"When you sit [zazen], you are not allowing your impulses to translate into action. For the time being, at least, you are just watching them. Looking at them, you quickly see that all impulses in the mind arise and pass away, that they have a life of their own, that they are not you but just thinking, and that you do not have to be ruled by them. Not feeding or reacting to impulses, you come to understand their nature as thoughts directly. This process actually burns up destructive impulses in the fires of concentration and equanimity and non-doing. At the same time, creative insights and creative impulses are no longer squeezed out so much by the more turbulent, destructive ones. They are nourished as they are perceived and held in awareness."

~ Jon Kabat-Zinn, Wherever You Go, There You Are

I like this poem entitled "Men at Forty": Sainteros: Poem. Although I'm not quite there yet, it still speaks truth to me today at 35.

I would like to share part of a Dharma talk by Sensei Wendy Egyoku Nakao of the Los Angeles Zen Center that I found very apropos for me at this time in my spiritual journey and recovery. Being addicted to my selfish and self-centered desires I believe is to root of all my suffering. If I can take just one small step to let go of one or two of these selfish desires today, I will have done well.

Someone mentioned that a Zen Center is a rehabilitation place for egoholics. In Los Angeles, we can find a twelve-step anonymous recovery program for just about every human condition. Many Zen practitioners here are or have been in twelve-step programs. Are we not all addicted to ourself? Even our work for others is often colored with self-interest. What can we do about this seemingly hopeless situation?

We can do zazen. In the zazen posture, our folded legs are rendered useless — we cannot run around anymore. Our hands are stilled — we cannot grasp for the remote control. Our back is straight and our heart is open to the sky — we cannot comfortably hunch back into ourself. Our mouth is shut — we can no longer speak. Our eyes are lowered — we can no longer check out what’s going on. And sooner or later, the revolutions of the mind come to a halt and our self-centered preoccupations diminish.

For the self-addicted person, this can seem tortuous. The ego insists that we are wasting our time. “What are you doing?” it screams. “You have better things to do.” Or it takes a more subtle tack, cooing: “That was a good sitting. You are becoming so centered.” The ego does not like zazen. Why not? Because in zazen, self-centered human concerns are put out of business!

Dogen Zenji says, “Imprint the Buddha seal, not the human seal, on your body and mind.” Please do not think that the Buddha seal is some otherworldly condition that you will achieve later on. Or a particular state of perfection based on your own standards. Whatever your ideas, opinions, thoughts, feelings about it, put them all out of business.

Zazen is not dependent on how you are feeling, the weather, the stock exchange, your age, or how busy you are. The Buddha seal is not subject to these conditions. It is anonymous in the true sense of the word — completely lacking in self-identification.

Let's all go out of business this year! And in doing so, may the Buddhadharma flourish.

Here's the link to the full talk: Zen Center of Los Angeles - Water Wheel, Jan/Feb 2001

Still Point: Newsletter of Dharma Rain Zen Center - This is a wonderful publication that I had been meaning to keep up on but haven't.

Added this entry to my links:

• Zen Center of Los Angeles - A Soto Zen center in the lineage of Taizan Maezumi Roshi. There are some real good Dharma talks here as well as information of starting a sitting practice. I like this site quite a bit!

Added this entry to my links:

• Maximum Bliss - Zen Buddhism - This is a nicely done Zen web site. The teachings and articles seem to be coming from the Soto school although it's not explicitly stated anywhere. Nice quotes section as well as Zen story section.

Here's something that came across the wire of one of the Buddhist listserv groups that I belong to that I would like to share with you. It's an audio archive of a radio program on dealing with destructive emotions with Mindfulness meditation. Very eye opening stuff from a scientific point-of-view on the immense benefits of a mediation practice.

Daniel Goleman: Destructive Emotions (Bantam)

Psychologist Daniel Goleman, who developed the concept of "emotional intelligence," talks about taking part in a meeting that brought together religious leaders - including the Dalai Lama - and scientists to discuss the interactions between emotions and brain function.

Audio Here at WAMU online at www.wamu.org.

