can separate ourselves from.
Be well.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Notes for the Day
with palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
Waking to the patter of rain today. The sky is clouded over. The temperature is a chilly 37 degrees. I am wrapped in my robe and feel content to just be here at my desk talking to you.
A sense of contentment is a wonderful thing. Very grounding. Yet, contentment can be dangerous. It is one thing to feel contentment for one's self and entirely another, to be content with the condition of the world in which we live. Feeling content to me means I have little anxiety about myself, my own path, my desires, hopes and dreams. Yet, I am a deeply malcontent-ed person as I look out into that other aspect of myself, the world.
So much fear and anger in the world; so much suspicion and hate. So much disproportionate wealth, poverty, hunger, untreated sickness. And such fear about people getting what some believe they do not deserve.
On one level, I would like to eliminate that word and its meaning from our language. Deservedness, like merit, suggests undeservedness and a lack of merit. The assignment of these values is based on duality. I am different, separate from, you. I do (or don't do) "x" and "deserve" "Y". Or "not Y". Yet we are all of the same species, living together on an interdependent world. We have the same needs, often start out in vastly different circumstances, but according to some, should accept the value system of the few who "own" 90 percent of the wealth. On the other hand, we are, in fact, a part of an interdependent universe and as a result each have some responsibility to offer something to the whole. My practice of late is how to come to terms with this. Everyone is important. Everyone deserves the wherewithall to live.
Maybe this time of year is a good time to examine the question ourselves. We must exercise care, though. It is easy to think that the needs of others are there to offer us opportunities to learn compassion and resolve some guilt we may ourselves feel for the quality of our own lives. Yet, doesn't this make the other an object to meet our needs? Meeting the needs of others must be for the sake of others and not for ourselves. So we should approach our work with complete personal contentment and deep grounding.
Just so, these holidays.
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
Waking to the patter of rain today. The sky is clouded over. The temperature is a chilly 37 degrees. I am wrapped in my robe and feel content to just be here at my desk talking to you.
A sense of contentment is a wonderful thing. Very grounding. Yet, contentment can be dangerous. It is one thing to feel contentment for one's self and entirely another, to be content with the condition of the world in which we live. Feeling content to me means I have little anxiety about myself, my own path, my desires, hopes and dreams. Yet, I am a deeply malcontent-ed person as I look out into that other aspect of myself, the world.
So much fear and anger in the world; so much suspicion and hate. So much disproportionate wealth, poverty, hunger, untreated sickness. And such fear about people getting what some believe they do not deserve.
On one level, I would like to eliminate that word and its meaning from our language. Deservedness, like merit, suggests undeservedness and a lack of merit. The assignment of these values is based on duality. I am different, separate from, you. I do (or don't do) "x" and "deserve" "Y". Or "not Y". Yet we are all of the same species, living together on an interdependent world. We have the same needs, often start out in vastly different circumstances, but according to some, should accept the value system of the few who "own" 90 percent of the wealth. On the other hand, we are, in fact, a part of an interdependent universe and as a result each have some responsibility to offer something to the whole. My practice of late is how to come to terms with this. Everyone is important. Everyone deserves the wherewithall to live.
Maybe this time of year is a good time to examine the question ourselves. We must exercise care, though. It is easy to think that the needs of others are there to offer us opportunities to learn compassion and resolve some guilt we may ourselves feel for the quality of our own lives. Yet, doesn't this make the other an object to meet our needs? Meeting the needs of others must be for the sake of others and not for ourselves. So we should approach our work with complete personal contentment and deep grounding.
Just so, these holidays.
Be well.
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