Thus have I read

Poem - Japan

2012-01-04T20:22:00.002Z

I was so delighted by this poem that Barry posted over on Ox Herding - End of Year Poems 3, that I am re-posting it here. If you're not already familiar with Ox Herding I suggest you check it out and enjoy browsing back through the many wonderful posts there.

Japan

Today I pass the time reading

a favorite haiku,

saying the few words over and over.

It feels like eating

the same small, perfect grape

again and again.

I walk through the house reciting it

and leave its letters falling

through the air of every room.

I stand by the big silence of the piano and say it.

I say it in front of a painting of the sea.

I tap out its rhythm on an empty shelf.

I listen to myself saying it,

then I say it without listening,

then I hear it without saying it.

And when the dog looks up at me,

I kneel down on the floor

and whisper it into each of his long white ears.

It's the one about the one-ton temple bell

with the moth sleeping on its surface,

and every time I say it, I feel the excruciating

pressure of the moth

on the surface of the iron bell.

When I say it at the window,

the bell is the world

and I am the moth resting there.

When I say it at the mirror,

I am the heavy bell

and the moth is life with its papery wings.

And later, when I say it to you in the dark,

you are the bell,

and I am the tongue of the bell, ringing you,

and the moth has flown

from its line

and moves like a hinge in the air above our bed.

- From Sailing Alone Around the Room, by Billy Collins

The haiku it refers to is helpfully provided in the comments by "Matt W" -

On the one-ton temple bell

a moon-moth, folded into sleep,

sits still.

~ Taniguchi Buson (1716-1783)

Dainin Katagiri Roshi vs Descartes

2011-07-31T19:38:00.000+01:00

"I think; therefore, I am," [Dainin Katagiri] Roshi quoted Descartes's famous line. "I'm sure he knew, but forgot to mention," and here Roshi took a long pause, "I don't think; therefore, I'm not."

Goldberg, Natalie, THE GREAT FAILURE: A Bartender, a Monk, and My Unlikely Path to Truth, HarperSanFranciscoPuffin, New York, 2004. p110.

---

Recently re-reading Goldberg's book this particular paragraph struck me once again.

I don't know if Descartes did know or not, but I do feel that the second half of this equation is often missing in the common 'Western' understanding of the world. We claim our existence, claim our separateness from all else, but forget, or do not know, that we too are interconnected with everything, that we are also no-thing, we are part of the ongoing process of the universe.

Chan Master Dr John Crook (1930 - 2011)

2011-07-16T20:12:00.000+01:00

The following has been posted on the WCF website today:

16th July 2011

It is with great sadness and sense of loss that we announce that Chan Master Dr John Crook has died suddenly at his home at Winterhead Hill Farm in Somerset, UK.

John was the first Western Dharma Heir of the late Chan Master Sheng-yen. He was the founding Teacher of the Western Chan Fellowship which is a lay Chan Buddhist community with members and associates in UK and Europe. He was a pioneer who brought great wisdom and creativity to the translation of Chinese Chan Buddhism into a Western context. Through the establishment of the WCF and the training of its leaders he has ensured that this work will continue.

Details of ceremonies will be announced on the WCF website when arrangements have been made

---

John is my teacher. His death is sudden and surprising news. When I saw John earlier this year he was physically and mentally very active and well. I read the latest New Chan Forum (43) yesterday, which he contributed to and edited, so I felt him and his teaching to be very near.

Gate, Gate, Paragate, Parasamgate, Bodhi Svaha!

The Path is Personal and Intimate

2011-06-12T21:29:00.000+01:00

It is essential at the beginning of practice to acknowledge that the path is personal and intimate. It is no good to examine it from a distance as if it were someone else’s. You must walk it for yourself. In this spirit, you invest yourself in your practice, confident of your heritage, and train earnestly side by side with your sisters and brothers. It is this engagement that brings peace and realization.

- Robert Aitken Roshi, "The Teacher in Everything"

Received as Daily Dharma from Tricycle.com on the 12th of June 2011

---

I think Robert Aitken Roshi makes an important point here: "It is this engagement that brings peace and realization." Not some amazing 'spiritual experience', not meditating for hours on end, not cracking a particular Koan, not receiving a nice pat on the head from the teacher, not taking vows, not becoming a monastic... although of course all these things will bring about their own results.

It is the genuine hard work and engagement with something that has deep personal meaning that brings peace and realization.

Buddhism is not about "being in the present"

2011-06-05T10:06:00.000+01:00

Let go of the past.

Let go of the future.

Let go of the present.

With a heart that is free

cross over to that shore

which is beyond suffering.

- Dhammapada Verse 348

---

People often have an idea that Buddhism is about "Being In The Present" or a variation on this. This verse reminds us that the present only exists in relation to the future and/or the past and cannot be separated from either.

Buddhism is not about "being in the present", it is the path that leads beyond these distinctions, to that which is beyond suffering.

The Way Things Are

2011-05-04T20:26:00.000+01:00

One of the main pursuits of Buddhism is to bridge the gap between the way things appear and the way things are. That approach does not come just from a curiosity to investigate phenomena. It arises from the understanding that an incorrect perception of reality inevitably leads to suffering.

- Matthieu Ricard, "Why Meditate?"

Received as Daily Dharma from Tricycle.com on the 4th of May 2011

---

It's always good to be reminded of what the purpose of practice is and isn't. And to keep things simple.

“This has nothing to do with me!”

2011-02-27T13:20:00.004Z

When practising on retreat, isolate yourself. First, drop everything from the past and everything related to the future. Create an island of time that separates you from before and after these seven [retreat] days. Refrain from reading, writing, talking, and making phone calls. So far as the outside world is concerned, you did not exist before and you will not exist afterwards. You are living on a virgin island with no knowledge of anything outside. Unless you think like this, you will be dragging along a huge tail, carrying a lot of baggage, and it will be very painful. You will have come not to meditate but to indulge in false thinking. If any outside thoughts occur, tell yourself: “I was born on this virgin island. These outside thoughts have nothing to do with me.”

Second, isolate yourself from others. Within this island of time, create an island of space, which only you inhabit. There is only one person on your [meditation] cushion – you. Give your body to the cushion and your mind to the [meditation] method. If people walk by you or sit beside you, this has nothing to do with you. If someone behaves strangely, if someone runs in and does cartwheels, or if your back itches, you still respond the same way: “This has nothing to do with me!”

There is a saying, “Fundamentally there is nothing in the world to be concerned about, but people make trouble for themselves.” If the outside world does not influence your mind, nothing can disturb you. Third, isolate yourself from your previous thought and from your succeeding thought. Good or bad, do not be concerned with them. Just take the present thought and tie it to the meditation method – that is what’s most important [during the retreat]. The past is gone, the present is dying, and the future is not yet. Regrets, dissatisfactions, worries, expectations – these are all delusions; do not waste a second on them.

- Master Sheng Yen, Attaining the Way: A Guide to the Practice of Chan Buddhism

Received via The Daily Enlightenment's weekly Buddhist email newsletter 11 Nov 2010.

---

As always, Master Sheng Yen offers simple down-to-earth advice for deepening our practice whether we are on retreat or not. We love to get involved in things inside our mind, outside our mind (is anything?) in our life and in the lives of those around us. But really, does it have anything to do with us?

Master Sheng Yen 聖嚴法師

2011-02-23T22:34:00.004Z

Dharma Drum Mountain have put together a wonderful resource of Master Sheng Yen's life and teachings at Shengyen.org in Traditional Mandarin, Simplified Mandarin and English including:

About Master Sheng Yen
Publications
Video
Audio
Photos
Historic Items
Daily Wisdom
Links

There are many videos with English subtitles and publications available to read on the website or to download.

My deep gratitude to those who have put together this rich resource and to Master Sheng Yen for his lifetime's work

_/\_

What is True Freedom?

2011-02-22T14:32:00.003Z

When I look for freedom today I find it not in fantasy or in dreams, but in my sitting practice. What kind of freedom is it that exists in doing nothing? It is the freedom not to interfere or react. It is the freedom to merely observe. I don’t have to judge the trauma that arises in mind. I don’t have to get involved with the hundred narratives that might try to occupy my mind during the day. In not clinging to thoughts and ideas, wants and desires, hatreds and resentments, the bondages of my most negative thoughts and emotions have faded into a haze that still arises but no longer dominates my life. I have found freedom: it is the freedom of nonattachment, the freedom to not cling and to not resist. It is the freedom to allow myself to be with myself.

- Ananda Baltrunas, "A Prison of Desire"

Received as Daily Dharma from Tricycle.com on the 19th of December 2010

---

There seems to be vast plethora of people and websites around these days promising freedom in some form or another. These usually amount to e-books, on-line course, coaching and the like to help you leave your current job and become "free" by emulating the person or website offering the advice. Some of it could well be very valid and useful advice and guidance, getting out of an unpleasant job might well be a first step to gaining some clarity in life, writing about and sharing your skills with other in a helpful way is usually a good thing. Travelling to experience difference places and cultures is also usually a good thing.

However, as Ananda Baltrunas sets out very clearly, true freedom comes from not having to interfere or react to whatever arises in life. Leaving a job, becoming self-employed, earning a passive income on-line, travelling to different places - all of these still have in place the one key limitation of your freedom: you!

Find the freedom to be yourself without clinging or resisting though and it won't matter if you are employed, self-employed, unemployed, at home or abroad, you won't be a problem for yourself! That way, you can truly focus your energy on doing the work that you know matters most, whatever that might be.

Children are exemplars of the art of being

2011-02-13T18:59:00.005Z

not teaching children to meditate
November 30th, 2010

How do you teach children to meditate?
I’m asked about this all the time. Please know that I speak only from my own perspective as a mother and a practitioner. Everyone has his or her own view. Here is mine.

Children don’t need to learn to meditate. Parents do. Children are immensely helped in all ways by living with one or more parents who practice meditation. One powerful way is that our children see us do it, regularly, like brushing our teeth and putting dirty clothes in the hamper.

This might sound like heresy coming from a Buddhist priest. After all, there are many well-meaning parents and programs that aim to teach children meditation. Young children are very curious and adaptable, and with clever instruction, they can be taught nearly anything. But my point is that children already practice single-minded attention and non-distracted awareness. You may not see it in their stillness, but in their activity: games, art, or outdoor exploration. (Engaging with your children in any of these activities is a form of group meditation.) We all have this capacity for single-minded focus within us. As adults, we practice to return to this state – the state where we can get lost, devotedly, in what we are doing, carefree and undisturbed.

