Emptiness

[Jishin]

IMG_0053.JPG

Gasho, Jishin, _/st\_

[Rich]

Beakon, sorry that your mother disturbs you when sitting. Maybe hang a sign outside your 'Meditating. Please do not disturb'
Just sit and relax. Trust that you don't have to understand anything. Just being present allows joy and ease.

SAT today

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[Mp]

Just sit and relax. Trust that you don't have to understand anything. Just being present allows joy and ease.

Gassho
Shingen

s@today

[Jundo]

Hi Beakon (would you mind to sign your non-Beakon name and "sattoday" to your posts? Thank you.)

Much of our Soto Practice is to find the sacred in the ordinary, the wondrous as the mundane, a certain Big B Beauty and Wholeness that is all this world's daily beauty and ugliness and seeming brokenness. Do not expect the ordinary and mundane to always look "sacred and wondrous", for it is still sacred and wondrous even when not looking so at all. In other words, to want to escape from the restaurant or your mother or the rest of your life into "Bliss" or "Emptiness", like trying to escape into drugs or booze, is just not where freedom resides at all. Buddhism or "emptiness" is not only when you are feeling "Big Sky" or "Blissful", but is even on the cloudiest and rainiest days of life to the Eye of Wisdom and Compassion which can see. Better to find Peace, Wholeness and Equanimity wherever one is at, even if (sorry) it does not and will not always feel very peaceful, whole and calm.

(That does not mean, by the way, that one should just stay in a bad job nor get out of a bad job, stay home or leave home. If there is a chance to improve your life in some way, good to do so. It just means that, for example, if in the bad job, just do that. If leaving the bad job, just do that. If staying home or leaving home, always know the Big H Home that can never be left! Got what I mean?

I sometimes describe our attitude toward bad situations in life as like a Zen Monk facing a leaky pipe in the monastery. If you can fix the leak, grab a wrench and fix the leak. If you can't fix the leak because it is in a place you can't reach, just let it drip. In either case, fixing or not, be at one with the drip drip drip. As I said, we find a Big P Peace that is at one with peace and with war ... yet grab a sign and try to stop the war.)

So, always try to make your life better as you can ... make friends, build a life, become independent ... yet never run towards or away from anything. It is all right here, even as you change it.

Gassho, Jundo

SatToday

PS - I just ran across a nice passage on Zazen by another Soto Zen priest [my boldface],

We are strongly advised not to insert any kinds of "anticipation", "aim" or "intention" into the practice of zazen. If you bring any goal, however noble it may be, into zazen, this calculating frame of mind will, in a sense, split into two facts: one doing zazen and one who's attending to the goal. This kind of zazen has a crack inside, which prevents the practitioner from hitting the mark of zazen. Dogen's Manual of Zazen said, "Do not try to become Buddha". Therefore, when practicing zazen, we need to let go of all of unnecessary considerations like "I should try to become like this or that in the future". We should only do our best to just sit zazen.

... The point is to sit zazen, not to do it aiming at certain "benefits or results." If zazen is thoroughly zazen, that is all. Zazen is so completed in itself that it does not need anything else. ...

But a strange thing happens here. When you just sit zazen without doing anything to do with "benefits/results", the unlimited and immeasurable "benefits/results" are naturally given to you beyond your expectation. Therefore if we say that zazen has some benefits and results, they are not what we attain as the results for which we seek with our will and intention but what is given to us unexpectedly. That is why we can not take credit for them as if they were the results of our own efforts.

Let us assume that we hear or see the sentence, "If you practice zazen, you will get X results". Examples of X might be "enlightenment", "peaceful mind", "freedom", "calmness", "compassion and love", etc. Hearing this kind of formulation people who think that they lack "X" within themselves will imagine that X must resemble their mental image of X and so they start practicing zazen very hard in order to get closer to their ideal. There may be a lot of people like this. However, as I have argued so far, this type of zazen practice is misdirected. It can not be called zazen. And this X, what is guaranteed as the benefits/results of zazen, will never ever be attained.