Paying Attention

Hello all, I found this short article about "paying attention." I like it a lot and want to share it and some of my thoguhts on the subject with you.

Attention Means Attention
~ zen master Ikkyu

Working with kids and adults with attention problems has taught me a lot about attention. You only have a certain amount of "attentional resources." You've probably noticed how hard it is when you're tempted to try to pay attention to two different conversations in a group. Training your own attentiveness means getting the skill of paying attention to just one thing. That one thing may be a teacher, a partner, a child, a tree, a mountain, a world.

What must be learned, a simple pattern:

Sitting still. To be able to pay fullest attention to anything, you more or less must sit still. Otherwise, your brain is a bit busy paying attention to sensations from your body movements, skin sensations, joint sensations, muscles tensing and relaxing, and to the constantly changing visual perspective (assuming your head is moving too).

Relaxing your body. Relaxing your body while sitting still is important. Sitting still cannot consist of "holding still." If you are restraining yourself from movement, you are using some of your attention and mental effort to do so. Deliberately loosening and releasing each area of the body begins to develop the proper "background" for real attentiveness.

Concentrate. Allow your attention to rest on the object (person, place, thing, process) on which you intend to concentrate. Notice, be observant, exactly what happens. Your mind wanders, you begin thinking, you get off track. That's normal. Just be gentle but persistent with yourself. Return your attention to the object, over and over again, without getting mad at yourself. Be entertained rather than angry about your wandering mind. Train it.

Some people can accomplish this training of the attention on their own, using one or another traditional method. Some methods that work and aren't too dangerous are 1) becoming a master of your trade; 2) dedicating yourself each day to loving and attending to your family; 3) sitting still, relaxing and focusing on something (like your breathing, a stone, etc.) for 5 - 20 minutes daily.

Paying attention is such an important core component of my soto zen practice. I need to remind myself throughout the day to remember to pay attention to what I am doing. If what I'm doing at that time doesn't seem the most wizest choice of activities given the circumstances, then allow myself to choose a more skillful activity for where I am at the present moment, how much time I have available, how much energy I have (mental and physical) and the priorities of the tasks waiting to be completed.

If that last part sounds familiar to any of you, it is from David Allen's "Getting Things Done" seminars and books. I love his way of looking at productivity and urge you to take a look at his web site when you have the time.

A quote on slowing down from my most favorite author and teacher of Soto Zen, Shunryu Suzuki-roshi:

"Instead of galloping about, we walk slowly like a cow or an elephant. If you can walk slowly, without any idea of gain, then you are already a good Zen student."

May I walk slowly through my life today, paying close attention to each moment as it arrives.

Today was a good day. My parents are down for the Easter holiday. We all went out for breakfast this morning and had a real good time. At home, we all just relaxed and enjoyed each other’s company.

One of my intentions with trying to live according to the dharma is being interruptible. Meaning that if I’m busy with something on the computer and someone calls for me from down stairs, I am immediately available to them. It’s not always that straight forward. There are many times I get annoyed, thinking “Can’t I just get a few minutes of time to do this?” When this happens I try to just be aware of this annoyance and let it dissipate a bit before I answer and go see what they need from me.

The idea is that I not become so attached to what I am doing that it makes the needs of others in my house less important than my own. This is a very difficult practice sometimes and I hope that I will get better at it as my sitting practice picks up.

i'm really struggling today. for whatever reason, i didn't get enough sleep last night and i am so wiped out. i'm sitting here at the office struggling to get work done. maybe i should go for a walk to energize myself a little bit?

how do i live in the dharma with such low energy? i can't even get my work done very efficently. i guess just accept where i am right now and just do the best i can for today. sounds good.

here's a blog entry that i recorded yesterday that i'm finally getting 'on-line'.

feeling so 'zen proud' of myself right now. i'm in the car getting a fill-up at the getty on the corner and i was reading the 'living a life of vow' article that i copied off for myself, when i realized as i was turning the page that the staple in the corner was doing me a service and i became teary eyed in gratitude towards the staple for doing such a good job of being a staple. man, how silly is that!

letting my 'zen proudness' dissipate as quickly as it arose.