My teacher sums it up quite clearly every time he reminds our sangha: “We don’t practice to cultivate our Buddha Nature. Our Buddha Nature is functioning perfectly. We practice because we are neurotic!” Not many children are yet neurotic, plagued by delusive thoughts, fears and feelings of alienation. This is what I mean when I wrote in Chapter 24 of Momma Zen: “Children are exemplars of the art of being.” The aim of all Buddhist practice is to return to our natural state of wide-eyed wonder and unselfconsciousness that we can observe in our children many times a day.

But I can’t get my child to pay attention to me.

A lot of conflicts arise because children persist in doing what we don’t want them to do. It seems like it’s hard to redirect or distract them. Isn’t it funny that the fact that our children are undistractedly doing what we don’t want them to do absolutely drives us crazy?! They don’t yet have problems concentrating! We more often have trouble loving and accepting them as they are, trusting that they are changing and growing all the time, and usually doing what they need to. If you are afraid, by the way, that your children are exposed to too much electronic media, then you need to take care of that directly, by limiting their access. I completely support that kind of clear-eyed discipline. Making that change can be very difficult, but it is indisputably wise.

As for attention, I have seen with my own eyes that the best way to receive attention is to cultivate my own, and give it.

How do we teach compassion?

The virtues of compassion and forgiveness aren’t instilled by discussion or imposition, but rather, they are revealed as our innate wisdom by our practice. When we ourselves have our own regular at-home practice we might realize that our children are already naturally compassionate and forgiving. They care about the world, and they don’t hold grudges. They care about small things – insects, rocks, animals – and they care about big things – the oceans, the Earth and the universe. Usually, they care far more than we do! Compassion and wisdom are the natural characteristics of our own nature, the nature we as adults reveal to ourselves through our own sitting practice. When we reveal them to ourselves, our actions reinforce them in our children, and they learn from us by seeing how we live.

But I want to give my child life skills that my parents didn’t give me.

None of this means there isn’t a way to help our growing children deal with their fears and anxieties. There is. But we deal with it as it appears. We cannot inoculate our children from life’s hardships. We can only give them our nonjudgmental company through the bumps. If you have specific questions about the methods I’ve used, please ask and I’ll write about them. Suffice it to say, helping anyone focus on his or her own breathing in a quiet room is just about the only thing I teach.

What about teaching mindfulness in schools and to treat ADHD?

Recent research documents the extraordinary therapeutic benefits of meditation, or so-called “mindfulness” practice in treating ADHD and other behavioral issues in our families and schools, but I leave that to the doctors and therapists to expound. If you have to deal with those realities, and many families these days do, you will be best advised by the experts, counselors and social scientists. I’m confident that the benefits of meditation in any setting or situation, wherever the need and urgency arises, are profound. What I’d like you to do first is prove it to yourself, over and over.

Shouldn’t I be giving my child a spiritual upbringing?

About the spiritual training of young, my view is a bit of the same. How you behave in your home is their spiritual upbringing. I think we have to be careful with all forms of ideological indoctrination, and that is what spiritual training is in children: the imposition of a set of abstract beliefs and ideals. Children will take these from of us, but I don’t think dogma serves anyone for long. After all, I was a very good Sunday School student, the star of my confirmation class, and yet I had my own spiritual crisis to resolve later in life. We all do.

I always remind myself that I’m not trying to raise a Buddhist child. I’m trying to raise a Buddhist mother, and it’s taking all my time! Not only my family, but also everyone everywhere will be served by my devoted discipline in my own training. Not because I’m self-important, but in recognition of the one true reality: no self. We are all interdependent, which means we are all one.

Do you ever worry that you’re not giving your child what she needs in the future?

Of course, all the time. When my daughter has her time of spiritual doubt and searching, I hope she remembers the warmhearted attention, quietude and acceptance of home. I can’t know for sure when that time might come, but that’s the best gift I can give her: a way home. As for when I will teach her to meditate, the answer is when she asks. The best way for you to share your practice with your children is the very way you share it with the world – by your steadfast, unconditional love and acceptance, and your selfless response to needs that arise. Simply put: by paying attention.

Not teaching your child to meditate may be your most effective meditation.

You might find these further tips and reminders helpful:

The Monastery of Mom & Dad
8 Ways to Raise a Mindful Child
10 Tips for a Mindful Home
15 Ways to Practice Compassion on the Way Home for Dinner

Reproduced in full from cherrio road by Karen Maezen Miller

---

I have read and re-read this post from Karen Maezen Miller's blog several times, and I am struck each time by the wisdom it offers. I have taken the liberty of reproducing it in full here as an acknowledgement of my gratitude and to share it further. I highly recommend Karen Maezen Miller's blog and books for her sharp wisdom and soft gentleness.

Economics as if People Mattered

2011-02-13T10:27:00.003Z

While the materialist is mainly interested in goods, the Buddhist is mainly interested in liberation. But Buddhism is “The Middle Way” and therefore in no way antagonistic to physical well-being. It is not wealth that stands in the way of liberation but the attachment to wealth; not the enjoyment of pleasurable things but the craving for them. The keynote of Buddhist economics, therefore, is simplicity and non-violence. From an economist’s point of view, the marvel of the Buddhist way of life is the utter rationality of its pattern—amazingly small means leading to extraordinarily satisfactory results.

For the modern economist this is very difficult to understand. He is used to measuring the “standard of living” by the amount of annual consumption, assuming all the time that a man who consumes more is “better off” than a man who consumes less. A Buddhist economist would consider this approach excessively irrational: since consumption is merely a means to human well-being, the aim should be to obtain the maximum of well-being with the minimum of consumption. Thus, if the purpose of clothing is a certain amount of temperature comfort and an attractive appearance, the task is to attain this purpose with the smallest possible effort, that is, with the smallest annual destruction of cloth and with the help of designs that involve the smallest possible input of toil. The less toil there is, the more time and strength is left for artistic creativity.

It would be highly uneconomic, for instance, to go in for complicated tailoring, like the modern West, when a much more beautiful effect can be achieved by the skillful draping of uncut material. It would be the height of folly to make material so that it should wear out quickly and the height of barbarity to make anything ugly, shabby, or mean. What has just been said about clothing applies equally to all other human requirements. The ownership and the consumption of goods is a means to an end, and Buddhist economics is the systematic study of how to attain given ends with the minimum means.

- E.F. Schumacher, Small is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered (Excerpt, Full Article here.)

---

Received via The Daily Enlightenment's weekly Buddhist email newsletter 05 Jan 2011.

Be Grateful to Everyone

2010-12-30T22:06:00.003Z

Gratitude does not seem to be that front and central nowadays. Instead of appreciating what we have, we keep focusing on what we do not have. We are filled with grudges and resentments and have strong opinions about what we deserve and what is our due. We may be taught to say “Please” and “Thank you,” but what have we been taught about appreciation? In our commodified world, we see things as material for our consumption. We don’t ask, we just take. And in the blindness of our wealth and privilege, we don’t see how much we have to be grateful for. We take all that we have for granted and we live in a very ungrateful world... I think we need to work on our basic gratitude, first. Simply adding this dimension to the way we view things would be a great improvement.

- Judy Lief, "Train Your Mind: Be Grateful to Everyone"

Received as Daily Dharma from Tricycle.com on the 25th of December 2010

---

And gratitude takes practice. We started a gratitude practice in our family a while back now: at every meal we all hold hands and each share something we are grateful for. We usually eat together at the table and this helps us to slow down and connect, it helps our time together and our eating to be more mindful. Sometimes we are grateful for the food, sometimes for each other, sometimes for something planned but yet to happen, after a little practice it's easy to find something to be grateful for. After all, the very fact that we can sit together and share a meal means we that have so very much to be grateful for.

Humility: Breath is Truth

2010-12-30T21:50:00.005Z

Some people practice throughout their entire lives just by paying attention to breathing. Everything that is true about anything is true about breath: it's impermanent; it arises and it passes away. Yet if you didn't breathe, you would become uncomfortable; so then you would take in a big inhalation and feel comfortable again. But if you hold onto the breath, it's no longer comfortable, so you have to breathe out again. All the time shifting, shifting.

- Sylvia Boorstein, "Body as Body"

Received as Daily Dharma from Tricycle.com on the 27th of December 2010

---

A gentle nudge towards humility - we don't need a special and challenging Gongan (Koan) or Huatou, we don't need bells and gongs, we don't need to sit in a special posture - we have everything we need in this body to practice and to wake up.

Is enlightenment possible for laypeople?

2010-12-16T23:24:00.004Z

Often we feel our everyday secular lives are in conflict with our pursuit of the teachings. How possible is it really for one who goes to work every day, has demanding familial obligations, lives among countless distractions?...

If somebody renounces the world, lives in a monastery, and studies the Buddhist teachings, they become learned and a very gentle, accomplished person; that’s... not very surprising. That’s their job; that’s what they spend all their time on. But if a layperson receives the pithy instructions on how to be able to practice the heart of the Buddha’s teachings during daily life situations, and then with sincerity and perseverance practices that, in every single moment, with mindfulness and with some kind of real integrity, and then achieves awakening while taking care of obligations, one’s duties, and one’s family, and so forth, that is truly surprising, because that’s difficult. And yet there are the profound instructions of Mahamudra and Dzogchen that are designed in such a way so that this is possible. As a matter of fact, there have been a huge number of laypeople in India and in Tibet who not only attained levels of enlightenment, in other words, became really accomplished, but also some who, at the time of death, left behind what is called the “rainbow body” as a manifest sign of complete enlightenment.

- Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche, "Keeping a Good Heart"

Received as Daily Dharma from Tricycle.com on the 14th of December 2010

---

Good news then for all lay practitioners, it's hard work but it's possible. Keep on practicing with sincerity and perseverance, mindfulness and integrity.

Action: Get Up #Reverb10

2010-12-13T21:32:00.000Z

December 13: Action
When it comes to aspirations, it’s not about ideas. It’s about making ideas happen. What’s your next step?
(Author: Scott Belsky)

Get Up.

It's easy to lie in bed and think. Thoughts take over, fantasy pervades, the morning passes by. Well not the whole morning necessarily, but maybe 5 or 10 precious minutes. Getting up before the thoughts take control is always the next step upon waking.

---

I'm participating in Reverb10 and reflecting on my Dharma practice (i.e. life!) in 2010 as explained briefly in a previous post. Feel free to join in on your blog and/or add your comments on my reflections.

Body Integration #Reverb10

2010-12-12T20:52:00.003Z

December 12: Body Integration
This year, when did you feel the most integrated with your body? Did you have a moment where there wasn’t mind and body, but simply a cohesive YOU, alive and present?
(Author: Patrick Reynolds)

Prostrating. One at a time, one hundred and eight times, head down, palms up, releasing.