Let me explain this by using one example. Here is a man who feels he is always irritated and short-tempered. He is suffering from this trait and wishing, by all means, to become a person whose mind is always calm and peace. One day he hears from someone that he can attain calmness by zazen. He thinks, "This is a good news. I might be able to change myself by this method". He, then, immediately starts practicing zazen. He tries to find out what he imagines is the peaceful mind in his zazen. And by accumulating the benefits of zazen little by little, he also expects to increase the degree of imagined calmness in his mind.

Do you think that he will succeed in becoming a calm and peaceful man? I do not think if he keeps practicing zazen this way. The peaceful mind which he pictured to his mind as an ideal is nothing but a kind of photographic negative or projection of the very same irritated mind which disturbs him. He does not really understand what the peaceful mind is like. Therefore, each and every effort he makes to attain peace contains subtle irritation, which sneaks into his practice. The fact that he can not accept his irritated mind as it is, is by itself the manifestation of his deepseated irritation. Even if he feels that he is becoming calmer a little bit, it only implies that his irritation is becoming subtler and better at disguising itself. Then his irritation will simply become deeper and deeper part of him.

If this is the case, how do we avoid this pitfall in our practice? First, we should temporarily stop looking at ourselves through words, concepts and judgements such as, "I am always irritated and short-tempered. It is not good". And then we should set aside the impulse to change ourselves as we wish. In fact, to sit proper zazen is not to try to calm down his irritated mind and forcefully create the peaceful mind but to put oneself in the state of completely setting aside all over personal agendas. When this is accomplished, we can directly see the reality of ourselves; the reality of our irritation in our body, speech and mind. This is not the fabricated self grasped by thoughts but the real and true self.

It is possible for us to "see deeply the reality of irritation as it is" only when zazen is being practiced as zazen. This seeing enables the irritation to transform itself into true peace. There is no peace outside the irritation. They are not separate.

I used the case of irritation as an example of how the transformation is brought about by seeing it as it is. Roughly speaking, I think the deep transformation as the result of zazen happens in the same way.

Issho Fujita - Polishing A Tile

[Rich]

Thanks 🏵 🙏 for Issho

SAT today

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[Kyonin]

Much of our Soto Practice is to find the sacred in the ordinary, the wondrous as the mundane, a certain Big B Beauty and Wholeness that is all this world's daily beauty and ugliness and seeming brokenness. Do not expect the ordinary and mundane to always look "sacred and wondrous", for it is still sacred and wondrous even when not looking so at all. In other words, to want to escape from the restaurant or your mother or the rest of your life into "Bliss" or "Emptiness", like trying to escape into drugs or booze, is just not where freedom resides at all. Buddhism or "emptiness" is not only when you are feeling "Big Sky" or "Blissful", but is even on the cloudiest and rainiest days of life to the Eye of Wisdom and Compassion which can see. Better to find Peace, Wholeness and Equanimity wherever one is at, even if (sorry) it does not and will not always feel very peaceful, whole and calm.

Thank you for this teaching, Jundo.

Gassho,

Kyonin
SatToday

[Beakon]

Hi Beakon (would you mind to sign your non-Beakon name and "sattoday" to your posts? Thank you.)

Much of our Soto Practice is to find the sacred in the ordinary, the wondrous as the mundane, a certain Big B Beauty and Wholeness that is all this world's daily beauty and ugliness and seeming brokenness. Do not expect the ordinary and mundane to always look "sacred and wondrous", for it is still sacred and wondrous even when not looking so at all. In other words, to want to escape from the restaurant or your mother or the rest of your life into "Bliss" or "Emptiness", like trying to escape into drugs or booze, is just not where freedom resides at all. Buddhism or "emptiness" is not only when you are feeling "Big Sky" or "Blissful", but is even on the cloudiest and rainiest days of life to the Eye of Wisdom and Compassion which can see. Better to find Peace, Wholeness and Equanimity wherever one is at, even if (sorry) it does not and will not always feel very peaceful, whole and calm.

(That does not mean, by the way, that one should just stay in a bad job nor get out of a bad job, stay home or leave home. If there is a chance to improve your life in some way, good to do so. It just means that, for example, if in the bad job, just do that. If leaving the bad job, just do that. If staying home or leaving home, always know the Big H Home that can never be left! Got what I mean?

