SIT-A-LONG with Jundo: A Joyous, Peaceful, Contented Talk on War Disease & Death

[Jundo]

WE ARE PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THAT ALL TALKS WILL NOW BE AVAILABLE
IN BOTH VIDEO & DOWNLOADABLE AUDIO PODCAST (LINKS BELOW)

Today's talk is a JOYOUS, PEACEFUL, CONTENTED look at WAR, DISEASE, CHILDREN SUFFERING, DEATH, ENVIRONMENTAL DESTRUCTION and every other horror and tragedy...

But before you think I'm crazy, please know that my heart also breaks, my eyes fill with tears, I cannot rest and I look forward to a world free of much of that. I accept and am content, yet not at all. It is not merely one or the other. Please hear me out. There is an old Zen saying … NICHI NICHI KORE KONICHI (日々是好日), Everyday is a good day, said by Yunmen, Kodo Sawaki and others. But what could this possibly mean in the face of scenes like these?

James Dorbor, 8, suspected of being infected with Ebola,
is carried by medical staff to an Ebola treatment center in Monrovia

I will discuss why I would recommend that you quit Buddhism immediately, find some other philosophy or religion and stop wasting time, if Buddhism failed a test in any one of three ways regarding the most ugly aspects of life, namely ...

BUDDHISM:

1. needs to explain why such sorrows exist in the world, and explain in reasonable, cogent, realistic ways (ways which are beyond some rather more doubtful and fanciful explanations it also has traditionally offered)
   
   
2. needs to provide a vision which offers peace and compassion amid, and transcendence of, all human suffering, and, simultaneously ...
   
   
3. needs to offer a workable path toward the alleviation of such suffering and ugliness in this world in ways vitally necessary for our species' future.

If Buddhism failed in those three hard tasks, I don't think it would have much value, and we should all walk away. Fortunately, I believe, it does not fail in those tasks. In fact, it offers clarity of vision, a way through and a way forward. Thus, I can say that my talk today is as positive and optimistic in tone as it is sad and broken hearted. It is ultimately accepting yet not in the least. It is fully transcendent yet fully present. It is not merely one or the other.

Yes, in this Buddha Eye, there is a "Joy" that holds all human joy and sadness, and a "Peace and Wholeness" that envelops all life's broken pieces. Nonetheless, we must never rest content, we must never stop to fix what we can.

NICHI NICHI KORE KONICHI

Every Day Is A Good Day

* * *

Today's talk is available as a OUR NEW DOWNLOADABLE AUDIO PODCAST here as well as on Itunes ....

LINK TO TREELEAF PODCAST

This talk was offered as part of our May 4-Hour Treeleaf Zazenkai Netcast, and you are invited to sit with us there (or you can sit with the talk from the 1:51:00 mark here, about 35 minute length) ...

Gassho, Jundo

[Mp]

Wonderful Jundo, thank you. I have always enjoyed the podcasts ... I also noticed it downloaded in itunes automatically for me. =)

Gassho
Shingen

#sattoday

[Jundo]

By the way, there is that old Zen saying ... Nichi nichi kore kōnichi (日々是好日), Everyday is a good day, said by Yunmen, Kodo Sawaki and others. Here is some caligraphy by Kodo Sawaki with it:

Nonin Chowaney from Nebraska Zen Center has a simple, clear comment on this (Nonin, by the way, is a cancer survivor with one lung, a host of other health issues and a heck of a lot of fight) ...

This "everyday is a good day" is not some simple bumper sticker, but includes the ugly, the sad, even the most terrible of days.

------------------------


Everyday is a Good Day - by Nonin Chowaney


A couple of years ago, it snowed in Omaha on April 29th. I had wanted to work in the garden that day and when I looked out the window, my heart sank.

Later, I walked downstairs and mentioned that it was snowing to Albert, one of our group. "Yes," he responded, "there's something quite beautiful about these late Spring snowstorms."

Indeed there is, if you can approach them with an open mind; if you approach them with complaint because there'll be no gardening, they can be a real pain.