Stillness, movement, being. Mindfulness.

---

I'm participating in Reverb10 and reflecting on my Dharma practice (i.e. life!) in 2010 as explained briefly in a previous post. Feel free to join in on your blog and/or add your comments on my reflections.

11 Things - Get Real #Reverb

2010-12-11T20:51:00.004Z

December 11: 11 Things
What are 11 things your life doesn’t need in 2011? How will you go about eliminating them? How will getting rid of these 11 things change your life?
(Author: Sam Davidson)

I don't know about 11 things per se. However I have found through this Reverb10 journey that there are probably 11 minutes (or considerably more) of internet time that I don't need to spend online and could do with eliminating. There are whole thought processes that spiral along from one internet dot to another internet dot, connecting and making all sorts of pattens.

Not only does time spent online take up time that could be spent more closely with family, formal practice, reading real books, washing the dishes, etc. (moments of quiet joy where we can touch reality, unvarnished by thoughts or fantasies of it being any way other than it is), it also feeds these spiralling thought processes that take attention away from moment by moment awareness.

There is so much information on the internet these days and so many interesting and good things to read and places to interact with other people online. But actually I'm not convinced that being online so much is necessary or that it is contributing to my quality of life. I'm not sure I'm being useful, or of service, by being online.

Everett Bogue wrote about "mindfulness training for the digital self" which hints at similar things, although he has his particular take on the "digital self". And there are also people such as Gwen Bell and Tammy Strobel advocating "Digital Sabbaticals". These are interesting and useful reflections, but still predicated on a necessity of being online. I don't see that this really applies to my Dharma practice.

So in 2011, I plan to reduce and re-focus my online time and presence, to allow more time to get real.

---

I'm participating in Reverb10 and reflecting on my Dharma practice (i.e. life!) in 2010 as explained briefly in a previous post. Feel free to join in on your blog and/or add your comments on my reflections.

Party #Reverb10

2010-12-09T20:11:00.001Z

December 9: Party
Prompt: Party. What social gathering rocked your socks off in 2010? Describe the people, music, food, drink, clothes, shenanigans.
(Author: Shauna Reid)

I can't say I've attended any Dharma party or practise related party this year! I did, however, attend an evening with a meditation group where Dr John Crook, first Western Dharma Heir of Master Sheng Yen and teacher of the Western Chan Fellowship gave a talk.

Two things stuck with me.

Firstly, he gave time to each question and answered each directly and fully. For example, my 9yo son who came along asked him a variety of questions such as "Is sleeping meditation?"; "What is your favourite animal?"; "Why do people use candles when they meditate?" He answered each of these questions with as much sincerity and engagement as he answered the detailed questions from adults about Buddhism and meditation techniques.

Secondly, the talking wasn't it. Being around him has a certain indescribable quality. And he returned a number of times to the question: "What is this?" Gesturing each time to the space of the present moment. Each time the room fell silent, a deeper silence than just a lack of noise. If we wake up, open our eyes, be present, what is this?

It was an enjoyable and touching evening, John is a wonderful teacher and an inspiring person to spend time with. I am always deeply grateful for the opportunity to receive his teaching and to simply enjoy his company.

---

I'm participating in Reverb10 and reflecting on my Dharma practice (i.e. life!) in 2010 as explained briefly in a previous post. Feel free to join in on your blog and/or add your comments on my reflections.

Beautifully Different #Reverb10

2010-12-08T19:39:00.002Z

December 8: Beautifully Different.
Think about what makes you different and what you do that lights people up. Reflect on all the things that make you different – you’ll find they’re what make you beautiful
(Author: Karen Walrond)

Or not. Reflecting on what makes me different brings me full circle to an understanding that all the times I see myself as different are all the times I create a sense of separation. A false sense.

Facing this was part of my practice in 2010 and continues to be. Giving up the story that I am somehow unique, somehow more deserving, somehow special, somehow different.

People light up when they can see and feel that you are truly present. When you aren't being separate.

First, give up the story of being different. Let it go. Put it down.

Second, be present.

Third, practise.

---

I'm participating in Reverb10 and reflecting on my Dharma practice (i.e. life!) in 2010 as explained briefly in a previous post. Feel free to join in on your blog and/or add your comments on my reflections.

Exploring Sangha #Reverb10

2010-12-07T08:53:00.014Z

December 7: Community
Prompt: Community. Where have you discovered community, online or otherwise, in 2010? What community would you like to join, create or more deeply connect with in 2011?
(Author: Cali Harris)

My explorations of Sangha online and in real life during 2010 do not seem to have amounted to anything specific on first glance.

I am a fellow of The Western Chan Fellowship but because the nearest group is over 20 miles away I very rarely connect with them or attend the meditation evenings. I aim to attend at least one retreat with them each year, but for various reasons haven't in 2010. There are some other local Buddhist groups, but I haven't discovered any yet that I feel moved to participate with.

I also read a few Buddhist blogs such as Ox Herding, Cheerio Road, Jade Mountains, Zen - the Possible Way and Mountain Practice (from my blog list on the right), some more religiously than others (could resist sorry!) I occasionally comment on these blogs and connect with some of the author/practitioners via twitter.

My wife and I practice together now and then, and we share the same practice space, so in a sense the other is always present when we practice even if they aren't physically there. We are Dharma partners as well as life partners, something I am deeply grateful for. And I'm clear that my family is the most important community that I am part of, it is the very foundation that my life springs from, it is where my daily life and practice are grounded.

So what to make of it all? Of this web of loose communities I relate to?

Am I really a solo practitioner without Sangha?

Perhaps I am, I certainly value my solitude highly.

And yet, reflecting on this tonight, I don't really see myself as a Sangha-less solo practitioner. True enough that through much of 2010 I have practised physically on my own. But even then, even when I sit alone in a room, even alone in the house sometimes, I am sitting with all those who also practice. I sit with those I've mentioned above, I sit with the esteemed masters I've only ever read about, right back to Siddhārtha Gautama, the Buddha, and with all the other countless unknown beings also practising awakening.

We can think we are alone, solo practitioners. Our surroundings, feelings and thoughts can conspire to support this view. But really we can't escape, when we practise, we are part of the Sangha. We are part of the living, breathing community of all beings. We simply can't do it alone. We practise together with all those from the past, the future and the present. They support our practise as we support theirs. As we awaken, they awaken, and as they awaken, we awaken.

There is no alone.

---

I'm participating in Reverb10 and reflecting on my Dharma practice (i.e. life!) in 2010 as explained briefly in a previous post. Feel free to join in on your blog and/or add your comments on my reflections.

Make #Reverb10

2010-12-06T09:40:00.004Z

December 6: Make.
What was the last thing you made? What materials did you use? Is there something you want to make, but you need to clear some time for it?
(Author: Gretchen Rubin)

Christmas cards!

We used plain white card, felt tip pens, plain pencils and coloured pencils too! It was a family occasion around the living room table and a way to practice mindfulness together while expressing our gratitude and loving kindness towards family members that live far away.

Moments like these are precious opportunities to wake up. No need to have expensive toys or entertainment, no need for special postures, incense or chanting. Pay attention, be present, breathe, place the felt tip onto the paper: draw. Ah.

---

I'm participating in Reverb10 and reflecting on my Dharma practice (i.e. life!) in 2010 as explained briefly in a previous post. Feel free to join in on your blog and/or add your comments on my reflections.

Let Go #Reverb10

2010-12-05T21:06:00.005Z

December 5: Let Go.
What (or whom) did you let go of this year? Why
(Author: Alice Bradley)

I let go of the need to live in the countryside.

It's a bit of a strange realisation but it's true. We still live on the outskirts of a very small city, but now we are within walking and cycling distance of my rural work and all the amenities of the city.

I previously valued living in a small rural hamlet (8 houses within sight) for the sense of isolation and direct connection to nature. I loved the view of the stars and moon at night, the sunrise and the sunset, and the gorgeous hills during the day. I loved the sense of space and how green the surroundings were. (There was still a noisy road in front of the house so it's wasn't quite perfect!) I was in a space of so much beauty and wonder to meditate within and draw inspiration from.

Earlier this year we decided to downsize and move to the edge of the city. It was a bit of a hard decision in many ways and it probably took several months or longer for me to actually feel ready to do so. I needed to let go. And it took time. There were many intellectual arguments I had with myself about the advantages of each location and house size. But in the end the intellect can only ever go so far and then we must go beyond by letting go.

And so I did and we moved.

And it has been great, the stars and the moon are still my early morning company. It's traffic and train noises in the earlier hours now rather than roosters though! And we still have plenty of direct contact with nature including walking more.

And in meditation the view out is different now but the view in remains the same, although both are in fact, ever changing.

---

I'm participating in Reverb10 and reflecting on my Dharma practice (i.e. life!) in 2010 as explained briefly in a previous post. Feel free to join in on your blog and/or add your comments on my reflections.

A Sense of Wonder #Reverb10

2010-12-04T19:24:00.008Z

December 4: Wonder.
How did you cultivate a sense of wonder in your life this year?
(Author: Jeffrey Davis)

I got up early. Which for me is 5:30am. Everyday, including weekends. It's not an easy habit to form but once I got into the swing of it, it did become easier.

Regardless of the day's commitments or weather, I got up at 5:30am and went outside to exercise briefly. On clear mornings I would gaze at the stars and the moon when she made an appearance! On other mornings and in other weather I would still breathe in the experience of being alive and outdoors in the early morning.

After exercising I would go indoors for my morning practice.

In 2011, I intend to continue getting up early. I see it as a lifelong habit really.

OK, I'll admit, sometimes when I'm really tired or get ill, I don't get up at 5:30am. Sometimes it's 6:30am and sometimes much, much later. But my intention is to get up at 5:30am every morning and I'd say around 90% of the time I do.

---

I'm participating in Reverb10 and reflecting on my Dharma practice (i.e. life!) in 2010 as explained briefly in a previous post. Feel free to join in on your blog and/or add your comments on my reflections.

Feeling Alive #Reverb10

2010-12-03T19:24:00.000Z

December 3: Moment.
Pick one moment during which you felt most alive this year. Describe it in vivid detail (texture, smells, voices, noises, colors).
(Author: Ali Edwards)

OK, I'll admit upfront my "getting it right" tendency means I find it quite hard to find one moment during which I felt the most alive. So setting that aside, there were many moments when I felt a great sense of aliveness. One that has occurred several times and I always treasure, is the moment after an evening meditation session together with my wife.

The intimate warmth of our upstairs room, soft carpet underfoot, soft candlelight flickering, the waft of Sandalwood incense, her luminous dark eyes meeting mine after we have bowed to each other. And then embracing, warm, close, her hair tickling my nose, our heartbeats mingling.

