With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
Well, two seders and I am still alive. First night a Jewish/Buddhist seder, second night with close long time friends. I guess the question is am I free from bondage?
A friend in the Tricycle Community has asked about that. He wonders if I am not too attached to my robes, title, and well, I suspect he thinks I am full of myself. He wonders whether people would respond to me any differently if I did not hide behind these masks: if I were just plain Harvey.
I don’t know. What I do know is that I am told various things by various people about myself. Some are not so pleasant. Some are quite pleasant. In either case, I work on not allowing them to stick. Teflon Zen.
It is a difficult question, though. Most of my adult life I have been a person with some degree of authority: a man with a gun hunting other men in combat, a child protective services social worker and supervisor, a supervisor of mental health services in a school system, a Ph.D. psychotherapist, a director at a psychiatric hospital, and finally a Zen Teacher. I am quite “used” to being in and using authority.
My sense, though, is that I wield it with a considerable degree of humility. I reveal too much of myself at times, I listen to crap being dumped on me sometimes, and I care deeply about those who do the dumping, as well as the world in and around me. Robes and the like are just part of the trade. They are my personal history that goes with my kechimyaku (Zen Bloodline) and Shukke Tokudo (Home Leaving Priest Ordination).
Forget the robes, the title, and the like: just cloth and words. Forget my teaching, as well. These are my words, put on my experience: not your words, put on your experience. Above all do not confuse the two.
Be well.
Organ Mountain Zen
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
The Cure for Crap
With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
In silence
Wisdom emerges:
The whisper
Of myriad things.
This whisper can only be heard in the deep stillness of our true nature. Swept to the corners of our lives by the broom of busy-ness, it is often banished there as a relic of the past. We moderns can be so full of crap we cannot hear.
Be well
Good Morning Everyone,
In silence
Wisdom emerges:
The whisper
Of myriad things.
This whisper can only be heard in the deep stillness of our true nature. Swept to the corners of our lives by the broom of busy-ness, it is often banished there as a relic of the past. We moderns can be so full of crap we cannot hear.
Be well
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Empty Bowls 2
With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
Empty bowls are an opportunity; full bowls are an opportunity. Being generous is an opportunity; being self-sufficient is an opportunity. Lessons can be learned from everything in every time and condition, provided there is space for learning to take place. We create this space through our very deliberate practice of zazen.
Judgments about conditions do nothing to address conditions. To fill a bowl does not diminish it and leaving it empty does not enhance it. However, practicing generosity, compassion, and love does nurture us and our world, whereas, practicing greed, heartlessness, and hate diminishes our interdependence and connectivity.
Practice Prajna Paramita.
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
Empty bowls are an opportunity; full bowls are an opportunity. Being generous is an opportunity; being self-sufficient is an opportunity. Lessons can be learned from everything in every time and condition, provided there is space for learning to take place. We create this space through our very deliberate practice of zazen.
Judgments about conditions do nothing to address conditions. To fill a bowl does not diminish it and leaving it empty does not enhance it. However, practicing generosity, compassion, and love does nurture us and our world, whereas, practicing greed, heartlessness, and hate diminishes our interdependence and connectivity.
Practice Prajna Paramita.
Be well.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Empty Bowls
With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
When things remain the same they rot: in this case, tomatoes sitting on my counter. Tops red; bottoms black, I offered them to the birds this morning. So, from a certain point of view everything has its value and nothing is trash.
There are people who argue that some people have no value. They argue from a certain point of view, certain groups are a drain on society, that they are a lazy, shiftless, and morally deficient lot. Like empty bowls, they gather dust and are often in the way They argue that providing basic needs enables such people to remain a drain. Perhaps this is so.
Yet, from another point of view, a compassionate point of view, an empty bowl is an invitation to make an offering.
If we begin without assumptions (always a good idea), we might be more able to see what needs to be offered and be more willing to make the offering. Empty bowls are always empty for a reason, but they remain empty until an offering is made. It is in this that an empty bowl has value.
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
When things remain the same they rot: in this case, tomatoes sitting on my counter. Tops red; bottoms black, I offered them to the birds this morning. So, from a certain point of view everything has its value and nothing is trash.
There are people who argue that some people have no value. They argue from a certain point of view, certain groups are a drain on society, that they are a lazy, shiftless, and morally deficient lot. Like empty bowls, they gather dust and are often in the way They argue that providing basic needs enables such people to remain a drain. Perhaps this is so.
Yet, from another point of view, a compassionate point of view, an empty bowl is an invitation to make an offering.
If we begin without assumptions (always a good idea), we might be more able to see what needs to be offered and be more willing to make the offering. Empty bowls are always empty for a reason, but they remain empty until an offering is made. It is in this that an empty bowl has value.
Be well.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Like the Sea
With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
“Transitions are always difficult,” Soku Shin said to me. Without thinking, I agreed too quickly. In retrospect, saying such a thing has certain implications. I recognize transitions are the essential nature of our lives. Indeed, as we come to experience, change is life. However, if this is so, are we then saying life is always difficult? Change in any direction involves a loss of what was and an apprehension of what might be next. It also involves experiencing what is. Depending on where our mind’s eye rests we will answer yes or no.
In chapter 31 of Shobogenzo (Kai-in-zanmai), Master Dogen quotes Buddha as saying,
“An instant before, an instant after: instant does not depend on instant; a dharma before, a dharma after: dharma does not oppose dharma. Just this is called Samadhi, state like the sea.”
