ZenLife Blog
Organized Illumination
As an artist and painter I have enjoyed portraying the world as I see it. I do not see a world of things or objects isolated from each other. I see patterns of connection. I like to take a metaphor and develop a series from it; to see how many ways I can present the metaphor. One series I did was based on fractals. You are probably familiar with some representations of fractals. This is not exactly what I painted. It was the fractal patterns I see everywhere in nature. And I believe this is one of the reasons we enjoy being in nature. Think of the difference between being in an old growth forest and a high-tech office where all the lines are straight and clean. One is full of fractals. The other isn’t.
Roots
From the still silence of a single, small seed, come plants, trees, humans, and animals. From a plant seed first comes a tap root, reaching down into the cool dark earth. Here the root gathers water and nutrients to sustain the plants growth upwards towards the sun. The leaves of the plant in return help strengthen the roots to grow further. Did you know that the roots of a cereal rye plant grow 3 miles of roots a day in good soil? In a single season it grows 387 miles of roots and 6,603 miles of root hairs. For a stationary creature, it sure gets around!
The Power of Forgiveness
Forgiveness is strong medicine. It’s the practice of extending mercy when mercy is not forthcoming to you. You offer mercy to one who does not deserve mercy. You forgive another when you overcome your own resentment toward the offender, not by denying your right to be angry, but instead by overcoming your own anger by offering the wrongdoer compassion, benevolence, and love.
Five Wisdom Mandala
The Five Wisdom Energies, are meant to be worked with directly and experientially. Each has a wisdom quality. Each also has an encumbered emotion that is associated with it. It’s important to appreciate that because these arise in a mandala the emotion and the wisdom are not separate. Neurosis and sanity, samsara and nirvana are not separate things. These teachings help us realize that the very negativity we are trying so hard to get rid of is actually the fertilizer of our brilliance and clarity. The thing we think we need to get rid of is the very thing we need to wake up.
Memorial Day Service At Montrose Cemetery
June Roshi and I attended a Memorial Day Service at Montrose Cemetery today, honoring Japanese-American veterans who have fought and died in many wars defending freedom in America. The history and treatment of Japanese American citizens during WWII is a disgraceful one, we should never forget. Approximately 120,000 individuals of Japanese ancestry, the majority of whom were American citizens, were forcibly removed from their homes.
Samu – the Heart of Zen
Samu is like a wild strawberry because it is given freely and, like a gift, it establishes a relationship between yourself and others in the community who are working alongside you. It feels good to work together. And it feels good to give generously of our time and energy in this way. It brings heart into our relationships and into our sangha community.
After Awakening
This is the crux of the whole Genjokoan. He’s saying that when you look at your reflection in water, there’s a tipping point: either the water’s transparent or it’s murky and reflective like a mirror. It doesn’t gradually become a mirror. It’s either a mirror or it isn’t. Dogen is using this as a metaphor: when you drop off the body-mind, when you forget the self, you become a mirror that reflects the dharma.
Mindfulness in an Age of Distraction
If you don’t take back your attention, others will do it for you. Mindfulness is an embodied awareness that can help you be intimate with yourself and others. It takes intention. It takes practice. It’s not a technique. It’s an act of courage in which you decide once and for all, to reclaim your life.
Spiritual Practice for Difficult Times
So here's the strange thing about this. I know that bag is still there though I can no longer see it and something about that breaks my heart. It's like the sickness of this planet. I know the planet is unwell, though I can not always see it. So when I open to that my heart breaks open. And what follows after that is tenderness. I don't have to try and be good or kind. That is already here in full measure. I just have to be willing to not look away. It may be the bag in the tree. It may be a homeless person on the street. It may be bleached and dead coral reefs. It may be a brutal war in Ukraine.
Dragon of Inscrutability – Part 4 of Four–Series
Inscrutability is an expression of confidence. You are settled within your experience so you have no hesitation or fear. You can be noncommittal, yet follow through. You don't have to spell everything out because you can be with uncertainty. Truth arises from the situation. You don't need any confirmation so you also don't have to be the center of attention. You are not in any great rush, so you can begin with the basics. You are not calculating according to some idea of gain or loss. You work with the situation, bearing witness to whatever arises, and doing so with sympathy and compassion for those around you. This unconditional confidence comes from giving and extending yourself and overcoming timidity.
Snow Lion of Perkiness (Part 2 of Four–Part Series
This metaphor of the snow lion represents joyful discipline. You might have negative associations with discipline, remembering times you were forced to stay indoors and practice a musical instrument or do homework when all your neighborhood friends were playing outside. When discipline is imposed like this from the outside, it can seem suffocating. But here we are speaking of discipline that arises organically from within yourself.
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.
10 Tips for Meditating at Home
Given the chaos, turmoil, disruption, fragmentation and disorientation many are experiencing in our society, mindfulness has become a much need tool for grounding ourselves and strengthening the quality of our attention. Mindfulness can help you in many ways, but it will only help you if you do this kind of meditation regularly. And yes, it’s not so easy. There seem to be numerous obstacles. You are too busy and kind seem to find the time to sit still for 20 minutes each day.
Getting Started with Meditation
So don't turn your meditation into a further struggle and war with yourself. Relax and begin to notice how your thoughts arise; how they come and go. You can't really pin them down. Awareness helps you to appreciate the greater environment in which your thoughts and emotions arise.
Blessing Poem by Roshi Robert Althouse
“We come here together today with deepest respect for our teachers, ancestors and families and sanghas who make our lives possible. We invoke and invite all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to come and witness this joyous occasion of the opening of this zendo at (name and place and date). Let compassion be born in our hearts today to use our wisdom and skills in the service of freeing others from suffering.
Setting Sail in Stormy Waters
We are living through chaotic, unprecedented and unstable times. It can be hard to find your bearings. It seems we may have taken the values of our democracy too much for granted and now they need to be defended. We need to stand not only for core values but for each other.
Spiritual Practice for Difficult Times
Difficult times are an opportunity to deepen the spiritual path and practice, to dig down and ground yourself in your meditation. Take time to be still, to be quiet and listen.
Blue Pancake
Ummon said, "The world is vast and wide. Why do you put on your robe at the sound of the bell?"
Cracked Bell
I'm turing 68 in a few days, and I'm afraid my body is also falling short of the mark. It's so easy to gain weight, and a nerve in my neck and right arm get's easily inflamed making it difficult for me to sit meditation at all.
Normalize Discomfort
So when things arise in your practice and your meditation that disturb you, you may easily get discouraged. This isn't what you signed on for. So I want to suggest that you normalize discomfort; that you proceed by allowing and acknowledging that suffering is part of your life and to walk on a spiritual path means to engage and transform this suffering, but not to avoid it.