Quote of the day

[Shokai]

Originally posted by dmorga01;
One doesn't have to look far to find poverty and oppression, just look around in local cities towns, villages, streets and homes. And one doesn't have to be wealthy or comfortable or to be one of the affluent in society to be discontented or disatisfied. Poverty and oppression is both structural and personal and often the way to help towards mitigating both is change one's self. It seems to me by practice, by keeping the precepts and practicing metta and dhana, we help others. Not meaning to preach or seem 'superior' here, just this is the way it seems to me.

me too

[Jiken]

Thanks Kirk. A timely reminder for me. This is constant practice for me.

Gassho,

Daido

[Nindo]

Hi Jundo,

I didn't say I was confused, and I don't think there is a misunderstanding or wrong attitude. I get all that you are saying.

The hook in the quote for me is the question "Can we just be content with this situation?". There are people to whom I would never say "Hey ya know, why can't you just be content with this situation?". It wouldn't even be compassionate to say that.

I wanted to reflect on how we can bear witness when the answer to "Can we just be content" is "No, we cannot".
But that's probably off track, so apologies to Kirk. And thanks to Nengyo for his perspective.

Gassho,
Nindo

[Daitetsu]

Hi Nindo,

I know what you want to say.
I was in a situation lately in which just listening was the best thing to do.
Saying something like the above can appear like downplaying another person's worries or not taking them seriously. Sometimes even an "everything will be alright" can appear like a slap in the face for some people.

It depends on the context: which people, which situation, how they feel at the moment.
Of course I fully agree with what Jundo says, but telling this to others can be inappropriate sometimes and should be said at a different time after the dust has settled.

In the past there were some situations in which people were irritated, because I stayed calm and didn't panic. Just trying to keep a cool head can appear like a lack of caring to some folks...

Anyway, all is good.

Gassho,

Timo


PS: Thanks for the quote, Kirk, I love it - btw, the Greek philosopher Epicurus said something similar as well.

[Kaishin]

“All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”
― Blaise Pascal, Pensées

Always grasping, grasping, grasping!

[Myosha]

All composed things are like a dream,

a phantom, a drop of dew, a flash of lightning.

That is how to meditate on them,

that is how to observe them.
Buddha


Gassho,
Edward

[Oheso]

But if you learn to look at your consciousness as a sort of fever, personal and private, in which you are enclosed like a chick in its shell, out of this very

attitude will come the crisis which will break the shell.

~Nisargadatta Maharaj

[Byokan]

“Each moment of zazen is equally wholeness of practice, equally wholeness of realization. This is not only practice while sitting, it is like a hammer striking emptiness: before and after, its exquisite peal permeates everywhere. How can it be limited to this moment?”

• Dōgen

[Kyotai]

Thank you

Gassho

Shawn

[Jishin]

Thank you raindrop.

Gassho, Jishin

[Byokan]

Hi All,

It's Independence Day here in the US. Wish it was Interdependence Day but I guess that is every day. As a true patriot I will be making red white and blue jello. Anyway, here's a quote I like:

“You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism. “ ~Erma Bombeck

Gassho
Lisa

[Joyo]

Be a light unto yourself---Buddha

Gassho,
Joyo

[Byokan]

"To rest your mind in the mudra means to let the mudra doing you, forming you, forgetting you. Some folks think it means that we put the attention there during sitting, yes and no, it means much more than that. Just go there by yourself, and forget yourself in there. The Dai Butsu of Kamakura you like so much is just a blossom coming out of your very eyes."
-Taigu

[Byokan]

"If you’re looking for something that is all around, and always here, the way to find it is to realize it’s here and to stop looking. Isn’t that what our shikantaza is? If you have a treasure in hand, the way to realize it is to open the hand."


-Jundo Cohen

(Treeleaf 2014 Rohatsu Retreat, Day 1 Dharma talk)

[Kokuu]

"If you’re looking for something that is all around, and always here, the way to find it is to realize it’s here and to stop looking. Isn’t that what our shikantaza is? If you have a treasure in hand, the way to realize it is to open the hand."