Pocket Zen Liturgy

[Al]

I know we have a new chant book coming soon so this will need updating shortly, but I wanted to share it with sangha-mates. I like to carry around little pocket reminders/gathas and I created a Zen Liturgy Pocketmod. Just print onto a single sheet of paper and fold according to the instructions.



You can also head over to Pocketmod and make your own.

This is one small way I found to permeate my day with practice. I would love to hear about things you guys do, besides zazen of course.

Attached files

[BrianW]

Re: Pocket Zen Liturgy

Great idea Shinkai! I have a folded copy of the Heart Sutra I carry around in my pocket...after it goes through the wash a few times, I end up having to print up a new one. Your methods seems more carefully thought out and will have to give it a try. Thanks!

Gassho,
Jisen/BrianW

[Jundo]

Re: Pocket Zen Liturgy

Thank you, Shinkai. Very neat and very neat.

Gassho, J

[ghop]

Re: Pocket Zen Liturgy

Dude, this is awesome. Thanks so much!

I would love to hear about things you guys do, besides zazen of course.

Yeah. I would too. Cause lately I'm having trouble even doing zazen. My wife bought me a zafu.
That was a wonderful surprise. No more pillows!!! But then soon after getting it I got to the point
where I just didn't want to sit anymore. Not just the usual trick of the mind boredom. But a real
aversion to it. It started seeming like a big waste of time. I know. Now instead of wasting my
time sitting I usually waste it playing Donkey Kong or watching Family Guy. Not that these aren't
important parts of the Buddhist path of course :lol: . But I can't seem to get myself back on my butt.

Before that... I sat in the mornings and again before bed. I tried to be mindful or (better word)
grateful for my life in little ways. When taking a shower I gave thanks for the water. I might
say something like "May I flow with the energy of this day." When eating I tried to think of one
person in my life who was suffering and vow to try to do at least one thing differently that day
that might make my actions a force for good. Well, all this sounds noble. But for the most part
I played Donkey Kong and watched Family Guy. I write haiku which keeps me grounded and open
to the wonder of the moment. I practice noticing resistance in myself to people and situations
and then try to open myself to "things as it is," as Suzuki would say. But for the most part I
played Donkey Kong and watched Family Guy. I hope this wasn't too boring. :roll:

gassho
ghop

[KellyRok]

Re: Pocket Zen Liturgy

Shinkai,

Thank you, this is lovely! It is just what i needed today...reminders of why I practice, and how to do it better.

Gassho,
Kelly-Jinmei

[Taylor]

Re: Pocket Zen Liturgy

Fantastic, Shinkai! I never thought of using those for liturgy. I recently picked up a copy of Thich Nhat Hahn's Stepping into Freedom which has a bunch of gathas for everything you could possibly think of. I sometimes forget the importance of gathas in our daily life so thank you again for posting this idea.

As far as everything else, I just try to see through the "you" and "I" of everything. Being home from college for the summer has been a bit of culture shock and often times I will find myself peeved by family and responsibilities I have when I'm not lounging my life away at school. When feeling a bit of "teenager angst" I just try to sit back and sit up (when I'm seething I tend to slouch and furrow my brow, sitting up straight brings back the "zazen-mind") and forget the idea of self and other. Easier said than done, I know, but one drop of water each moment will eventually fill an ocean.

Gassho
Taylor

[chicanobudista]

Re: Pocket Zen Liturgy

THANK YOU!!

This is why I LOVE TL and it's members.

Many vows to you, Shinkai!

[chicanobudista]

Re: Pocket Zen Liturgy

Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! Shinkai....is there a way to created one with the Heart Sutra? ops: :wink: :|

[Seishin the Elder]

Re: Pocket Zen Liturgy

Thanks Shinkai...very neat!

Gassho,


Seishin Kyrill

[Al]

Re: Pocket Zen Liturgy

Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! Shinkai....is there a way to created one with the Heart Sutra? ops: :wink: :|

Sure, here is a Heart Sutra version. The translation is from Jundo's Jukai ceremony booklet.

[chicanobudista]

Re: Pocket Zen Liturgy

Sure, here is a Heart Sutra version. The translation is from Jundo's Jukai ceremony booklet.

tee-hee! THANKS! :mrgreen:

[Al]

Re: Pocket Zen Liturgy

Fantastic, Shinkai! I never thought of using those for liturgy. I recently picked up a copy of Thich Nhat Hahn's Stepping into Freedom which has a bunch of gathas for everything you could possibly think of. I sometimes forget the importance of gathas in our daily life so thank you again for posting this idea.

I really enjoyed this book also! If you haven't already read it, I highly recommend The Dragon Who Never Sleeps: Verses for Zen Buddhist Practice by Robert Aitken. I posted a few of my favorites from the book in this thread. It's my favorite volume of gathas and it inspired me to start writing my own.

[Al]

Re: Pocket Zen Liturgy

Well, all this sounds noble. But for the most part
I played Donkey Kong and watched Family Guy. I write haiku which keeps me grounded and open
to the wonder of the moment. I practice noticing resistance in myself to people and situations
and then try to open myself to "things as it is," as Suzuki would say. But for the most part I
played Donkey Kong and watched Family Guy.

You sound like me, except replace Donkey Kong with Halo 3/Left 4 Dead and replace Family Guy with X-Files/Chuck/Fringe. Sometimes I make myself sit on my zafu while playing video games or watching TV.

These attachments are why I keep pushing... designing and printing out elaborate reminders, writing little snippets of gathas, saying the verse of atonement over and over again.

[Dosho]

Re: Pocket Zen Liturgy

Awesome Shinkai....many bows and high fives!!!

Gassho,
Dosho

[Jundo]

Re: Pocket Zen Liturgy

My wife bought me a zafu.
That was a wonderful surprise. No more pillows!!! But then soon after getting it I got to the point
where I just didn't want to sit anymore. Not just the usual trick of the mind boredom. But a real
aversion to it. It started seeming like a big waste of time. I know. Now instead of wasting my
time sitting I usually waste it playing Donkey Kong or watching Family Guy.

Donkey Kong is just as pointless as Zen practice. In fact, the game is truly pointless, while Zazen is pointless ... but with a point. The video game just has more bells and whistles, flashing lights and noise to distract the mind. If I put buzzers and sirens on the Zafu, and had it automatically award points for how long you sat there, it might have about the same effect. Donkey Kong is the self fooling itself that it is "accomplishing" something (granted, there might be minor improvements in hand eye coordination that we do not attain in Zazen ... although we do in Oryoki). The mind just fights being put "out of a job", and does not know how to drop the achieving, and getting somewhere, and winning points that the game fools the 'self' into thinking it is getting (because, of course, the points and "getting somewhere" are just electronic illusions on a screen).

Donkey Kong will get you nothing by a few hours' satisfaction ... as the games pass, and the time is killed. Both Zazen and Donkey Kong are an absolute waste of time ... though Zazen will allow one to see absolutely that there is no "time". Zazen will get you freedom in this moment ... as one realizes that there are no points awarded in life, that the obstacles and barrels to jump over are of the mind's own making, as is the ape-self who is chasing us ... as 'jumpman' realizes there is no place to jump ... as the mental rivets are removed and the Koan Kong falls into emptiness ...

Gassho, J

PS - On the other hand, "Family Guy" is funny. Maybe you could watch that between sittings though?