---

I'm participating in Reverb10 and reflecting on my Dharma practice (i.e. life!) in 2010 as explained briefly in a previous post. Feel free to join in on your blog and/or add your comments on my reflections.

Eliminate comfortableness #Reverb10

2010-12-02T15:43:00.005Z

December 2: Writing.
What do you do each day that doesn’t contribute to your writing — and can you eliminate it?
(Author: Leo Babauta)

So... to reinterpret this, what do I do each day that doesn't contribute to my Dharma practice that I can eliminate?

Good question and even though I am loath to admit it and even publish it in writing, I think my answer is: comfortableness.

Almost everyday I let myself relax my mind in a lazy and comfortable way when I am meditating. I enjoy being comfortable while meditating, sitting still, being quiet, the body and mind held gently... and slipping over from holding gently to sitting comfortably. Staying in familiar territory, not going beyond the known into the unknown, not venturing into the zone of beginners mind, of fresh and alert awareness.

People often think meditation is a kind of relaxation and indeed some forms of meditation might well be, but Chan ('Chinese Zen') Meditation is actually a rigorous discipline, a strength training for the mind, for awareness, for letting go. It can produce a great deal of relaxation in life, in the sense that many situations can be experienced with a whole lot less tension or stress, but it's not relaxing in the sense of being lazy, sloppy and not-bothered about making an effort.

Chan meditation is about being alert and focussed in a gentle, mindful and precise way, not holding anything too tightly, but not leaving the method either. It is not about slipping away into some other warm comfortable, floating, detached kind of space. And if I'm honest with myself, I often do allow myself to be lazy and comfortable in meditation, enjoying the familiarity of it.

So from tomorrow, more focus on the meditation method, more rigour, brighter awareness and less comfort.

---

I'm participating in Reverb10 and reflecting on my Dharma practice (i.e. life!) in 2010 as explained briefly in a previous post. Feel free to join in on your blog and/or add your comments on my reflections.

One Word: Fulfilment #Reverb10

2010-12-01T22:11:00.008Z

December 1 One Word.
Encapsulate the year 2010 in one word. Explain why you’re choosing that word. Now, imagine it’s one year from today, what would you like the word to be that captures 2011 for you?
(Author: Gwen Bell)

2010 in one word: Fulfilment

My Dharma practice has been very much in the background throughout 2010. I didn't attend any retreats, I hardly ever went to any meditation groups, I didn't carry out any specific practice based poetry exercises (such as my Poetry Mala the previous year), I continued my daily practice attentively and diligently but without ever making anything particularly special out of it. In this sense it has simply provided the underlying framework for my daily life and also for the key events of the year. And from this perspective I feel a deep sense of fulfilment.

Not fulfilment in these sense that anything is finished and closed. But fulfilment in that no particular aspect of my life feels like it has a gap or key element missing. There were plenty of ups and downs over the year. Plenty of joy and sorrow. And yet it doesn't feel like there is anything missing.

Imagining 2011 in one word: Leadership

I would like to take my Dharma practice a step up in the next year and explore how to be a leader in some way. It might be through further writing on here or my poetry blog, or it might be through starting a local sitting (meditation) group as my wife and I have pondered on a number of times. It might just be a clearer sense of leadership in my own life through the Dharma. It might be something totally different. it feels like the next step in a way though, a step out from my current comfort zone perhaps.

---

I'm participating in Reverb10 and reflecting on my Dharma practice (i.e. life!) in 2010 as explained briefly in a previous post. Feel free to join in on your blog and/or add your comments on my reflections.

Don’t get swept away by emotions

2010-11-30T20:24:00.009Z

If you are a good horseback rider, your mind can wander but you don’t fall off your horse. In the same way, whatever circumstances you encounter, if you are well trained in meditation, you don’t get swept away by emotions. Instead, they perk you up and your awareness increases.

- Pema Chodron, "Bite-Sized Buddhism"

Received as Daily Dharma from Tricycle.com on the 10th of November 2010

---

My experience of this kind of increase in awareness is when I manage stay in the present, in any situation. At work, at home, on the train, in conversation, when a particular emotion arises and I am aware of it while staying in the present, there is a heightened feeling of being alive and in a kind of flow. Not being swept away. Riding the flow. Not following a particular emotion off into one story or another. And as Pema Chodron indicates, this applies across the board, not just to emotions. Emotions are strong distractions from the present for some people and in some circumstance, but for other people and at other times, phone calls, gossip, questions, the weather etc can be strong distractions.

I can easily be pulled away from the present when I am at work and it seems that phone calls and emails are piling up an endless list of tasks to do. I can easily fret and worry and turn away from the tasks at hand for a comforting distraction. And yet, when I stay present, the flow of emails and phone calls and requests for attention from colleagues can perk me up and I can dance with liveliness through all the tasks that need doing. I can ride on the flow of the present moment with just what is in front of me.

Dharma Reflections #Reverb10

2010-11-28T18:35:00.005Z

You may have noticed the #reverb10 badge over on the right? I heard about Reverb 10 from @GwenBell via a retweet of @RowdyKittens and I thought I would participate by using the prompts to reflect on my Dharma practice (i.e. life!) in 2010.

Perhaps you'd like to join in yourself?

Each bow is a chance to wake up #openpractice

2010-11-21T20:41:00.004Z

Bowing is the act of our small self bowing to our true self. Our small self is the “I, my, me” that feels like a separate person. Our true self has no idea of being separate, because it is before all ideas and thinking. Each bow is a chance to wake up from the illusion that we are somehow separate from the universe. In the physicality of palms touching the mat, of knees on the ground, and of standing up again, there is only the activity of bowing.

- Jane Dobisz, "Up and Down"

Received as Daily Dharma from Tricycle.com on the 21st of November 2010

---

In the full article Jane Dobisz shares that she does 300 prostrations (bows) each morning on a retreat and that Zen Master Seung Sahn did 1000 daily for a considerable number of years. 300 is quite something I imagine, having only ever done 108 prostrations in each session myself, let along 1000!

I have also read that for a considerable period of time during his early training Chan Master Sheng-yen did 500 prostrations each morning on top of his extensive monastic duties.

There is something incredibly powerful about bowing or prostrating that the quote above picks up on. As it notes in the full article, "We in the West don’t bow to anything or anyone. Not to God, not to Buddha, not to our parents, not to each other." And because of this, it seems to me that there is an enormous richness of practice and of life itself that we miss out on. And that is why my forehead will be on the floor 108 times tomorrow morning, as it was today...

Instant gratification

2010-11-08T21:20:00.002Z

Consumer culture is modeled on instant gratification. We say we want a close relationship with a spiritual mentor, but when that mentor’s guidance challenges our desires or pushes our ego’s buttons too much, we stop seeking it. At the beginning of our practice, we profess to be earnest spiritual seekers, aiming for enlightenment. But after the practice has remedied our immediate problem - the emotional fallout of a divorce, grief at the loss of a loved one, or life’s myriad setbacks - our spiritual interest fades, and we once again seek happiness in possessions, romantic relationships, technology, and career.

- Bhikshuni Thubten Chodron, "Shopping the Dharma"

Received as Daily Dharma from Tricycle.com on the 23rd of October 2010

---

What Bhikshuni Thubten Chodron writes is indeed very true for so many people. And at the same time it is so often true for myself, and no doubt others, in a more immediate sense even though we continue to practice diligently after "the practice has remedied our immediate problem." When our teacher challenges us or our practice challenges us, who hasn't thought: "This isn't what I wanted for a spiritual practice"? And who hasn't been tempted after a marvellous experience of one kind or another to avoid further practice for a while to dwell on the experience and cherish it? "Best not meditate again too soon in case it turns out terrible and I forget the wonderful experience I just had!" Or the opposite: "Back to the cushion, I want some more!"

Instant gratification.

It's what so much of our current culture is about, it takes a concerted effort to turn away from it, to go against the stream. But if we want ourselves and others to be free, what choice do we have, really?

There's no such thing as power-meditation #openpractice

2010-11-07T15:02:00.006Z

Just as the title says, there is no such thing as power-meditation. It takes time, practice and diligence. And it takes patience to build up to sitting for longer periods.

Previously when I meditated using a stool, I was comfortable sitting for an unbroken period of 30 minutes regularly and repeatedly, 40 minutes comfortably and fairly often, and even a full hour on occasions. When I shifted to sitting cross-legged I had to start over by sitting for an unbroken period of only 5 minutes! I would then sit for 40 minutes using the stool as the 5 minutes cross-legged was as much about getting used to the posture and accepting the new sensations as it was about meditation. Part of the ongoing adjustment process that is important for any long term practice. As I gradually got used to the posture and my flexibility increased, I built up to sitting for an unbroken period of 10 minutes, then 15 minutes and then 20 minutes. However, as the title implies, sitting for 5, 10 or 15 minutes isn't getting into meditation very much. Yes it can calm the mind a little and yes it can increase focus and attention, all of which are good and beneficial, and don't get me wrong, they are brilliant starting points for a practice, but these barely skim the surface of meditation. In my experience, 20 minutes is really just starting to touch on meditation. It allows enough time for the mind and the body to settle and for the method to start to take hold.

So I was very pleased when I decided to try sitting cross-legged for 30 minutes on Thursday and found that I could do it quite comfortably! So from Thursday I have changed from sitting 2 periods of 20 minutes to sitting a single period of 30 minutes. And today (Sunday) I sat for 2 periods of 30 minutes. During the second period a thought did come to mind that it could easily turn into a test of endurance rather than meditation. You know the kind I'm sure, where you silently bargain with yourself: "Just count 10 more breathes, it must almost be time! Focus, can't be long now...!" It didn't though and I was deeply grateful for the extended & deepened morning practice.

...
May sentient beings depart from suffering
May the vows of the donors be fulfilled.

Delivering Sentient Beings #openpractice

2010-11-02T21:45:00.007Z

I've decided to share my practice activities on this blog in a "Open Practice" kind of way. See C4Chaos for more explanation on this idea as I've taken it directly from him as per his invitation! I was also somewhat stirred up by the passionate call of Everett Bogue in his blog post "Why We're Here" - what he expresses about his Yoga practice is how I feel about my Chan practice. I'm not sure what it will lead to or how regularly I will post like this but I want to explore. Do feel free to join in! Actually I'm a bit nervous about it as practice is rather a personal and intimate activity in my experience.

Taking the first of the month as a cue for no particular reason I altered my practice from Monday to include prostrations.

My current daily practice:

1. 5:30am wake up
Get out of bed and get dressed. (Seriously this is vital!)