Added this entry to my links:

• Sounds True - A wonderful online resource where you can find numerous audio, video and music for the inner life. You'll also find interviews with some of the authors.

I just finished reading the whole article "Living a Life of Vow" by Zenki Blanche Hartman that I referenced in my last post.

I want to offer my immense gratitude to Zenkei Hartman for her teaching.

I am only a 7 month old Soto Zen practitioner who is struggling to find a consistent practice in and around my life as a husband, father to my 4 year old daughter, and as a professional software engineer for a large multi-national pharmaceutical company.

I am so touched by her words of teaching. They resonate so profoundly within my soul. I consider them an invaluable enhancement to my practice, an inspiration to my continued effort along my newfound spiritual path.

With tears of joy and gratitude in my eyes: gassho, gassho, gassho.

If you can pick up a copy of the May 2003 Shambala Sun magazine and read her article starting on page 38, I highly encourage you to do so!

Here is something from the current issue of the Shambala Sun magazine that I subscribe to:

And if we're open to embracing the surprises as they arise, then there will be inconceivable joy. If we fuss and fume and say, "This isn't what I expected," then there will be inconceivable misery. Just to welcome your life as it arrives moment after moment, to meet it as fully as you can, being as open to it as you can, being as ready for whatever arises as you can, and meeting it wholeheartedly, this is renunciation—this is leaving behind all of your preferences, all of your ideas and notions and schemes. Just meeting life as it is.

from Living a Life of Vow, by Zenkei Blanche Hartman

Just to welcome your life as it arrives moment after moment, to meet it as fully as you can, being as open to it as you can, being as ready for whatever arises as you can, and meeting it wholeheartedly, this is renunciation—this is leaving behind all of your preferences, all of your ideas and notions and schemes. Just meeting life as it is.

May I live my life today like this.

I really like this idea of slowing down the speed at which I travel in my daily life. I just got back from walking across the street to attend a meeting in another building. The weather is nice and it just plain felt good to walk along the path soaking things in along the way. Here's the quote from Tony's entry:

I believe that the only thing that’s going to save me is consciously attempting to travel more slowly—to move mindfully, one minute at a time.

I’ve always loved what an early mentor of mine, G. Scott Wright, once told me. Walking is the perfect speed for humans to travel. It’s by moving at walking speed that we don’t miss things. Even going a little bit faster, like riding a bicycle, things start to blur.

Right Speech - What does it mean to practice right speech? I found this little nugget of guidance that I really like from Joseph Goldstein in his book Insight Meditation:

Although there is great elaboration of right speech in the texts, it all condenses into two general principles: Is it true? Is it useful?

Amy Update - the eye is responding well to the eye drops and she's back in school today. We still have to do the eye drops for another 48 hours just to make sure the infection is completely gone.

I wish there was an easier way to give eye drops to a 4 year old. She just fights us all the way when we have to give them. Poor thing is terrified of them. I don't blame her though.

Excessive thinking
Weakens the will.
The more you know,
The more your mind
Is confused.
A confused mind gives
Rise to vexation.
The weakened will obstructs the Tao.

~ Shih Wang Ming (6th century)

Did a lot of work practice Sunday. Vacuuming, cleaning the bathrooms, doing the laundry, planting forsythia bushes, making lunch, cleaning up the kitchen.

I’m struggling a bit with my work practice. Feeling impatient with my activities. Like I want to finish them up so I can just relax and take it easy.

From Sweeping Changes: Discovering the Joy of Zen in Everyday Tasks by Gary Thorp.

The early teachers referred to this questioning, curiosity, and attraction toward further study as "way-seeking mind."

This is me right now. I am in way-seeking mind. I’m trying to find my way along the dharma path. My formal Zen sitting practice is basically non-existent right now. My practice right now consists of:

• Being aware of my posture in my daily activities and straightening it when needed. I’ve been doing this over and over for a couple of months now.
  
• At times throughout my day while sitting at the computer, eating lunch, or driving the car, I bring my body into the zazen formal posture as best i can and practice a short period of sitting meditation.
  
