Everything should be done with sacred intensity.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Addiction
You cure an addiction by remembering God.
God is reality. If we ignore the reality within us, we will be compelled to seek it elsewhere. Like Esau in the old biblical fable, we will end up selling our birthright for a mess of pottage.
"The Kingdom of Heaven is within you" means reality is always here. When we are aware of the reality within us, we will be self-sufficient and we will have no need to attach to things.
Attachment is just another word for addiction. When we fear losing something, we will hold onto it as if it were the tree of life.
But when we realize that we already have what we are seeking, we will be free from the fear that fuels our addictive behaviors.
"The Kingdom of Heaven is within you" means reality is always here. When we are aware of the reality within us, we will be self-sufficient and we will have no need to attach to things.
Attachment is just another word for addiction. When we fear losing something, we will hold onto it as if it were the tree of life.
But when we realize that we already have what we are seeking, we will be free from the fear that fuels our addictive behaviors.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Friday, June 24, 2011
Thursday, June 23, 2011
The Holocaust
You who live safe
In your warm houses,
You who find, returning in the evening,
Hot food and friendly faces:
Consider if this is a man
Who works in the mud
Who does not know peace
Who fights for a scrap of bread
Who dies because of a yes or a no.
Consider if this is a woman,
Without hair and without name
With no more strength to remember,
Her eyes empty and her womb cold
Like a frog in winter.
Meditate that this came about:
I commend these words to you.
Carve them in your hearts
At home, in the street,
Going to bed, rising;
Repeat them to your children,
Or may your house fall apart,
May illness impede you,
May your children turn their faces from you. – Primo Levi
***
In your warm houses,
You who find, returning in the evening,
Hot food and friendly faces:
Consider if this is a man
Who works in the mud
Who does not know peace
Who fights for a scrap of bread
Who dies because of a yes or a no.
Consider if this is a woman,
Without hair and without name
With no more strength to remember,
Her eyes empty and her womb cold
Like a frog in winter.
Meditate that this came about:
I commend these words to you.
Carve them in your hearts
At home, in the street,
Going to bed, rising;
Repeat them to your children,
Or may your house fall apart,
May illness impede you,
May your children turn their faces from you. – Primo Levi
***
The lessons of the Holocaust must never be forgotten. The terrible cost in suffering and the countless millions of lives sacrificed even now cast a pall over history. Mankind can ill afford to pay such a price again.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
For Sale
I am always suspicious when I find a writer, composer, or artist surrounding himself with the trappings of wealth; for it is almost always a dead giveaway that he or she has attempted to sell a talent to which the Muses alone had rights of ownership. Having betrayed their trust, the offender often finds that his license to create has been revoked and his mind condemned to artistic sterility.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Friday, June 17, 2011
Blasphemy
The greatest blasphemy a man can commit is to call into question the salvation of all mankind.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Judgment
If you are a saint, you will not judge; and if you are not a saint, you have no right to judge.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Epilogue - Zen Mind
"There is nothing but fish."--Shunryu Suzuki
This is the conclusion of Buddhism and the conclusion of my project. I started my commentary to express the true purpose of Zen practice.
But the best way to practice zazen may be not to say anything at all. And if I had to say something, then I would encourage you to give Zen a try:
This is the conclusion of Buddhism and the conclusion of my project. I started my commentary to express the true purpose of Zen practice.
But the best way to practice zazen may be not to say anything at all. And if I had to say something, then I would encourage you to give Zen a try:
If you're going to try, go all the way. Otherwise, don't even start. This could mean losing girlfriends, wives, relatives and maybe even your mind. It could mean not eating for three or four days. It could mean freezing on a park bench. It could mean jail. It could mean derision. It could mean mockery--isolation. Isolation is the gift. All the others are a test of your endurance, of how much you really want to do it. And, you'll do it, despite rejection and the worst odds. And it will be better than anything else you can imagine. If you're going to try, go all the way. There is no other feeling like that. You will be alone with the gods, and the nights will flame with fire. You will ride life straight to perfect laughter. It's the only good fight there is.— Charles Bukowski (Factotum)
Buddha's Enlightenment
"Buddha nature is our original nature; we have it before we practice zazen and before we acknowledge it in terms of consciousness."--Shunryu Suzuki
If we already have Buddha nature, then why do we practice zazen?
Even though we have Buddha nature, as long as we live under a delusion, we will behave as if we do not have it. We have difficulty because we do not realize that we are a part of reality. We imagine that we are separate from life.
That is why we practice zazen: To become aware of our true existence. We must learn how to turn our desire back to a universe that knows no good or evil.
If we already have Buddha nature, then why do we practice zazen?
Even though we have Buddha nature, as long as we live under a delusion, we will behave as if we do not have it. We have difficulty because we do not realize that we are a part of reality. We imagine that we are separate from life.
That is why we practice zazen: To become aware of our true existence. We must learn how to turn our desire back to a universe that knows no good or evil.
Friday, June 10, 2011
Beyond Consciousness
"You should establish your practice in your delusion."--Dogen-zenji
Strictly speaking, there is nothing else for us to work on except the present moment. To express our sincerity and true nature on each moment is the way of practice.
If we think otherwise, that is a delusion. When we live in the past or the future, we wander around the goal with our monkey mind. But when we make our effort in the present moment, then even though we live under a delusion, our true mind is there.