I sometimes describe our attitude toward bad situations in life as like a Zen Monk facing a leaky pipe in the monastery. If you can fix the leak, grab a wrench and fix the leak. If you can't fix the leak because it is in a place you can't reach, just let it drip. In either case, fixing or not, be at one with the drip drip drip. As I said, we find a Big P Peace that is at one with peace and with war ... yet grab a sign and try to stop the war.)

So, always try to make your life better as you can ... make friends, build a life, become independent ... yet never run towards or away from anything. It is all right here, even as you change it.

Gassho, Jundo

SatToday

PS - I just ran across a nice passage on Zazen by another Soto Zen priest [my boldface],

Thank you, Jundo. That was helpful. Familiar feelings I have are social anxieties, neurosis, irritation, insecurities, rumination, worries and regrets. I try to trust in 'the process' of talking to people. In the beginning of yesterdays coffee house I was nervous in the beginning of the conversation with Tree Leaf members. I sat with it, as I went along with the practice, the nervousness went away and I moved into pleasant feelings. I know that I can't 'delete' nervousness from my conciousness. This process is very normal for me, so I hope I'm not the only one. Even after the conversation I had to go out to the bush to shoot a scene for a movie. My character had to behave like he was being chased by a seriel killer. Even though I was behaving like I am about to be killed by a raving psychopath, I remained restless out of character. My mood overall was cheerful and enthusiastic. le

When I wake up in the morning mindfulness is very low. During the first moments of wakefulness I'll begin ruminating about love, money, work, health, and so on. Usually getting out of bed is painful. My body is soar and fatiqued from walking everywhere in town to find work. I seem to attach myself to duties, planning, precautions, contacts, insecurities, offensive things people said, setting new goals, or preventing bad things from happening. I'm very indesiive about what thought train to follow. It might root itsel from the fact nothing every works out for me like a meditating practice does in my mothers house. It's all happening in one day. I don't like getting stuck in that pattern where each morning first minutes have this feeling of unpleasantness to it. I like meditation because it helps me go beyond these thought patterns to see them as they are. Like being a witness to the ego. I admire the soto zen way of seeing the beauty in all things, like a first kiss or moving away from home for the first time. What seems difficult is being mindful of this way of life. It's all in the practice, right? It's like how do I start letting go without attaching myself to bliss so I can see the true nature of reality?

Confession, I hate it when people use the word 'reality' in a negative connotation like it's done them no favours. I'm lucky to have a place to live in these 'hard times' to stop and think about life. I try to practice 'samu' as an exercise for the next best thing. Like looking up the 'right button' to press on the cash register. Being present with a customer who is obviously demonstrating irratability with the customer service. Some small things, like people laughing at my mistakes, or tapping the counter is very hard to be present with. I can't help but react to it because I don't feel good enough to handle it. I now know that I can get over it like a baby being born from the mothers womb feels uncomfortable being delivered into the universe.

About bliss states being a kind of drug, things like facebook and music can be very addictive for me. I cannot think clearly being attached to having social connections, music being a constant source of ego-gratification, or having a netflix marathon. Even then I'm attached to keeping things quiet all the time.

PS - I am still trying to figure out Tree Leaf's tech. I'd like to attend the morning sits with the sangha to get back on track with meditating. The 'Do Not Disturb' sign outside my bedroom goes unheaded. My attempts to talk about 'boundaries' are not acknowledged with seriousness. I am currently a member of the tree leaf google + sangha. Do I need a Google + invitation with a link to the hangouts to join a group meditation everyday? I am trying to figure out how to do the 'Sat Today' signature. There is an article on how to do it. It did not work for me on this end. Thank you.

Gassho

[Mp]

PS - I am still trying to figure out Tree Leaf's tech. I'd like to attend the morning sits with the sangha to get back on track with meditating. The 'Do Not Disturb' sign outside my bedroom goes unheaded. My attempts to talk about 'boundaries' are not acknowledged with seriousness. I am currently a member of the tree leaf google + sangha. Do I need a Google + invitation with a link to the hangouts to join a group meditation everyday? I am trying to figure out how to do the 'Sat Today' signature. There is an article on how to do it. It did not work for me on this end. Thank you.