2. 8 Form Moving Meditation
I do a pared down version of the exercises outdoors, in the manner that I learnt them on retreats run by the Western Chan Fellowship (I'm a fellow). Most WCF retreats involve early morning exercises outdoors and standing or sitting exercises indoors between some sitting meditation periods. Interestingly some of these exercises / meditations have been around a long time, for instance the Chan Master Tsung Tsai in George Crane's "Bones of the Master" did some of the same exercises when training as a young monk in Inner Mongolia.

3. Altar set up
I light 2 candles and 1 stick of Sandalwood incense that burns for around 30 minutes, then I make a small water offering. Finally I blow out the candles again rather than leave them burning the whole time because I find them too smoky and too oxygen hungry!

4. Prostrations
I do 108 Chinese style full prostrations (not Tibetan style where they lie right down with arms out-stretched) in a continuous flow and count using my mala. I have the mala wrapped around my wrist 3 times (to stop it swinging around) and count the beads through my thumb each prostration. I also recite A-Mi-Tuo-Fo 阿弥陀佛 in my mind while prostrating to maintain focus and I place my attention closely on the exact movements of my body and posture the whole time. It's a pretty intense workout for the body and mind!

5. Sitting Meditation
First I do 15 minutes sitting meditation (left leg on right leg) and then changed position and do another 15 minutes sitting meditation (right leg on left leg). I simply place my attention on the breath and hold it gently there. In the last two days I have found myself caught up in thoughts, concerns and plans about work quite often and have had to consciously bring my attention back to the method each time.

6. Recitation
Finally I recite the Four Great Vows, the Three Refuges and then a Transfer of Merit, all taken from the WCF liturgy.

So that is a basic run-down of what I do for my daily practice. Of course the doing is only part of the equation.

A Cold Bowl of Samsara

2010-10-31T19:52:00.011Z

A man would know the end he goes to, but he cannot know it if he does not turn, and return to his beginning, and hold that beginning in his being. If he would not be a stick whirled and whelmed in the stream, he must be the stream itself, all of it, from its spring to its sinking in the sea.

Le Guin, Ursula K., A Wizard of Earthsea in The Earthsea Quartet, Puffin, London, 1993. p120.

---

I am currently enjoying re-reading the Earthsea Quartet by Ursula K. Le Guin, this time aloud to my 9 year old son. I am struck again by all the gems of wisdom subtly woven into the wonderful story-telling.

This particular quote reads as a description of samsara and how to live in it. The different demands and pressures of family life, work commitments, social interactions and more are all forces that "whirl and whelm" me in different ways. I get tossed about through different emotional states, mental states, and physical states. This is a reason to practice - to be the stream. To give up resisting and surrender to life, to be at ease.

And meditation is the key to practice here. Daily sitting over time provides a sense of stability and I feel that I can at least ride the stream, if not actually be the stream.

The challenge though, as alluded to in the last post, is that meditation is just like sticking your face directly into a cold bowl of samsara! All the different forces that I think and feel so sure come from the world around me, somehow follow me onto the cushion and delight in dancing around and around in my mind! So, back to the method, again and again. It's hard work. It's hard work in daily life to turn away from all the distractions thrown at me and it's hard work in meditation to turn away from... the very same distractions!

Please note though, I'm not complaining. Meditation is a powerful skill and all skills require hard work, sustained effort and practice over time.

The big problem with meditation

2010-10-30T20:53:00.003+01:00

Emptiness simply means an absence of reactivity. When you relate to somebody, there's not you and me and your little mind running its little comparisons and judgments. When those are gone, that is emptiness. And you can't put it into words. That's the problem for people. They think there's some way to push for an experience such as emptiness. But practice is not a push toward something else. It's the transformation of your self. I tell people, "You just can't go looking for these things. You have to let this transformation grow." And that entails hard, persistent, daily work.

- Charlotte Joko Beck, "Life's Not A Problem"

Received as Daily Dharma from Tricycle.com on the 27th of October 2010

---

Really this is the big problem with meditation. It "entails hard, persistent, daily work" and nobody else can do it but yourself. I like that Charlotte Joko Beck tells it straight as it is. I could also break it down to two aspects - 1. Getting yourself to the cushion everyday, 2. Sticking to the method throughout the allotted time period. Daydreaming, even 'unpleasant' daydreams can be incredibly enticing.

From This Shore

2010-07-27T07:06:00.003+01:00

This is a lovely photo-blog "From this Shore - Images of the crossing over"

“From this shore to the other shore:” a common metaphor for the crossing from samsara to nirvana, delusion to wisdom, in East Asian Buddhism.

The photographs and interviews here are part of an on-going project to both document and express the lives of Buddhist nuns.

Found via the Somewhere In Dhamma blog. _/\_

Inconvenience or Opportunity?

2010-04-19T21:48:00.006+01:00

Spiritual practitioners thrive in unpredictable conditions, testing and refining the inner qualities of heart and mind. Every situation becomes an opportunity to abandon judgement and opinions and to simply give complete attention to what is. Situations of inconvenience are terrific areas to discover, test, or develop your equanimity. How gracefully can you compromise in a negotiation? Does your mind remain balanced when you have to drive around the block three times to find a parking space? Are you at ease waiting for a flight that is six hours delayed? These inconveniences are opportunities to develop equanimity. Rather than shift the blame onto an institution, system, or person, one can develop the capacity to opt to rest within the experience of inconvenience.

- Shaila Catherine, "Equanimity in Every Bite" (Fall 2008)

Received as Daily Dharma from Tricycle.com on the 19th of April 2010

---

This is the timely reminder I got today - the day I found out that my flight (tomorrow) to Taiwan for my wedding has been cancelled due to the ash from the Iceland volcanic eruption. Practice is never anywhere other than right here and now - in the thick of this stress, worry and anxiety!

To Be An Atheist Is To Maintain God

2010-04-13T20:10:00.007+01:00

To be an atheist is to maintain God. His existence or his non-existence, it amounts to much the same, on the plane of proof. Thus proof is a word not often used among the Handdarata, who have chosen not to treat God as a fact, subject either to proof or to belief: and they have broken the circle, and go free.
To learn which questions are unanswerable, and not to answer them: this skill is most needful in times of stress and darkness.

Le Guin, Ursula K., The Left Hand of Darkness, Gollancz, London, 1969. p123.

---

I am currently enjoying the The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin, having recently read the Earthsea series. Her writing is exceptionally good in my opinion and although her novels often get classified as Sci-Fi, Fantasy or Teenage Fiction they are truly beyond such categories. They are deep and engaging explorations of what it is to be human and are full of both subtle and direct wisdom. And they are written in a direct and simple manner.

I think that the above quote is a well illustrated gentle move towards non-duality. And the skill referred to was also demonstrated by the Buddha.

The Practice of Poetry and Meditation

2010-03-28T18:41:00.011+01:00

-

People often confuse meditation with prayer, devotion, or vision. They are not the same. Meditation as a practice does not address itself to a deity or present itself as an opportunity for revelation. This is not to say that people who are meditating do not occasionally think they have received a revelation or experienced visions. They do. But to those for whom meditation is their central practice, a vision or a revelation is seen as just another phenomenon of consciousness and as such is not to be taken as exceptional. The meditator would simply experience the ground of consciousness, and in doing so avoid excluding or excessively elevating any thought or feeling. To do this one must release all sense of the "I" as experiencer, even the "I" that might think it is privileged to communicate with the divine. It is in sensitive areas such as these that a teacher can be a great help. This is mostly a description of the Buddhist meditation tradition, which has hewed consistently to a nontheistic practice over the centuries.

-

SPENDING TIME with your own mind is humbling and broadening. One finds that there's no one in charge, and is reminded that no thought lasts for long. The marks of the Buddhist teachings are impermanence, no-self, the inevitability of suffering, interconnectedness, emptiness, the vastness of mind, and the provision of a Way to realization. An accomplished poem, like an exemplary life, is a brief presentation, a uniqueness in the oneness, a complete expression, and a kind gift exchange in the mind-energy webs. In the No play Basho (Banana Plant) it is said that "all poetry and art are offerings to the Buddha." These various Buddhist ideas in play with the ancient Chinese sense of poetry are part of the weave that produced an elegant plainness, which we name the Zen aesthetic.

Tu Fu said, "The ideas of a poet should be noble and simple." In Ch'an circles it has been said "Unformed people delight in the gaudy and in novelty. Cooked people delight in the ordinary." This plainness, this ordinary actuality, is what Buddhists call thusness, or tathata. There is nothing special about actuality because it is all right here. There's no need to call attention to it, to bring it up vividly and display it. Therefore the ultimate subject matter of a "mystical" Buddhist poetry is profoundly ordinary. This elusive ordinary actuality that is so touching and refreshing, all rolled together in imagination and language, is the work of all the arts. (The really fine poems are maybe the invisible ones, that show no special insight, no remarkable beauty. But no one has ever really written a great poem that had perfectly no insight, instructive unfolding, syntactic deliciousness—it is only a distant ideal.)

So there will never be some one sort of identifiable "meditation poetry." In spite of the elegant and somewhat decadent Plain Zen ideal, gaudiness and novelty and enthusiastic vulgarity are also fully real. Bulging eyeballs, big lolling tongues, stomping feet, cackles and howls— all are there in the tradition of practice. And there will never be—one devoutly hopes—one final and exclusive style of Buddhism. I keep looking for poems that see the moment, that play freely with what's given,

Teasing the demonic
Wrestling the wrathful
Laughing with the lustful
Seducing the shy
Wiping dirty noses and sewing torn shirts
Sending philosophers home to their wives in time for dinner
Dousing bureaucrats in rivers
Taking mothers mountain climbing
Eating the ordinary

appreciating that so much can be done on this precious planet of samsara.

- Extract from Just One Breath: The Practice of Poetry and Meditation by Gary Snyder on Tricycle.com. Adapted from the Introduction to Beneath a Single Moon: Legacies of Buddhism in Contemporary American Poetry. Edited by Kent Johnson and Craig Paulenich. (Shambhala Publications)

---

It is well worth reading the full article to appreciate the wisdom and eloquence offered by Gary Snyder.

The "Helper" Syndrome

2010-03-28T18:16:00.003+01:00

One of the themes of practice is the gradual movement from a self-centered life to a more life-centered one. But what about our efforts to become more life-centered—doing good deeds, serving others, dedicating our efforts to good causes? There’s nothing wrong with making these efforts, but they won’t necessarily lead us to a less self-oriented life. Why? Because we can do these things without really dealing with our “self.” Often our efforts, even for a good cause, are made in the service of our desires for comfort, security, and appreciation. Such efforts are still self-centered because we’re trying to make life conform to our picture of how it ought to be. It’s only by seeing through this self—the self that creates and sustains our repeating patterns—that we can move toward a more life-centered way of living.

