Shoshin

With palms together,


Good Morning Everyone,



This morning arrived late. I am usually up and at my day by 4:30 or so. Today I opened my eyes at 5:15. Suki was sleeping in the Zendo. I made coffee, washed, and sat down to see how the world was presenting itself.



I wish I hadn’t. Saber rattling everywhere, good grief.



Yesterday afternoon, our discussion group got into a pesky little hole. This often happens. We are examining the Platform Sutra. It is a teaching, a history, a biography, and a work of great fiction. Some of us do not like to hear that. Yet, it is so of all “sacred” texts. We must drop away this notion of “sacred” completely; it is no more sacred than doggy doo, but no less sacred, either.



Twhen studing text we must not approach the work as literalists, hanging on every word as it is. We need to learn how to let go of the literal and swim in the deeper tapestry of text history, culture, context, and so on.



One piece of text gave us pause. After Hui-Neng has Dharma Transmission, the Fifth Patriarch says to him,



“…since ancient times the lives of those to whom this teaching has been transmitted have hung by a thread. If you stay here, someone will harm you. You must leave at once.”



Most of us take this literally. We say, well, all the monks will get up in arms about the newbie getting the robe and bowl, etc. It gives rise to all sorts of discussion regarding human nature, politics, human life, etc.



I suspect there is a deeper understanding here, a teaching of immense significance that if we reside on the surface, we will completely miss.



The teaching referred to here by the Fifth Patriarch is not a teaching, per se, as nothing was “taught,” but rather, the experience of direct, Mind-to-Mind transmission and the question of how to remain free and easy in the marketplace. Transmission is a “born again” sort of thing. As a newborn, every step is fraught with the danger of us losing our shoshin, beginner’s mind. This life is always hanging by a thread and people are always out to steal your life from you. That someone might even be our self.





One of the aspects of this piece that has captured my attention is the aspect of a demand to leave home. We got into that a little yesterday, but again, I fear the literal understandings can be an obstacle to deeper understanding.



Homeleaving does not simply or solely mean, get up and go. It is also a metaphor for clear mind. Setting aside what we know is as much “leaving home” as getting on an airplane. If we have left home, we are always at risk for setting up housekeeping elsewhere. It is in our nature to nest. There are powerful social and psychological forces at play to move us in that direction.



This is one aspect of the enlightened Fifth Patriarch’s message to the enlightened Sixth Patriarch: “stay awake, there are always those who will help put you to sleep!”



Be well.

Eternal Life

With palms together,


Good Morning Everyone,





Kennet-roshi re-titled her seminal book on Zen, “Zen is Eternal Life.” Early in my practice I wondered about this. I still do. How could this be so? What does it mean? In this one line she offered a sword to cut through everything.



When we practice Zen we are as free as the wind, present as the mountain, and still as an undisturbed pond. There is satisfaction. We are also alive, kicking and screaming, wiggling and itching. We have an itch, but cannot scratch. There is no satisfaction. We are both dual and non-dual at once.



Bearing witness to our suffering, our joy, and our everyday life is all there is. When we accept it as our own it becomes our teacher. Is there any beginning or end to this? No. Everything is, always will be, and is constantly changing. Our lives are no exception. When we drop away self what remains? Everything. So, Zen is Eternal Life, no exception.





May your practice be yours,

Assistance

Hello All,

I am applying for membership in the American Zen Teachers Association.  If you are a member and would be willing to allow me to reference you, please email me.

A bow to each of you.

Zen in America

With palms together,




Lately I have been considering Zen in America. I have concluded it should have little to nothing to do with Zen in Japan. It will be its own creation driven from, and derived from, practice. True Buddhism, as Master Dogen pointed out, is practice. And I see by the time, that my morning bell will ring in a few minutes. More later.
 
Be well.

Shukke

With palms together,


Good Morning Everyone,



Shukke (home leaving) is, according to Master Dogen, exactly the same as being a buddha and taking the precepts. He says, “In sum, the supreme state of bodhi is perfectly satisfied at the time of leaving home and receiving the precepts.” It is the day we “abide in the ocean of infinite kalpas,” it is beyond the three times, and in it, we turn the wheel of dharma.



So, what is this home leaving? Can it be as simple as leaving wife and family, shaving one’s head and joining a bunch of other baldies? No. These are the most gross and superficial of understandings.



Home-leaving is as much a posture as it is an act. Like Zazen, it is the Way of the Buddhas and Patriarchs. Our attitude is key. Right understanding opens the door.



To be sure we need to actually leave family life in order to be monks, but this means dropping away body and mind, our attachments; our investments more than anything else. To one living deeply in impermanence, what is anything, but flow?



Recently, I went through this. Am still doing so, actually. I have left home, I am dropping away body and mind, I am letting go of my “memory me.” It is a period of mourning for sure, as it is a period of change, loss, and yet, great joy also.



In the process, as with any loss process, we go back and forth, up and down. Readers may have seen this in my writing. Do not be concerned. This duck will continue to float. We must trust the process.





Residing in ocean, we learn the meaning of water.



Be well.

Silence

With palms together,


Good Morning Everyone,





Last night I sat in the darkened Zendo for some time. The Refuge has a bid on it and I spent a good deal of time mourning it’s loss. The house provided shelter in deep snow, coolness in summer heat, and solitude when most needed. It is time to move on.



Zen is about staying awake in the present. My Teacher thinks I have been a bit cloudy of late. He says he is worried about me. Master-to-Master, we sit loving each other. A bow to him.



I am not worried and I see clearly. It’s the dealing with what is seen that is at issue. So, I take a little piece of cloud and chew it up. Now another. And another.







When the field is open

And the sky is infinite,

Sun and moon

Mind them selves.

The bell, about to ring,

Makes no sound.

The sun is about to rise:

I sip my coffee.



daiho







Be well.

Beginner's Step: Team Zen

With palms together,


Good Morning Everyone,



Last night I decided to take up running again. In spite of My Left Foot being what it is, I can actually jog/shuffle better than walking. So, I slipped on the brace and leashed-up Suki, and out the door we went. I decided to jog the entire short run, but ended up taking two 30 second walk breaks. It was a 12 minute jog. I followed this with an “arms and shoulders” weight routine using light dumbbells. A beginner step. Let me stay there, please.



This morning we will practice Zazen at 7:00 in the Zendo; Zazen at Peace Camp (held this week at Peace Lutheran Church) at 8:30 AM; and Zazen in the Sagecrest Park at 9:15 AM. I then must deliver the last wagessa to the embroidery shop. At 2:00 I have my own meeting with my Teacher, Hogaku Shozen-roshi. Zazen at 7:00 PM.



Be well.