I'm on this Soto Zen list and every so often someone posts the question: "Why do you practice Zazen?" Well, that question has be echoing in my head the past few days and this morning the answer came to me in the following quote from Thich Nhat Hanh:

"If we are peaceful, if we are happy, we can blossom like a flower, and everyone in our family, our entire society, will benefit from our peace."

~ Thich Nhat Hanh in Being Peace

Today I practice Zazen to be Peace. When I sit, I feel it. Peace. It's there, always, I just need to sit and let go of everything else. When I do this it just feels right.

Do ya think budda would be into rap? I don't know, but I think he'd like this song by the Black Eyed Peas. I know I do!

Sorry to be absent for almost a week. Work has me swamped and my once a year cold is still hitting me pretty hard. Hope to post more in depth soon.

Hey, here’s a site that I just find fascinating...

Ftrain.com

It looks like a weblog but it isn’t. It’s something different. The creator calls it a ‘graph narrative’. What ever it’s called I LIKE IT! The writing is excellent and exploring the site (graph if you will) node by node is fun. I’ve only followed a few node links so far and I find myself getting a bit addicted to exploring the ENTIRE graph just to get an overall picture of what this thing is. I’d better leave it alone for now and come back when I have a little bit more free-time to play around!! :)

I just bumped into this blog via 'The Coffee Sutras' and like it's aestetics as well as the content and thought I'd share.
bhikku | with tow'rs & woods, a prospect all on fire

QUESTION: Who is God? Or, what is God?
ANSWER: It doesn’t matter, just be still and know him.

I’ve got some anger coming up for me today. I belong to a Soto Zen discussion list and there is one person on the list that really rubs me the wrong way. Yesterday and this morning I’ve had a very difficult time keeping my strong emotions in check and responding to his posts in more mindful ways.

I appreciate this awareness and turn to the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha for wisdom and strength to communicate in a more effective manner in the future.

What a wonderful day!! Cool, sunny. The breeze is so refreshing!! Today is a good day, hope yours is too!

Just wanted to share this with others. It really makes you think, especially after last night's address by President Bush and the additional 87 BILLION dollars he's asking congress to approve to continue to fund the war of terrorism.

Dharma The Cat, Episode 60 "War Logic"

Here is one definition of Zen:

"True Zen consists of sitting quietly in the correct posture. It is not a special state, it is the normal state: silent, peaceful, without agitation. Zen means to put the mind at rest and to concentrate the mind and body. In zazen there is no purpose, no seeking to gain something, no special effort or imagination. It is not knowledge to be grasped by the brain. It is solely a practice, a practice which is the true gate to happiness, peace and freedom."

~ Taisen Deshimaru Roshi

Wow, that really resonates with me today.

Nicole asked me about my specific daily practice; hope this isn’t too specific for you Nicole :-)

My Practice Today

I keep my zafu on the floor against the wall on the inside left of my bedroom door so that I see it first thing in the morning on my way to the bathroom. After brushing my teeth and showering, I throw on a tee-shirt and my black sweats. I wear black sweats when meditating at the zendo and it sometimes helps to "get in costume" so to speak while practicing at home.

I place my zafu about 3 feet from the wall and stand right in front of it facing the opposite wall in shashu (the "ready" stance).

I then bow in gassho to the opposite wall and turn clock-wise all the way around and bow in gassho to my cushion.

I then get down on my cushion and settle myself into the most solid zazen position that I can, put my hands in cosmic mudra and meditate facing the blank white wall.

After meditating, I bow in gassho (in appreciation) to the wall while still sitting. Then I slowly get out of the seated position and reshape my zafu.

Then standing up, still facing the wall (and my cushion), I bow in gassho to my cushion in appreciation for it's support during meditation.

I turn clock-wise with hands in shashu to the opposite wall. I then bow in gassho one last time to the opposite wall.

Once in a great while I'll do kinhin (walking meditation) for 5 minutes or so. Then I put my zafu back on the floor against the wall on the inside left of my bedroom door for next time.

Bowing in gassho to the opposite wall those few times might not make sense, but when meditating in the zendo we're actually bowing in gassho to the other practitioners who are meditating along the opposite wall. I just follow that same practice at home to keep my practice congruent with my practice at the zendo.

As far as Buddhist icons or other paraphernalia, other than my buckwheat hull zafu (I like the firmer support that the buckwheat hulls give over kapok), bedroom carpeting and blank white wall, I don't have an alter or anything else set up yet as part of my practice. I would like to offer a lit stick of incense for my meditation period, but my wife is allergic to the smoke (grrrrr...).

Sharing this...The Coffee Sutras: Morning verses

Today is a good day. Rainy, but good.

Despite less than optimal conditions on a frequent basis, I have been successful in sitting zazen on an almost twice daily basis (in the mornings and at night). I think I missed a day this past week, but overall my daily sitting practice has really become much more consistent.

The key for me has been the realization that once a day, I need to just sit down on my cushion and assume my zazen posture whether I meditate or not. Now that the pressure to sit and meditate for at least 15 minutes is off, I can just sit. With no expectations as to how long I will sit, I just sit. What wonderful freedom. It’s funny, with that freedom I’m finding that I end up meditating for probably at least 5 or 10 minutes. I don’t know for sure as I’ve put my meditation timer away.

All I know is this is feeling right for me. I feel as though I’m easing my body into a daily practice that can only grow with time. Having patience and gentleness towards myself is the key.

I feel content with my practice today. That’s a comfortable feeling. I like it.

Hey this survey was fun! Thanks nicole!

last cigarette: 1989
last car ride: driving to work, 8:00 this morning
last kiss: dropping my 4 year old off for her first day of kindergarden
last good cry: 3 weeks ago
last library book checked out: 6 months ago
last movie seen: Finding Nemo
last book read: No Beginning, No End: The Intimate Heart of Zen
last cuss word uttered: Fuckin'
last beverage drank: Coffee
last food consumed: Pepperoni Pizza
last phone call: Wife
last tv show watched: Law and Order
last time showered: this morning
last shoes worn: tassle loafers
last cd played: Country Bears (Disney Movie Soundtrack)
last item bought: Pepperoni Pizza
last annoyance: ThinkPad Modem on the fritz in my laptop
last disappointment: Not geting the desktop back from Gateway as promised
last soda drank: Sprite
last thing written: Journal entry
last key used: Desk Key at work
last words spoken: "see ya later"
last sleep: 10p to 6a
last im: Jeanmarie
last sexual fantasy: This morning at Java City ;-)
last weird encounter: Fred the mailman
last ice cream eaten: Baskin Robbin's Chocolate Peanutbutter in a Waffle cone
last time amused: Last night at my daughter's before bed antics
last time wanting to die: Haven't really ever wanted to
last time in love: I don't remember...
last time hugged: Today
last time scolded: Yesterday
last time resentful: Today
last chair sat in: Office chair
last underwear worn: Jockey boxers
last shirt worn: Landsend button down Oxford
last time dancing: Dinner Dogs concert
last poster looked at: Lance Armstrong's 2002 Tour de Fance win
last show attended: Dinner Dogs (with my four year old daughter)
last webpage visited: harmonyblue.com

Here's a quote that I ran across in my collection that really speaks to why I choose to practice Zen on a daily basis:

"Our main focus is in putting ourselves in the presence of the divine truth very directly and allowing our life to align with it."

~ Ejo McMullen, resident priest at the Eugene Zendo in Eugene Oregon