- Ezra Bayda, from “The ‘Helper’ Syndrome,” Tricycle, Summer 2003 (unfortunately subscriber access only)

Received as Daily Dharma from Tricycle.com on the 11th of November 2009

---

A tricky koan: when we see our motivation behind a good deed is actually self-centred, should we still act?

Looking for Meaning

2010-03-28T18:03:00.005+01:00

As long as we insist that meditation must be meaningful, we fail to understand it. We meditate with the idea that we’re going to get something from it - that it will lower our blood pressure, calm us down, or enhance our concentration. And, we believe, if we meditate long enough, and in just the right was, it might even bring us to enlightenment.

All of this is delusion.

- Steve Hagen, from “Looking For Meaning,” Tricycle, Fall 2003

Received as Daily Dharma from Tricycle.com on the 12th of November 2009

---

Mañjuśrī's sword wielded by Steve Hagen! This is something I frequently remind myself of - stop trying to get something, stop trying to add meaning: just meditate. Or just eat. Or just do the dishes. Etcetera.

Spiritual Experiences and Spiritual Realizations

2010-03-28T17:51:00.004+01:00

In Buddhism, we distinguish between spiritual experiences and spiritual realizations. Spiritual experiences are usually more vivid and intense than realizations because they are generally accompanied by physiological and psychological changes. Realizations, on the other hand, may be felt, but the experience is less pronounced. Realization is about acquiring insight. Therefore, while realizations arise out of our spiritual experiences, they are not identical to them. Spiritual realizations are considered vastly more important because they cannot fluctuate.

The distinction between spiritual experiences and realizations is continually emphasized in Buddhist thought. If we avoid excessively fixating on our experiences, we will be under less stress in our practice. Without that stress, we will be better able to cope with whatever arises, the possibility of suffering from psychic disturbances will be greatly reduced, and we will notice a significant shift in the fundamental texture of our experience.

- Traleg Kyabgon Rinpoche, “Letting Go of Spiritual Experience,” Tricycle, Fall 2004

Received as Daily Dharma from Tricycle.com on the 22nd of November 2009

---

A very good distinction to bear in mind and help us stay grounded in practice and in daily life.

You can’t practice all by yourself

2010-03-28T13:13:00.008+01:00

Each of you - not separately, but in the cauldron with all beings, cooking and being cooked—is realizing awakening. Not you by yourself, because that is not who you really are. You by yourself are not Buddha-Nature; but your being in the cauldron of all beings is realizing the Buddha-Way. This is the total exertion of your life.

You also can’t really be flexible and free of fixed views by yourself. To decide for yourself what flexibility is is a kind of rigidity. Living in harmony with all beings is flexibility. It is a kind of cosmic democracy. each of us has a role in the situation and gets one vote. You cast your vote by being here like a great unmoving mountain. Please cast your vote completely: that is your job. Then listen to all other beings, especially foreigners, especially strangers, and especially enemies.

Hang out with people who are capable of making a commitment to you and your life, and who require that you make a commitment to theirs. Hang out with people who care about you, with people who need you to develop and who say so. Make such a commitment and don’t break that bond until you and all beings are perfect.

You can’t make the Buddha-Body without a cauldron, and you can’t make a cauldron by yourself. You can’t practice all by yourself: that is delusion. Everything coming forward and confirming you is awakening. Then you are really cooking.

- from In It Together an article on Tricycle.com by Reb Anderson Roshi extracted from his book Warm Smiles from Cold Mountains.

---

I feel such warmth and humility radiates from Reb Anderson Roshi's writings despite not having met him or attended any of his retreats. The full article is well worth reading and absorbing, especially for those of us who primarily practice all by ourself as it sometimes can seem.

Don’t expect to like it

2010-03-17T21:17:00.003Z

In Karen Maezen Miller's 5 tips for meaning in cleaning, tip number 4 struck me:

4. Don’t expect to like it. Just do it anyway. When we expect things to be more enjoyable or rewarding than they are, or when we devalue them as menial and insignificant, that keeps us at arm’s length from our own lives. Most of us think we have to follow our bliss somewhere else. But when you’re really present in every moment, even when you’re just scrubbing the bathtub, you scour away the scum of dissatisfaction that dulls your happiness.

Well, actually they are all striking, to the point, no-nonsense wisdom, but this one particularly struck me. When I think too much and speculate on whether I will like something or not, inevitably it gets in the way of actually doing it, of actually showing up. Like getting up early in the morning to exercise. Or to meditate. When I lie in bed, all warm and cosy, I can spend quite some time thinking about whether I will like getting up or not.

In the end I am never quite sure if I actually do like it or not. Because when I get up and exercise, there I am and exercise is happening. Meditation too. In being there, in showing up, there isn't any concern about liking or not liking, there isn't any dullness.

Bricks in the Mud

2010-02-07T21:34:00.006Z

Finding happiness is mostly a matter of perspective.

I remember one afternoon as I was sitting on the steps of our monastery in Nepal. The monsoon storms had turned the courtyard into an expanse of muddy water, and we had set out a path of bricks to serve as stepping-stones. A friend of mine came to the edge of the water, surveyed the scene with a look of disgust, and complained about every single brick as she made her way across. When she got to me, she rolled her eyes and said, “Yuck! What if I’d fallen into that filthy muck? Everything’s so dirty in this country!” Since I knew her well, I prudently nodded, hoping to offer her some comfort through my mute sympathy.

A few minutes later, Raphaele, another friend of mine, came to the path through the swamp. “Hup, hup, hup!” she sang as she hopped, reaching dry land with the cry, “What fun!” Her eyes sparkling with joy, she added: “The great thing about the monsoon is that there’s no dust.” Two people, two ways of looking at things; six billion human beings, six billion worlds.

- Matthieu Ricard from "A Way of Being."

Received as Daily Dharma from Tricycle.com on the 29th of December 2009

---

Matthieu Ricard presents such gentle, warm and humorous wisdom. More often than not I would seek to offer a different way of viewing the world to the first friend, rather than mute sympathy - with predictable results! Another opportunity to bring awareness to the impulse before the action take place.

6 FAQs on Veg*ism

2010-01-22T09:57:00.006Z

Moonpointer has a very useful series of Frequently Asked Questions on being vegetarian or vegan, including many links to useful resources for more information. It is based on discussions that arose from the The Daily Enlightenment E-newsletter article Why Veganism is Not an Extreme Way of Life and covers several different perspectives. I feel it makes quite a compelling case for being vegan which has given me considerable food for thought. ;-)

It also draws my attention back to the Surangama Sutra which I have wanted to read / study for a while now due to it's central place in the Chan school of Chinese Buddhism and several personal encounters with aspects of it, particularly the mantra.

Donald Watson the founder of the Vegan Society, is quite an inspiration for compassionate and healthy living.

A quote to finish with:

"Practical veg*ism is a 'Middle Path' that veers away from extremes of unhealthy apathy to the plight of animals and unhealthy obsession with unrealistic demanding of absolutely no death to be involved in one's food."

Untie the Boat

2010-01-10T21:11:00.005Z

When we first brought one of our teachers to the States, we asked him what he thought of the American dharma scene. We had started these different centers and were very proud of what had happened. He said that he thought it was wonderful but that sometimes American practitioners reminded him of people sitting in a boat rowing very strenuously, with great sincerity and effort, but refusing to untie the boat from the dock. He said we reminded him of that in our fixation on transcendental experiences to the neglect of a sweeping view of how we're behaving day to day, how we're speaking to our family members, how we're taking care of one another, or whatever. That's why I think it is tremendously important to continually open and expand our understanding of where freedom is and where the dharma lies.

Sharon Salzberg, "The Dharma of Liberation," from the Spring 1993 Tricycle. Read the complete article.

Received as Daily Dharma from Tricycle.com on the 24th of December 2009

---

A very nice reminder that spiritual practice can easily be compartmentalised and seen as separate from our life, rather than living our whole life as our spiritual practice. Also a good reminder to check now and then to see if we are too busy chasing enlightenment to look after the people and things around us that need attention.

Descending the Mountain

2009-10-08T14:31:00.002+01:00

As most will be aware by now, John Daido Loori Roshi has stepped down as head of the Mountains and Rivers Order and now appears to be approaching the end of his life.

I know him and his teachings through "Cave of Tigers: Modern Zen Encounters", "Art of Just Sitting: Essential Writings on the Zen Practice of Shikantaza", MRO videos on-line and from the recollections of my teachers at the Western Chan Fellowship after a visit they made to him a few years ago.

He always comes across as strong and deeply compassionate and his writings are full of life and warmth. I whole heartedly recommend any of his teachings.

At this time Daido Roshi is in my mind and heart. And I keep practising. I invite you to do the same.

Gate, Gate, Paragate, Parasamgate, Bodhi Svaha!

Adyashanti on Enlightenment

2009-09-21T10:18:00.010+01:00

This "knowing" you talk about is traditionally called enlightenment. As you know, enlightenment has been both idealized and trivialized in the West. How would you define it?

Enlightenment is awakening from the dream of being a separate me to being the universal reality. It’s not an experience or a perception that occurs to a separate person as the result of spiritual practice or cultivated awareness. It doesn’t come and go, and you don’t need to do anything to maintain it. It’s not about being centered or blissful or peaceful or any other experience. In fact, enlightenment is a permanent nonexperience that happens to nobody. The separate person is seen through, and you realize that only the supreme, universal reality exists, and that you are that.

...

Could you say a little more about the difference between mystical experiences and true awakening?

When the personal "I" merges and becomes one with everything, that’s a mystical experience. Or your consciousness expands infinitely, or your kundalini [innate spiritual energy] awakens, or you have a vision of the Buddha or Mother Mary, or you feel totally blissed out and peaceful. Even an ongoing experience of being unified with God or Buddha is just another mystical experience.

But even though they’re the highest, most beautiful states a human being can have, mystical experiences are happening to the dream character you take to be "me" - and this "me" is the one you wake up from. Awakening is the realization that you are the awakeness or lucidity that’s experiencing every moment of the dream, including the so-called spiritual or mystical, without being caught by it. As I said before, awakeness is not an experience, it’s a fact, whereas a mystical experience happens to someone at a particular place and time.

- from The Taboo of Enlightenment - Do we really believe we can awaken? Stephan Bodian talks with popular lay teacher Adyashanti, Tricycle, Fall 2004.