Hey Beakon,

As for sittings ... if you are apart of the Treeleaf Google+, then you will be notified on some of the sittings, like the weekly and monthly zazenkais. However, some folks have their own sittings throughout the week and you are more then welcome to sit with them too. Just send the person to whom you would like to sit with a PM, as they may have a Google+ group they add their sitters too ... I know I do, as I don't want to send it to the whole Sangha, only to the people who have asked to sit with me ... this way we can be compassionate to their Inboxes. =)

At the top of the forum you will see the "Calendar" link ... which is here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...GmRaNGoGw/edit. Have a look and maybe there is someone on there that might be in the same time zone. I hope this helps. =)

Gassho
Shingen

s@today

[Jakuden]

I feel your pain, Beakon, I can't meditate uninterrupted in my house either unless no one is home (rare) or they are all asleep (also rare). That's why many days my zazen is in my car before work. If it's nice weather I will get out of my car and sit on a bench at a nearby office building complex or shopping plaza, which are usually quiet at that hour of the morning. I play Shingen's heart sutra and other chants in my headphones (links are somewhere here on Treeleaf, does anyone know where?) and set the Insight Timer app. I discovered years ago that sneaking off somewhere to sit before work reduces my anxiety and stress at work, too.

Gassho,
Jakuden
SatToday

[Mp]

I play Shingen's heart sutra and other chants in my headphones (links are somewhere here on Treeleaf, does anyone know where?)

Hey Jakuden,

Are these the ones you are talking about? =)

Ok here are some mp3 files of some chants. I did the Heart Sutra (both with and without bell and mokugyo), the Verse of Atonement (both with and without bell), and the Four Vows (both with and without bell). I have also made them available for download if you choose, so you can listen on your iPod of the like.

Let me know if you have any questions or any troubles with the files. =)

Zazenkai Chants

The Heart Sutra
Voice only: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7J...ew?usp=sharing
With Bell & Mokugyo: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7J...ew?usp=sharing

The Verse of Atonement
Voice only: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7J...ew?usp=sharing
With bell: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7J...ew?usp=sharing

The Four Vows
Voice only: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7J...ew?usp=sharing
With bells: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7J...ew?usp=sharing

The Whole Folder
Folder Access: https://drive.google.com/folderview?...mM&usp=sharing

Gassho
Shingen

s@today

[Jakuden]

Hey Jakuden,

Are these the ones you are talking about? =)



Gassho
Shingen

s@today

Yep those are them. Them's the ones. They are those? (Just trying to annoy all the English degrees on here) Thanks!

Gassho
Jakuden
SatToday

[Mp]

Yep those are them. Them's the ones. They are those? (Just trying to annoy all the English degrees on here) Thanks!

Gassho
Jakuden
SatToday

Themas be da ones! =) (looks like Bodhi was playing with the keyboard again) LOL

Gassho
Shingen

s@today

[Beakon]

Look at the garden we've grown on this thread. This is quite impressive considering we all put a collaberative effort into understanding a very difficult piece of Buddhist terminology. I will do tenglon for you, Jakuden. Hey, I learned a new psychological fact today. Building relationships is healthier than exercise. Good thing I'm building zen habits on leadership. Trust building exercises, ethical desicion making, giving speeches, character building, keys to motivation, and all that jazz. Even reading 'How to Win Friends and Influence People' has caused a small change in my home life. These are valuable and markettable zen habits to carry around. If you think about it, if you talk to a new person a day, that is three hundred and sixty five repetitions a year. The social muscle gets flexed more often than the ligaments and muscle fibers. If we all did that we'd be healthier than the average athlete. The dinosaurs were some of the strongest beings to walk the planet earth. Human ingenuity is constantly transforming our society. If only more people opened a psychology textbook instead of trying to walk all over eachother in this competitive chaotic world we'd all be better off.

[Rich]

I agree. Be l

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[Rich]

Less competitive .

SAT today

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