A buddha is a buddha in every moment, not holding on, not letting go, just being buddha. Standing on the shore we might see the sea rise and fall, being the sea itself, no rising, no falling. Both are true, neither opposes one another. Each is exactly and completely itself.
Three A.M. is just this moment, neither early nor late. Only in relation to four A. M. might it take on before or after. To realize one Truth also realizes the Other.
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
“Transitions are always difficult,” Soku Shin said to me. Without thinking, I agreed too quickly. In retrospect, saying such a thing has certain implications. I recognize transitions are the essential nature of our lives. Indeed, as we come to experience, change is life. However, if this is so, are we then saying life is always difficult? Change in any direction involves a loss of what was and an apprehension of what might be next. It also involves experiencing what is. Depending on where our mind’s eye rests we will answer yes or no.
In chapter 31 of Shobogenzo (Kai-in-zanmai), Master Dogen quotes Buddha as saying,
“An instant before, an instant after: instant does not depend on instant; a dharma before, a dharma after: dharma does not oppose dharma. Just this is called Samadhi, state like the sea.”
A buddha is a buddha in every moment, not holding on, not letting go, just being buddha. Standing on the shore we might see the sea rise and fall, being the sea itself, no rising, no falling. Both are true, neither opposes one another. Each is exactly and completely itself.
Three A.M. is just this moment, neither early nor late. Only in relation to four A. M. might it take on before or after. To realize one Truth also realizes the Other.
Be well.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Daily Life
With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
Sitting on my cushion, in front of me is a small handmade Medicine Buddha. His right hand extends down from serenity to touch the Earth. His left hand holds his medicine bowl.
In our practice we must remember to touch the Earth, which is to say, be grounded. We also must bear in mind our purpose as bodhisattvas is to heal and transform. All with a serene and calm heart.
At first blush, this may seem an awesome and extremely challenging task. Yet know the Earth is here to support us. It is our foundation. And our medicine flows from our heart. When we assume to posture of zazen, we assume the posture of buddha: mind/heart/body/environment are one and every step is the correct step.
May we walk together along the Way.
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
Sitting on my cushion, in front of me is a small handmade Medicine Buddha. His right hand extends down from serenity to touch the Earth. His left hand holds his medicine bowl.
In our practice we must remember to touch the Earth, which is to say, be grounded. We also must bear in mind our purpose as bodhisattvas is to heal and transform. All with a serene and calm heart.
At first blush, this may seem an awesome and extremely challenging task. Yet know the Earth is here to support us. It is our foundation. And our medicine flows from our heart. When we assume to posture of zazen, we assume the posture of buddha: mind/heart/body/environment are one and every step is the correct step.
May we walk together along the Way.
Be well.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Practicing Buddhas
With palms together,
Good Morning Everyone,
Sitting on the edge of a chair just now, I am at a friend’s home looking out into a very dark desert. I made a pot of coffee, sat quietly for a bit, and now turn my attention to you.
Soku Shin and I watched the film, Little Buddha, last night. This is a film within a film, the story of Buddha, as well as the story of the search for a re-incarnated Tibetan Lama. All along the way, of course, it is a story of awakening and personal transformation.
Every time I sit with this film, I feel blessed to have been born a human being. I am further blessed by the suffering in my life as it has been the source of, and invitation to, compassion. We cannot hear the suffering of the world ensconced in a tower above it all. We waste ourselves in such places. And more importantly, others are wasted as a result of our absence. To be a human being is to be caring in community.
Some have said of me lately, though, that I must not be the person they thought I was as I have caused great suffering in the lives of those close to me because of my separation from my wife. This is hurtful. Neither of us was particularly happy and we wrestled in blind alleys frequently. Would that we could live without change, but change is the essential nature of all things and cannot be avoided. We do the best we can.
Listening deeply, I find my life is no longer my own. It belongs to the universe. Practicing zazen, listening, learning, sharing, teaching: these are my core elements of being now. They are the practice of all buddhas and the gift of being human.
Be well.
Good Morning Everyone,
Sitting on the edge of a chair just now, I am at a friend’s home looking out into a very dark desert. I made a pot of coffee, sat quietly for a bit, and now turn my attention to you.
Soku Shin and I watched the film, Little Buddha, last night. This is a film within a film, the story of Buddha, as well as the story of the search for a re-incarnated Tibetan Lama. All along the way, of course, it is a story of awakening and personal transformation.
Every time I sit with this film, I feel blessed to have been born a human being. I am further blessed by the suffering in my life as it has been the source of, and invitation to, compassion. We cannot hear the suffering of the world ensconced in a tower above it all. We waste ourselves in such places. And more importantly, others are wasted as a result of our absence. To be a human being is to be caring in community.
Some have said of me lately, though, that I must not be the person they thought I was as I have caused great suffering in the lives of those close to me because of my separation from my wife. This is hurtful. Neither of us was particularly happy and we wrestled in blind alleys frequently. Would that we could live without change, but change is the essential nature of all things and cannot be avoided. We do the best we can.
Listening deeply, I find my life is no longer my own. It belongs to the universe. Practicing zazen, listening, learning, sharing, teaching: these are my core elements of being now. They are the practice of all buddhas and the gift of being human.
Be well.
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