---

I knew virtually nothing about Adyashanti before reading this interview, although, having done some background reading now, I am aware that there is some controversy regarding his methods of teaching, his lineage, his relationship to Buddhism / Zen and that he discusses enlightenment openly. Nonetheless, I found the relentless enquiry of his practice over the years along with his directness and clarity to be refreshing and inspiring.

Jeromes Niece

2009-08-31T15:03:00.009+01:00

Jeromes Neice: A new site collecting Dharma quotes, feel free to submit quotes that you value.

I'm not sure what the name is in reference to but perhaps it is apparent to others?

Positive Qualities of a Childlike Mind

2009-08-08T21:37:00.007+01:00

Question: What are some of the positive qualities of a childlike mind?

Tenzin Palmo: An example of a childlike quality is when children are in the midst of intense grief and then someone gives them a lollipop. The tears disappear and they giggle and smile. They have completely forgotten that a few minutes ago they had been grief-stricken. A childlike quality of the mind really means a mind which is fresh, which sees things as if for the first time.

Once someone did a test on meditators'...brainwaves. They tested someone who was doing a formal Hindu style meditation and a Zen master. This was to find out what the difference was, because they both said they were meditating, but each was doing a very different kind of meditation. They also tested a non-meditator. Every three minutes, they made a sudden loud noise. It was regular. The first person they tested was the one who didn't know how to meditate. The first time this person heard the loud noise, he became very agitated. The second time he was less agitated. The third time there was some vague agitation, and then the fourth time he more or less ignored it. The person doing the Hindu meditation didn't react to the noise at all. He didn't hear it. When the person doing the Zen meditation heard the noise, the mind went outwards, noted the noise and then went back in. The next time, the mind noted the noise and went back in. His reaction was unchanged. Each time, the mind noted the noise and went back in.

That tells us a lot about the quality of mind we are talking about. This is a mind which responds to something with attention and then returns to its own natural state. It doesn't elaborate on it, doesn't get caught up in it, doesn't get excited about it. It just notes that this is what is happening. Every time it happens, it notes it. It doesn't get blasé. It doesn't become conditioned. In this way, it is like a child's mind. When something interesting happens, it will note it and then let it go and move onto the next thing. This is what is meant by a childlike mind. It sees everything as if for the first time. It doesn't have this whole backlog of preconditioned ideas about things. You see a glass and you see it as it is, rather than seeing all the other glasses you have seen in your life, together with your ideas and theories about glasses and whether you like glasses in this or that shape, or the kind of glass you drank out of yesterday. We are talking about a mind which sees the thing freshly in the moment. That's the quality we are aiming for. We lose this as we become adults. We are trying to reproduce this fresh mind, which sees things without all this conditioning. But we do not want a mind which is swept away by its emotions.

- from Reflections on a Mountain Lake: Teachings on Practical Buddhism by Venerable Tenzin Palmo, published by Snow Lion Publications

* * *

Pilgrimage to the Cave in the Snow. In October 2010 Ven. Tenzin Palmo will accompany a pilgrimage tour, including the Indian Himalayan region of Lahaul and Spiti, Dharamsala, Tashi Jong, and Dongyu Gatsal Ling Nunnery, and other monasteries and temples. They expect to meet with various high Lamas during the tour. Limited space is available. Read more at www.tenzinpalmo.com or email them at pilgrimage@gatsal.org

---

I came across this quote on Integral Options Cafe a blog by William Harryman after he shared it on twitter. I thought it was brilliant for two reasons - firstly as a follow-on to my previous post Simple Pleasures: Not So Simple which also relates to ideas we have of Childlike qualities, and secondly because it elucidates so elegantly the distinction between Zen meditation and some other forms. The later being something than can at times be rather difficult!

Regret, Not Guilt

2009-08-03T19:54:00.003+01:00

The difference between guilt and regret is that the guilt never faces the wrongdoing straightforwardly. There's just this strong emotion of "I wish it hadn't happened. I wish I hadn't done it. I wish I had never gotten angry." Or, "I wish I hadn't done that embarrassing thing," and so on. Regret is the opposite of guilt. We acknowledge it, we expose to ourselves that we have done something harmful, and how it came about from our ignorance, but we don't get caught in emotions or story lines.

Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche, Tricycle, Winter 2004

Received as Daily Dharma from Tricycle.com on the 1st of August 2009

---

I read this extract with delight, it pinpoints the difference between guilt and regret so clearly. More clearly than I had previously understood in fact! And I can see it and relate to it directly. At points in my life I have felt guilt, however, in more recent times on retreat I have felt very deep regret over past actions and it feels so very different. Somehow bigger and stronger while also humble and vulnerable at the same time.

The clarity of facing something directly.

Burning the Buddha

2009-07-01T20:53:00.002+01:00

Americans like to refer to one of the old Zen stories about how a master took a wooden Buddha image, chopped it up, and made a fire, warming himself by its flames. Seeing this, a monk asked, "What are you doing, setting fire to the Buddha?"

The master replied, "Where is Buddha?"

The opposite goes on in America. In America we want to burn the Buddha images to begin with. You see, that monk was stuck on the form. In America, we are antiform, so the pointing goes in another direction. If you're attached to neither existence nor nonexistence, you manifest a sixteen-foot golden Buddha in a pile of rubbish, appearing and disappearing.

John Daido Loori in Essential Zen, edited by Kazuaki Tanahashi & Tensho David Schneider (HarperCollins)

Received as Daily Dharma from Tricycle.com on the 27th of June 2009

---

And not just in America, also in England and many other places. Perhaps as a rejection of the religion we were brought up with (directly or indirectly) and coming from a cultural situation where religion and it's associated forms have lost meaning and trust.

Form and formless, internal and external are inseparable. When I saw this, I started shaving on retreat, folding my clothes before sleeping, minding my body as well as my mind. Not everything is always as tidy as it could be but my attention is a little more balanced and not so focussed on the formless at a cost to the form.

Training the Heart

2009-07-01T20:40:00.005+01:00

Often we hear the adage, “Follow your heart.” But having practiced and looked at all the things that have arisen in my heart, I’ve seen that while some things were fine and beautiful, many were not so noble. The heart is not only driven by love, kindness, and compassion; it is also driven by desire, greed, and anger. We need to train the heart, not simply follow it.

Joseph Goldstein, from A Heart Full of Peace (Wisdom Publications)

Received as Daily Dharma from Tricycle.com on the 13th of June 2009

---

In the guise of Bodhisattva Manjusri, Joseph Goldstein slashes directly through so many spiritual niceties. And does so with compassion.

What is the Mind?

2009-07-01T20:32:00.005+01:00

You should not consider the mind to be that which reflects upon visual forms, sounds, tastes, and tactile sensations. Many people think that the mind is simply that which reflects upon what is seen and heard and is able to distinguish between good, bad, and so forth. Thus they regard the sixth sense, the intellect, to be the mind. But such views are just delusive thinking. Before seeing, before feeling, and before thinking: what is the mind? This alone is what you have to search for and awaken to.

Kusan Sunim, translated by Martine Batchelor, from The Way of Korean Zen (Weatherhill)

Received as Daily Dharma from Tricycle.com on the 29th of May 2009

---

When I first read this my mind just stopped and went blank. Re-reading it has the same effect. What is the mind?

A few moments later I realise just how much precious meditation time I spend indulging the intellect! And the same applies outside formal meditation also.

More practice.

How to Make Fewer Mistakes

2009-07-01T20:25:00.004+01:00

We all make mistakes from time to time. Life is about learning to make our mistakes less often. To realize this goal, we have a policy in our monastery that monks are allowed to make mistakes. When the monks are not afraid to make mistakes, they don’t make so many.

Ajahn Brahm, from Opening the Door of Your Heart (Lothian Books)

Received as Daily Dharma from Tricycle.com on the 23rd of March 2009

---

I post this with gratitude for such a brilliant teaching that applies to all areas of life.

Simple Pleasures: Not So Simple

2009-07-01T20:10:00.004+01:00

Sometimes we look to children to provide us with a model of pure attention or complete absorption in the moment, and we fantasize that practice will restore us to a state of lost simplicity or immediacy. When I watch my son eat ice cream, it’s easy to imagine that his whole world is nothing but pure sensuous delight. But if I inadvertently put his ice cream in the wrong-colored dish or don’t give him his favorite spoon or try to make him eat over a place mat, the picture changes. It turns out that his simple pleasure was not so simple after all. That “pure” childhood act is revealed to have many layers of opinion, likes, and dislikes already built into it (by age two!) that are required to make the experience just so.

Barry Magid, from Ordinary Mind (Wisdom Publications)

Received as Daily Dharma from Tricycle.com on the 18th of March 2009

---

This email struck a chord with me and I kept it in my in-box so that I could reflect on it further. I think there is much we can learn from children but Barry Magid makes a very good point. Noticing that we have started fantasizing about some lost state is a clear opportunity to redirect our attention back to the practice, back to our life as it is now.

The urge to do something

2009-06-07T16:34:00.005+01:00

"ONE DAY when Pooh Bear had nothing else to do, he thought he would do something, so he went round to Piglet's house to see what Piglet was doing."

- in which A House Is Built at Pooh Corner for Eeyore, from The Pooh Story Book by A. A. Milne

Reading A. A. Milne aloud is wonderful and I heartily recommend it for the enjoyment and for the abundance of insights available.

Recently it was this opening line that particularly struck me as I often have a strong urge to do something when I am sitting in meditation: write to-do lists for work; plan out the day; plan the rest of my life; scratch my ear; move my legs - anything, so long as it involves doing something! Just sitting isn't enough.

And again in another example, when someone is talking to me I have a strong urge to do something: solve their problem (as perceived by me); cheer them up; tell them my version - anything, so long as it involves doing something! Just listening isn't enough.

This is a reason why regular Dharma practice is so powerful: it undoes these habitual urges.

Actually just sitting is enough; just listening is enough; this present moment is enough. I am enough, no need to do something (anything) to make it so. And you too.

Work of a Bodhisattva

2009-06-06T11:46:00.005+01:00

In President Obama's Cairo speech he said:

"The Holy Quran teaches that whoever kills an innocent is as — it is as if he has killed all mankind. And the Holy Quran also says whoever saves a person, it is as if he has saved all mankind."

Which sounds like advice on the work of a Bodhisattva to me. And which person should the Bodhisattva save, to save all mankind? No need to look anywhere other than right where you are.

Video of Persident Obama's Cairo speech is also available on-line.

an Inn for All

2009-05-19T20:38:00.006+01:00

Realisation: The Palace that Became an Inn for All

A respected monk arrived at the gates of a King's grand palace. Due to his great fame, none of the guards dared to halt him as he entered the hall where the King was seated on his throne. The following conversation ensued.