• Work practice at home. Laundry, house cleaning, gardening, dishes.
  
• Reading several dharma books:
  • Sweeping Changes
  • Zen Seeds
  • Zen Mind, Beginners Mind
  • Dhammapada
  • not always so.
• Listening to the tape series "Meditation and Soto Zen" by Rev. Master Jiyu-Kennett in the car to and from work.

I really would like to have a consistent sitting practice. That’s where the rubber meets the road. And I know that to live the dharma path that is Soto Zen, the experience of a consistent sitting practice is most important.

Well, it looks like it was pink eye. The Doc confirmed it and prescribed some eye drops that should clear things up. This was Amy's very first time getting eye drops in her eyes and she was pretty scared of the whole thing. After the first few drops though she came through like a trooper the next time we had to give them to her. She should be fine in a couple of days. Good thing was caught it early.

I'm home with Amy today. It looks like she might have pink eye. We hope not! We'll have to see what the Dr says.

These words just jumped out at me from Tony's entry today:

It's comforting to know that everything I witness going on around me, is really just "me" in disguise. The world, and all around it, is my vision of how things are. As Maharishi says, "the world is as we are." Our own state of being creates our perception of things.

How true this really is. Excellent reminder Tony, thanks.

Cut to the Chase - Just found this blog site too. Another "Buddhist Blogger" out there!! Cool!

Zen Unbound - Hey, check out this e-zine I just ran across. Looks interesting.

If anyone who has been reading my blog would like to know what I consider the dharma path to be, this is a good start:

You know what just went through my mind as I sit here tying out my personal thoughts on my work laptop (that will be going away after May 23rd)? I was thinking about how I could try to get work to pay for a Dana laptop alternative for $400. Then I started thinking that if they wouldn't pay for it how could I convince Deb to let me use joint money to purchase it (after all, we could deduct it as a business expense next year).

I write out these thoughts to just illustrate to myself my unskillfulness in the area of always wanting/desiring more possessions. Along with this big ticket item on my wishlist is the Zen chime timer/clock for $100. I think that if I just "get" these items that it will make my life so much easier in some profound way. That is the delusion I'm buying into in my head. It's not true. It wasn't true with the $800 Spinner bike that I bought to have inside to ride "at the most convenient times" so I would get into this ideal body shape and become so healthy. It's been over a year and a half and I rode it consistently for about the first six months then it just sat there, instantly turned into a clothes rack. I'm just now getting back to riding it again on a consistent basis.

Why do I think that if I buy this or that, that it's going to profoundly change my life for the better, and feel compelled to impulsively buy things? Maybe it's society's "just pop this pill, and all will feel good" mentality that I'm allowing myself to buy into hook, line and sinker? That's not what living the dharma is all about. Not by a long shot.

I am grateful for the awareness of this negative tendency. Now that I'm aware and have not acted on the impulse, I can work on a more positive habit energy. Maybe one of contentment of all that is good already in my life. Yeah, that's a good place to start.

Added this entry to my links:

• Buddha Dhamma teaching by Ajahn Chah - Wow. I really like this monk's teaching. He's not a Soto Zen monk, or even a Zen monk for that matter. But still his words are the Truth. He expresses Buddhist ideas and concepts in a slightly different (but very effective) way. When I read his teachings on the Eight Fold Path and the Precepts, even though I already know the essence of Buddha's message already, I feel the teaching sinking in deeper when I read Ajahn Chah's words.

Here's an excellent quote on sitting meditation (zazen) I found at today's Daily Dharma page at Tricycle.com.

---

Ajahn Chah, in Samuel Bercholz's Entering the Stream

Let the mind unite in a single point and let that composed mind dwell with the breath. Let the breath be its sole object of knowledge. Concentrate until the mind becomes increasingly subtle, until feelings are insignificant and there is a great inner clarity and wakefulness. Then when painful sensations arise they will gradually cease of their own accord. Finally you'll look on the breath as if it was a relative come to visit you. When a relative leaves, we follow him out and see him off. We watch until he's walked or driven out of sight, and then we go back indoors. We watch the breath in the same way. If the breath is coarse, we know that it's coarse; if it's subtle, we know that it's subtle. As it becomes increasingly fine, we keep following it, while simultaneously awakening the mind. Eventually the breath disappears altogether and all that remains is the feeling of wakefulness. This is called meeting the Buddha.

