ZenLife Blog
Restoration of the World
I remember this story I heard, and I’m not sure who told it to me. It could have been Bernie Roshi or perhaps it was Rabbi Singer. It’s a Jewish teaching called the Tikkun Olam in Hebrew about the restoration or repairing of the world. It goes something like this.
An Appropriate Response – The Four Dignities
In the Buddhist tradition, the path of the Bodhisattva is well laid out. In the Shambhala teachings Chogyam Trungpa spoke of this as the path of a spiritual warrior. Part of this practice uses four metaphors known as the Four Dignities. These are the Tiger of Meekness, the Snow Lion of Perkiness, the Garuda of Outrageousness and the Dragon of Inscrutability. These four metaphors can help guide us in discerning an appropriate response.
Bearing Witness to the Oneness of Life by Roshi Bernie Glassman
Dogen Zenji says of the first pure precept, “Ceasing from evil is the abiding place of laws and rules of all buddhas.” This abiding place is the state of non-duality, of not-knowing and non-separation. The Sixth Ancestor of Zen defines zazen as the state of mind in which there is no separation between subject and object—no space between you and me, up and down, right or wrong. So we can also call this precept “Returning to the One.”
Great Zen Teacher, Roshi Bernie Glassman has Died
Great American Zen teacher Bernie Glassman died on Sunday, November 4th. He is survived by his wife, Roshi Eve Marko, 2 children and 4 grandchildren. Sadness filled my core when I heard the news that day and has lingered since then. Some people are just not supposed to die.
Taking Your Place
I’m walking in the forest and my head is full of ideas on what Bernie needs to do to get better and stronger after stroke. Mostly these ideas are all about doing more: go out more, be with more people, go someplace for lunch, walk up and down the driveway with someone alongside or on the uneven grass in back, do brain exercises, etc.