The purpose of Zen practice is to strengthen our conviction that we already have what we are looking for.
The Christian monk understood this point when he prayed, "Help my unbelief!" We have to believe that we are worthy of the gift of life even though we can do nothing to make ourselves worthy. When we are aware of this truth, there is enlightenment.
Strictly speaking, there is nothing else for us to work on except the present moment. To express our sincerity and true nature on each moment is the way of practice.
If we think otherwise, that is a delusion. When we live in the past or the future, we wander around the goal with our monkey mind. But when we make our effort in the present moment, then even though we live under a delusion, our true mind is there.
The purpose of Zen practice is to strengthen our conviction that we already have what we are looking for.
The Christian monk understood this point when he prayed, "Help my unbelief!" We have to believe that we are worthy of the gift of life even though we can do nothing to make ourselves worthy. When we are aware of this truth, there is enlightenment.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Original Buddhism
"How to sit is how to act. We study how to act by sitting, and this is the most basic activity for us."--Shunryu Suzuki
We must seek to understand how we are trained by darkness and enslaved by fear. We must seek the Truth.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Experience, Not Philosophy
"To find the meaning of our effort is to find the original source of our effort. We should not be concerned about the result of our effort before we know its origin."--Shunryu Suzuki
There is a certain danger in education. In American society, many people are educated. We have specialists, pundits, loud mouths and know-it-alls.
But, perhaps, the best way to obtain wisdom is not to gather knowledge from books. Perhaps the best way is to let go all you have learned and to discover something new and different in each moment.
In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's there are few.
There is a certain danger in education. In American society, many people are educated. We have specialists, pundits, loud mouths and know-it-alls.
But, perhaps, the best way to obtain wisdom is not to gather knowledge from books. Perhaps the best way is to let go all you have learned and to discover something new and different in each moment.
In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's there are few.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Calmness
"We should find out the meaning of our effort before we attain something."--Shunryu Suzuki
This attitude and understanding is very, very important. If we think the purpose of Zen is to attain enlightenment, we will lose our way. It is the effort that counts. The meaning lies in the effort.
Because we are usually attached to the result of our effort, we end up sacrificing ourselves now for some future attainment. As Zen Master Suzuki points out, we end up with nothing.
The purpose of Zen to to express our true nature on each moment. When we practice on this moment, we already have enlightenment even if we are not aware of it.
Which is more important: ...to make a million dollars, or to enjoy your life in your effort, little by little, even though it is impossible to make that million; to be successful, or to find some meaning in your effort to be successful? If you do not know the answer, you will not even be able to practice zazen; if you do know, you will have found the true treasure of life.
This attitude and understanding is very, very important. If we think the purpose of Zen is to attain enlightenment, we will lose our way. It is the effort that counts. The meaning lies in the effort.
Because we are usually attached to the result of our effort, we end up sacrificing ourselves now for some future attainment. As Zen Master Suzuki points out, we end up with nothing.
The purpose of Zen to to express our true nature on each moment. When we practice on this moment, we already have enlightenment even if we are not aware of it.
Which is more important: ...to make a million dollars, or to enjoy your life in your effort, little by little, even though it is impossible to make that million; to be successful, or to find some meaning in your effort to be successful? If you do not know the answer, you will not even be able to practice zazen; if you do know, you will have found the true treasure of life.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Attachment, Nonattachment
"Zazen practice and everyday activity are one thing."--Shunryu Suzuki
We practice zazen in order to discover the one activity that includes all activity.
So, what is it? We cannot know. We must discover for ourselves what true zazen practice is.
We practice zazen in order to discover the one activity that includes all activity.
So, what is it? We cannot know. We must discover for ourselves what true zazen practice is.
There is much wit and humor in the following anonymous saying: Zen is not what you think!
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Believing in Nothing
"Using the Buddhist terminology, we should begin with enlightenment and proceed to practice, and then to thinking."--Shunryu Suzuki
The great Trappist monk, Thomas Merton, speaks of Christian contemplation as turning our spirituality right-side in. This is true of Zen practice as well.
The purpose of zazen is to have a well-ordered mind. When we move from enlightenment to practice and then to thinking, we see things are they are and we accept things as they go.
This is a very scientific understanding. Here there is no superstition. Here there is no fear.
Most of us are walking around unaware that our shirts are on inside out. This may be cute in a child, but it is hardly fashionable in an adult.
When someone points out that we are wearing our shirt inside out, we may feel chagrined. But no matter how we feel, we should at once work on fixing the problem. We should work on turning our spirituality right-side in.
The great Trappist monk, Thomas Merton, speaks of Christian contemplation as turning our spirituality right-side in. This is true of Zen practice as well.
The purpose of zazen is to have a well-ordered mind. When we move from enlightenment to practice and then to thinking, we see things are they are and we accept things as they go.
This is a very scientific understanding. Here there is no superstition. Here there is no fear.
Most of us are walking around unaware that our shirts are on inside out. This may be cute in a child, but it is hardly fashionable in an adult.
When someone points out that we are wearing our shirt inside out, we may feel chagrined. But no matter how we feel, we should at once work on fixing the problem. We should work on turning our spirituality right-side in.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)