Check out more new entries to my links.

Added this entry to my links:

• Interlude - Interlude: An Internet Retreat. With the thought of the day and Meditation of the week. I've been visiting this web site at least once a week since 1996 and have always found something to support my spiritual practice.

Below is something that I would like to share. I've quoted the entire article below as the web page will be replaced next week when the new meditation is published.

I love Tom Barrett's writings. This one hits a special cord for me this morning, finding that still place has been hard for me in the past few days.

Finding the Still Place

Or Washing the Doors of Perception

“If the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear to man as it is, infinite.”

William Blake

Great thoughts form in the void between mundane thoughts. Worrying, planning, analyzing, classifying, ordering, criticizing, fantasizing, plotting, fuming, and regretting may serve some purpose in our psychic lives, but they are mostly static for our deeper selves. When we calm down and listen to the inner voice that can best be heard in quiet times, we can access our wiser mind.

Gaining access to the still place can seem like finding the way through a maze in the dark. To find it quickly, when we need it, we must become familiar with the way ahead of time. If we had to find a dark place in a maze quickly, we would want to practice going there over and over, until it became second nature. It is the same with finding our quiet mind. We need to go there repeatedly so that we know the way and it becomes easier to make the trip when we might need to.

If life is stressful, what better time to go inside ourselves just to listen and observe? Wisdom can only come out of accepting what is.  We can only accept what is if we drop through our preconceptions, projections, and fantasies to perceive clearly. Meditation is the tool for cleansing the doors of perception.

Breathing in
Breathing out
Sitting still
Slight inner smile
Ungrasping mind
Open mind
Thoughts pass untethered
Checking posture
Back to the breath
Breathing in
Breathing out
Just sitting
Connected
Not clinging
Awake.

---

Back to the Interlude Home Page

© 2001-2003 Tom Barrett

Quote

"I can feel guilty about the past, apprehensive about the future, but only in the present can I act. The ability to be in the present moment is a major component of mental wellness."

~ Abraham Maslow

The Real "Cost" of War

May we never forget those Iraqi (and non-Iraqi) civilian men, women, and children who paid the ultimate price:

Just a quick follow up to my last post. This article about paying attention just happened to come across the wire of one of the dharma lists that I belong to and I wanted to share it. Pretty apropos don't you think? I certainly thought so!

How am I living the dharma today? By being as fully attentive and present as I can be with my 3 (almost 4) year old daughter in the morning when working towards getting us both out the door on time.

For me this morning, this meant not turning on the TV to watch the news while we both sat down to have breakfast. My first impulse was to just turn on the TV to one of those morning news programs. Then I paused and thought about just being there with Amy and relating to her in the current reality of eating together. And that’s what I did. It was nice. We joked and goofed around and had a good time together.

My Zen practice has helped me be more aware of those habit energies that disconnect me from my family, and being aware of them allows me the opportunity to make a choice. The choice to BE with my family in a very real way. For this wonderful gift I am very grateful to my practice.

For this day, may I continue to have the awareness of those habit energies that tend to pull me out of the reality of my present moment. Once aware, may I always choose the present moment.

Gassho.

-= LINKS =-

I'm going to use this entry as a list of links to websites that I have found to be the most useful in supporting my practice. I hope you can find something that is helpful to you. Please come back often as I will be updating this list on a frequent basis (with newer additions at the top).

