A place to share my experiences in trying to put the dharma into practice in my everyday life.
The longest journey isBringing the stillness of seated meditation into the world of action is just as important as cultivating a regular sitting practice.
the journey inward. . . .
The road to holiness
necessarily passes through
the world of action.~ Dag Hammarskjöld
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This book just came across the wire via my Amazon alerts:
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Here's a Newsweek article on 'mindfulness' and how it can help with dealing with pain and other worries of life. It's interesting to see this really hitting the mainstream media a lot lately. It's a good thing, don't you think?
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Sound advice for beginners to the Way:
People learning the way should first empty and quiet their minds. This is because the mind must be empty before it can mystically understand the subtle principle. If the mind is not emptied, it is like a lamp in the wind, or like turbulent water, how can it reflect the myriad forms?
Therefore learners should first stop cogitation and minimize objects of attention, making the mind empty and quiet. After that you have a basis for attaining the way. As Te-shan said, "Just have no mind on things and no things in your mind, and you will naturally be empty and spiritual, tranquil and sublime."
Nevertheless, you should not settle in empty quietude, sitting relaxed and untrammeled in nothingness. You must be truly attentive, investigating diligently, before you can break through the barrier of illusion and accomplish the great task. People's forces of habit, accumulated since beginningless time, are deep seated; if you want to uproot them today, it will not be easy. You need to have a firm will constantly spurring you on. Strive to make progress in the work, without thinking about how much time it will take. When you have practiced for a long time, you will naturally become peaceful and whole. Why seek any other particular method?~Yuan-hsien (1618-1697)
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While researching Matcha bowls and the Japanese Tea Ceremony online I came across this great resource (JAANUS). Excellent historical explanations and definitions of Japanese Art, Architecture and Culture.
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Here's an interesting little article I came across today: Zen and the art of slam dancing. There are a few good take aways in there. I especially liked Brad Warner's comments on zazen being "tedious and awful", and "your brain is in constant motion like there's a hive of angry wasps in your head". More often than not this is SO true!
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Am I truly willing to do what my Zen practice time and time again seems to be asking of me? Namely, stopping the intellectual practice of pursuing thoughts, words and external stimuli and learn, truly learn, the practice of looking into the mind source?
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my mind is racing this morning
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When you try to understand everything,So I came across this quote this week after posting last week verse 67 of the Gospel of Thomas. Coincidence? I think not! I wonder how many of Jesus' sayings that are recorded in the Gospel of Thomas have similar parallels to the teachings of the great Zen patriarchs (including Buddha himself)? I just might have to get this book and find out for myself.
you will not understand anything.
The best way is to understand yourself,
and then you will understand everything.~ Shunryu Suzuki-Roshi
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Like a moth to a flame, I am drawn back again and again and again. I don't really know why I allow myself to be drawn to it. The pull is so powerful. It starts with a single thought that gets caught and entertained. Then, before I know it, I've given it enough energy that it gets transformed into this unbelievably strong urge to act. All I know is I don't want to be drawn to it; I don't want to act on these thoughts.
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I never quite heard it put this way:
People born into this floating worldI'm rather fond of this passage.
Quickly become like roadside dust:
At dawn, little children,
By sunset, white-haired and old,
with no inner understanding
They struggle without cease.
I ask the children of the universe,
Why do you bother to pass this way?~ Ryokan
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Jesus said, "Whoever knows the all but fails to know himselfIcchantika has introduced me to the Gospel of Thomas, a lost text of 114 sayings of Jesus of Nazareth. I've only come across one or two of these sayings so far, but from just these, I find a deep resonance within to the message being conveyed. I am now utterly fascinated and caught up with wanting to know all I can about this Gospel of Thomas and the other texts found at Nag Hammadi.
lacks everything."~ Gospel of Thomas
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To divide and particularize is in the mind's very nature. There is no harm in dividing. But separation goes against fact. Things and people are different, but they are not separate. Nature is one, reality is one. There are opposites, but no opposition.You know, intellectually I can read and understand the words above, but I don't think I really understand the whole concept of 'different but not separate'. I fool myself (and others) sometimes with pretending to understand this, but I really don't. I suppose in time, with more practice, I will come to a clearer more experiential understanding.
~ Nisargadatta Maharaj
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I am what you would call a classic 'seeker'. Spiritual matters have always been of utmost importance to me. I'm learning to apply this spiritual drive (and it's fruits) to the practicalities of life in hopes of living a life of purpose and meaning. I can take things WAY too seriously sometimes and part of my journey on the path is learning to lighten up and have good time.