Lama Govinda writes that, "All suffering arises from attitude. The world is neither good nor bad. It is solely our relationship to it which makes it either one or the other." Snow on April 29th, or any weather condition on any other day, for that matter, is neither good nor bad. Good and bad is a question of mental attitude.

Moment-by-moment, we create the world in the mind. We can look out and create a gloomy, depressing world on any day by the condition of mind we bring to it. A depressed mind can make a bright, sunshiny day black and dreary, and a contented mind can create heaven out of rain and storm.

I am reminded of the old Zen saying, "Every day is a good day." What determines this? The mind that dwells nowhere; the mind that accepts everything. This is nirvana.

Nirvana may be understood as the absence of greed, anger (or aversion), and delusion. In other words, it's a state of mind. If we can approach whatever life brings us with the mind free from greed, aversion, and delusion, or accept things as they are without grasping for more or turning away from what's there, we cultivate the mental state known as nirvana, quiescence, or, heart-mind at peace with what is.

This does not mean passivity. It does not mean that we lay back and not move. What it means is that we start from zero, from acceptance of our lives as they are, and move from there. In that way we are not kept from or hindered in our living by complaining, grousing, or blaming others for the conditions of our lives. Every moment, then, affords us the opportunity to practice awakening, nirvana, enlightenment. When we sit zazen, we cultivate this practice.

The instruction for zazen is to cultivate the mind that abides nowhere, the mind of non-attachment. We are to allow thoughts to come and go, to arise without denial or suppression and to pass away without clinging. Angry thoughts about the boss? Let them come and let them go. Contentment with a lover? Let it come and let it go. I can't garden because it's snowing? Let it come and let it go. This practice does not aim for any particular state of mind; it is in and of itself the awakened state; sometimes it is called "cultivating the natural condition of mind."

Buddha, the awakened one, taught the Way to end human dissatisfaction, and nothing more. He taught that the end to suffering is non-attachment, non-clinging. This is the practice of zazen. Gradually, we are able to also cultivate this practice when standing, walking, or lying down; our life itself is enlightenment.

A mind that can abide anywhere is always content, even when suffering greatly. This is liberation; suffering is gone through. We accept what comes, live it, and move on.

...

... One moment, pain and suffering; the next, joy and relief. This all occurs in the mind; we create the world we live in. We sometimes cannot change the circumstances we live in, but we can always change our attitude. If we can learn to let go, it will change by itself.

As Lama Govinda said, "All suffering arises from attitude. The world is neither good nor bad. It is solely our relationship to it which makes it either one or the other." So, even if it's a bad day, "every day is a good day."

http://www.prairiewindzen.org/everyday_is_a_good_day.html

[Daiyo]

Wonderful, Jundo!!

I wasn't able to attend last monthly zazenkai, so I surely will enjoy your talk in one of my noon walks.

Thank you very much.



Gassho,
Daiyo.

Sat today

[Kaishin]

Many thanks as always

-SatToday

[Byrne]

Thank you thank you thank you for the audio.

Gassho

Sat Today

[Kaishin]

p.s. Love the podcast format! Thanks to all whose efforts go into making these happen.

-satToday

[Kyotai]

I did as well. Thank you Jundo.

Gassho, Kyotai
sat today

[michaeljc]

I feel an inclination to make a number of points on this subject. Yet, after some contemplation are left speechless

m

Sat 2-day

[Myosha]

Hello,

Thank you for the link.


Gassho
Myosha sat today

[Risho]

Thank you for this talk -- the podcast format is awesome!

I really liked the point of the military carrying our debt. I feel a deep sense of gratitude for all those who put their lives on the line for me and others so that we can live in peace. I mean that is a grave responsibility. I also hope that one day we can stop having to fight each other and instead focus on bettering our lives, exploration, etc.

Gassho,

Risho
-sattoday

[Byokan]

Thank you Jundo

Gassho
Lisa
sat today

[Jika]

Good reminder to hear this one again, thank you.

Gassho,
Danny
#sattoday