• Tidewater Zen Group - Found this group in my travels on the web and just wanted to bookmark it here. They have a translation of the Sandokai here if you’re looking.
• Today at Meetingbrook - I like the thoughts and writings here a lot! Definitely kindred spirits!! I wish I lived closer to Maine to pay this sangha a visit, they sound really neat.
• Zen Center of Pittsburgh - is a Soto Zen Buddhist center in my home state of Pennsylvania. Although it's probably 6 or 7 hours away by car, I would like to visit there someday.
• MyZendo - Hey, here's a cool little applet that rings bells and claps clappers for you at pre-set intervals for timing your meditation period. The coolest part is you can even build your own custom meditation timer for what suits your needs. Very well done and the bells actually sound good to boot!! Go try it out!!
• Ordinary Mind Zendo - This Zendo is in the tradition of Charlotte Joko Beck. The teacher here is Barry Magid. What I like about this site is the teachings page and the writings by the sangha members. What they share here I find very helpful in encouraging my daily practice.
• Austin Zen Center & Zenkei-ji Buddhist Temple - Here's a cool Zen Center web site. AZC is in the tradition of Suzuki-roshi and has a nice one page summary of Soto Zen.
• Bellingham Zen Practice Group - Founded in 1991, the Bellingham Zen Practice Group is a cooperative group of Zen students practicing together in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki-roshi, author of Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind.
• Soto Zen Text Project (SZTP) - This is a project undertaken by the International Division of the Administrative Headquarters of Soto Zen Buddhism (Sotoshu Shumucho) to translate and make available English translations of the major texts of Soto liturgy, ritual, and doctrine. As a Soto Zen practitioner here in America, I am very interested in the fruits of this effort. Check back often as each work will be made available as it is finished.
• Zen Again - Bumped into this excellent website while doing a google search. I really like some of the Zen Japanese peices they have to offer here. Nice website design.
• Soto Zen Temples and Centers - This list is maintained by Sotoshu Shumucho, the Soto Zen headquarters in Japan.
• Vallejo Soto Zen Buddhist Meditation Center - Wow. I like the design of this web site. It's a small web site with not much content but since the Zendo is in the Soto tradition of Shunryu Suzuki-roshi, I wanted to "collect" it here.
• Sonoma Mountain Zen Center - A Zen Center in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki-roshi. Jakusho Kwong-roshi is a successor in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki-roshi. He has been teaching Zen in the United States and Europe for more than thirty years. He is the founder and abbot of the Sonoma Mountain Zen Center outside of Santa Rosa, California. In 1995 he was given the title of Dendo Kyoshi, Zen Teacher, by the Soto School in Japan. He is one of nine Western Zen teachers to receive this acknowledgment. "Zen," he says, "is the aliveness we bring to each moment."
• Berkeley Zen Center - This center was established by Shunryu Suzuki Roshi. They have a few good lectures by Suzuki Roshi here that are some of my favorites.
• 180 Answers About Zen from Master Deshimaru - I just found this page again after about a year. These questions and answers from Master Taisen Deshimaru were and still are very helpfule to my Soto Zen practice. This page and the wisdom on it was one of the reasons I chose Soto Zen.
• Still Mind Zendo - A Soto Zen center in NYC. Sensei Janet Jiryu Abels. Would like to visit sometime.
• Self-Immolation of Thich Quang Duc - Good article on the whole event and why he did it and why it was not considered a suicide under the buddhist precepts. There are a couple of pictures as well so viewer beware.
• Many Paths - A lot of good stuff here for all Spiritual walks of life.
• Elberon Zen Circle - Zen Practice in the tradition of the Soto school in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki-roshi, founder of San Francisco Zen Center.
• No Zendo - Zen, Practice, Zazen: No Zendo. Many people, far from Zen Centers, are interested in practicing on their own or in small groups. Many are asking the same questions: Can one practice zazen without a master or a zendo? How do I do it? What do I need to know? Can one start a small group to practice? Is there any advice for someone like me? FIND YOUR ANSWERS HERE!!
• Zen Center of Los Angeles - A Soto Zen center in the lineage of Taizan Maezumi Roshi. There are some real good Dharma talks here as well as information of starting a sitting practice. I like this site quite a bit!
• Maximum Bliss - Zen Buddhism - This is a nicely done Zen web site. The teachings and articles seem to be coming from the Soto school although it's not explicitly stated anywhere. Nice quotes section as well as Zen story section.
• Sounds True - A wonderful online resource where you can find numerous audio, video and music for the inner life. You'll also find interviews with some of the authors.
• Buddha Dhamma teaching by Ajahn Chah - Wow. I really like this monk's teaching. He's not a Soto Zen monk, or even a Zen monk for that matter. But still his words are the Truth. He expresses Buddhist ideas and concepts in a slightly different (but very effective) way. When I read his teachings on the Eight Fold Path and the Precepts, even though I already know the essence of Buddha's message already, I feel the teaching sinking in deeper when I read Ajahn Chah's words.
  
• Portland Buddhist Priory - A Soto Zen temple associated with the Order of Buddhist Contemplatives (OBC).
  
• Throssel Hole Buddhist Abbey - A Soto Zen Monastery and Retreat Centre associated with the Order of Buddhist Contemplatives (OBC).
  
• The Eugene Zendo - The Eugene Zendo is a Soto Zen Buddhist Temple located in Eugene, Oregon. I found this zen center after reading this quote by Ejo McMullen that really resonated deeply within me. They have a real nice links page too.
  
• Interlude - Interlude: An Internet Retreat. With the thought of the day and Meditation of the week. I've been visiting this web site at least once a week since 1996 and have always found something to support my spiritual practice.
  
• Clouds in Water Zen Center - Clouds in Water Zen Center is in the lineage of Dainin Katagiri-roshi, a Soto Zen monk who came to this country in the early 1960's, worked with Shunryu Suzuki-roshi for ten years at Zen Center in San Francisco, and came to Minnesota in 1972.
  
• Shinzen Young The Science of Meditation in Action - This is a vipassana meditation website. Even though that's not what I am practicing, there are several articles there that talk about samadhi that I have found very helpful in my Soto Zen practice of "just sitting".
  
• Sotozen-Net - Official homepage of the Soto school of Zen.
  
• SAN FRANCISCO ZEN CENTER - A Soto Zen center founded by Shunryu Suzuki-roshi
  
• Crooked Cucumber - Suzuki Roshi Bio & Archive. Check out "The Way of Zen" and other texts here.
  
• Zen Center of Chapel Hill
  
• The Edmonton Buddhist Priory - Associated with the Order of Buddhist Contemplatives
  
• Shasta Abbey Buddhist Supplies: Mail Order On-Line Catalog

Just bumped into this excellent feature put out by the official Japanese Headquarters of Soto Zen Buddhism, SOTOSHU SHUMUCHO.

The Zazen Mind and Way

This is an excellent publication and we (the internet viewing public) are so very blessed that it is made available to us in electronic format on the internet.

Saw the doctor on Monday for a six month checkup. I've gained ten pounds since my last visit six months ago. I'm now 45 pounds overweight. I am not happy with this at all! They also took blood on Monday and I got my blood test results back last night. Everything looked decent except my triglycerides. Doc said they were up to 383 (from 319 six months ago). She asked if I had been sticking to the low fat, low cholesterol diet. I said no. She encouraged me to get back on it and stay on it this time.

I have a family history of heart disease, high cholesterol and high blood pressure and with triglyceride levels like that I'll have a coronary before I'm 40 for sure!!

This has made me look more deeply at how destructive my eating habits have really been. I am basically killing myself. If I look at it this way, I can honestly say I don't want to kill myself. I want plenty of time to be with my family and friends (most especially my three and a half year old daughter Amy). I also want as much time as I can to continually improve my dharma practice and be of some service to my fellow human beings.

Looking honestly at the precept of "Do not kill or harm life" I have to say that I have not been very skillful in following this precept. I have an opportunity to improve my practice every time I eat or drink throughout the day. It's going to take some time and effort to change the destructive habit energies I have build up around my consumption of food and drink. But I need to start to turn my focus to this, NOW.

I found this Soto Zen web site that I really like: White Wind Zen Community.

There are several Dharma talks transcripts available as well as a couple of audio MP3 downloads.

There are also some very well written articles for beginners just coming to meditation.

Nice site, very well done.

Finally, another buddhist blog!

Cloud 9 - Floating along with life

I'm going to check it out and if I like it enough I'll add it to my list.