King: Dear Venerable Sir, how may I assist you?
Monk: I would like somewhere to spend the night in this inn.
King: You have mistaken! This is no inn - it's my palace!
Monk: Who owned this place before you?
King: My late father.
Monk: And who ruled it before him?
King: My grandfather, who is also deceased.
Monk: If this is where people come to live only for a while before leaving, why is it not an inn?
King: I am so sorry! This is indeed an inn. Your stay is most welcome!

The monk had wanted to remind the King of the irrefutable truth of transience, of all things material and even mental, of the fleeting nature of his life, wealth and status - despite wielding great power. Similar to the King, wherever we live, be it a big house or a small apartment, is like a hotel. Even the most valuable material things within are but items in a hotel, temporally 'loaned' to us for use. As much as we might wish to live in this hotel forever, we can never - unless we realise the path to transcend the cycle of life and death. Even this body that we have, which we think is ours to rule over is a hotel which we live in, for usually less than a hundred more years! If so, may we use 'our' body wisely and share 'our' posessions kindly! - Shen Shi'an

I received this recently on one of the Daily Enlightenment weekly emails and it gave me cause for reflection. What I saw was that I really don't treat my own home as well as I would treat an "Inn for All". In fact I pay much much less attention to the cleanliness and tidiness of "my own spaces" than I do to other places. For example, when I stay with my fiancée at her friend's flat, as we often do over weekends, we usually dedicate an hour or even two to cleaning the place before we leave it. We are both very grateful for the weekend loan of the flat and we do our best to leave it in a tidier and cleaner state than how we receive it. And this is not to say it is ever untidy or unclean when we get there! And I really enjoy this cleaning time we have together, it is very meditative and a nice way to offer gratitude.

So what is missing when it comes to treating "my own space" as an "Inn for All" and putting in the extra effort and love to express the respect and gratitude I feel?

I'm not sure yet actually, but I can certainly see it is missing in many areas - "my" (rented) house, "my" garden, "my" car, "my" work space... I keep all of these relatively tidy and relatively clean, but not to the degree that I can say they are always an expression of my respect and gratitude and ready to hand over to the next (royal?) occupant!

Strive for higher self-esteem

2009-05-03T19:25:00.008+01:00

Excerpt: Should We Strengthen Our Sense of 'Self'

Q: Psychotherapists tell us we should have a healthy sense of self. Should strengthening our sense of self be part of Buddhist practice?

A: People working in the field of psychology often speak of our having a sense of self. But when there is a self, one tends to compare it to other selves. Out of that comparison come the ideas of low self-esteem, high self-esteem, inferiority, superiority, and equality. Low self-esteem is considered to be detrimental. We're told to strive for higher self-esteem. But high self-esteem can also be harmful. The complex of superiority brings unhappiness. It's not a compliment to say, "He's full of himself." The person with high self-esteem can make himself and others suffer. The desire to be equal, to be "just as good as" someone, also brings unhappiness. Only the person who is empty of self is happy; he has no jealousy, no hatred, no anger, because there is no self to compare.

According to the Buddha's teaching, the self is the foundation of sickness. There are many negative mental formations; when they manifest they make us and others suffer. And there are many positive mental formations that can improve our quality of being and increase our concentration and insight. We practice in order to strengthen these positive mental formations, rather than to strengthen our "sense of self." The practice of mindfulness will help these energes to manifest, and you will have a better equality of being... Mindfulness is the energy that helps us to be truly present. When you are truly present, you are more in control of situations, you have more love, patience, understanding, and compassion. That strengthens and improves your quality of being. It can be very healing to touch your true nature of no-self. Psychotherapy can learn a lot from this teaching

- Thich Nhat Hanh from Answers from the Heart: Practical Responses to Burning Questions (Parallax Press)

Received in The Daily Enlightenment's weekly Buddhist email newsletter 30.04.09.

When I first read this I was struck by a couple of things that this seemed to contradict.

I wasn't entirely in agreement with the apparent definition of "self-esteem" being used, I tend to view "self-esteem" as the view or opinion we hold of our own value, with little reference or comparison to other people. Obviously it will be relative to others to some degree, but not particularly in the sense of feeling we are better or worse than someone else.

In teachings I have received through the Western Chan Fellowship, including those of Master Sheng Yen, the instructions have been that we must first gather the mind before we will be able to transcend the mind and a state of no-mind might arise. This is often related to our sense of self in that it is first necessary to gain a clear and strong sense of self ("a healthy sense of self") before we are able to transcend this and a state of no-self might arise. Awareness starts with the self, then the question of what this "self" is follows. (However, to be clear, the underlying motivation is never to gain a stronger sense of self.)

These were first reactions though and on further reflection, the second paragraph really pulls it all together for me and I can see that what TNH is teaching doesn't really contradict the teachings I have received. I appreciate how he distinguishes the ideas of negative and positive mental formations in the Buddha's teaching from the idea of self and I find this has a valuable sense of clarity.

I also re-examined my ideas around "self-esteem" and noticed that my first reaction was a defensive response to the challenge of TNH's words. Actually I am fully in agreement with what he teaches and have in fact reflected on this before. Low self-esteem and high self-esteem are both forms of self-cherishing.

What I take in conclusion from this excerpt is: "Mindfulness ... strengthens and improves your quality of being."

[I think this is probably also a good reminder that reading an except from a book doesn't necessarily give the whole picture being presented!]

Enlightenment in seven days

2009-04-02T20:11:00.003+01:00

Buddha told his disciples: whoever makes an effort can attain enlightenment in seven days. If he can’t manage it, certainly he will attain it in seven months, or in seven years. The young man decided that he would attain it in one week, and he wanted to know what he should do: “concentration” was the reply.

The young man began to practice, but in ten minutes he was already distracted. Little by little, he began paying attention to everything that distracted him, and thought that he was not wasting time, but was getting used to himself.

One fine day he decided it was not necessary to arrive at his goal so fast, because the path was teaching him many things.

It was at that moment that he became an Enlightened one.

From Issue No 195 of Warrior of the Light, a www.paulocoelho.com.br publication from Paulo Coelho.

I was particularly struck by the teaching of it not being necessary to arrive at a goal so fast. And then there is going beyond and dropping all goals, efforts and striving! But while I am still striving towards goals at least I can slow down.

Queasy

2009-03-30T19:10:00.006+01:00

The In-Between State
March 25th, 2009
By Ane Pema Chodron

We are told about the pain of chasing after pleasure and the futility of running from pain. We hear also about the joy of awakening, of realizing our interconnectedness, of trusting the openness of our hearts and minds. But we aren’t told all that much about this state of being in-between, no longer able to get our old comfort from the outside but not yet dwelling in a continual sense of equanimity and warmth.

Anxiety, heartbreak, and tenderness mark the in-between state. It’s the kind of place we usually want to avoid. The challenge is to stay in the middle rather than make us more rigid and afraid. Becoming intimate with the queasy feeling of being in the middle of nowhere only makes our hearts more tender. When we are brave enough to stay in the middle, compassion arises spontaneously. By not knowing, not only hoping to know, and not acting like we know what’s happening, we begin to access our inner strength.

Yet it seems reasonable to want some kind of relief. If we can make the situation right or wrong, if we can pin it down in any way, then we are on familiar ground. But something has shaken up our habitual patterns and frequently they no longer work. Staying with volatile energy gradually becomes more comfortable than acting it out or repressing it. This open-ended tender place is called bodhichitta. Staying with it is what heals. It allows us to let go of our self-importance. It’s how the warrior learns to love.

- Pema Chodron, from The Places That Scare You (Shambhala Publications)

I was deleting some emails from my inbox this evening and found a Tricycle newsletter still there. I had a quick look to see why I hadn't deleted it already and came across the link to Pema Chodron's quote above. I realised that I had kept it to read because I was quite curious about the "being in-between" mentioned - the description offered seemed to fit my feeling in life for quite some time now; "no longer able to get our old comfort from the outside but not yet dwelling in a continual sense of equanimity and warmth."

And I could easily characterise my experience as a mixture of "Anxiety, heartbreak, and tenderness" when I stop being busy with work and other distractions. These states lie under the surface, waiting for my guard to drop and to be given their fair share of attention. But how often does my guard drop? Not often it seems, but certainly last week in a big way.

What I realised last week is that my practice has taken me to a certain level where there is a sense of "equanimity and warmth" but that this is a shallow plateau and it covers a more subtle layer of deep anxiety and fear. Events last week shook this cover and broke through the guard I had in place. Bubbling below and now free to surface are deep anxieties over the choices I make, the things I say and do that cause harm in so many (seemingly small) ways, fear of loss, of death, of meaninglessness.

The teaching to let go of self-importance hits home.

Even under the guise of living the BuddhaDharma, of embodying the teachings, so often I think I am Right in my choices and my actions, that I know best. And I mean this in relation to my own life but of course our lives are not separate and the effects ripple outwards. And when I see that, I see that it is only about guarding, about preserving this identity, staying safe: self-importance, self-cherishing.

But really I don't know what is right or best, I am just stumbling along one mistake after another.

Perhaps I can try open-ended tenderness.

Seizing

2009-03-05T22:12:00.005Z

The Lord [Buddha] asked: What do you think, Subhuti, does it occur to the Stream-winner,* ‘by me has the fruit of a Streamwinner been attained’? Subhuti replied: No indeed, O Lord. And why? Because, O Lord, he has not won any dharma. Therefore is he called a Stream-winner. No sight-object has been won, no sounds, smells, tastes, touchables, or objects of mind. That is why he is called a ‘Stream-winner’. If, O Lord, it would occur to a Stream-winner, ‘by me has a Stream-winner’s fruit been attained’, then that would be in him a seizing on a self, seizing on a being, seizing on a soul, seizing on a person.

- Diamond Sutra

* Stream-entry is the most basic attainment that serious practitioners strive to attain in this lifetime.

I received an email from The Daily Enlightenment's weekly Buddhist email newsletter today that included a link to an article on Moonpointer called Are You a Very Serious Practitioner, which in turn contained the above quote from the Diamond Sutra.

I was struck by the relevance of this to some recent pondering I had been doing after reading some articles about people making claims to their own enlightenment. People seem to take quite different views and positions on this matter and it can get quite heated and controversial.

While pondering, I also observed my own reaction to such claims and my reaction to other people's views. I had the distinct urge to seize a view and hold onto it as part of my identity, to take sides. And this of course leads straight into judgemental thoughts about myself and about others.

...And yet I just wasn't so sure. Firstly I wasn't sure about the correctness of any of the views and secondly I wasn't sure about the need to actually hold (onto) a view.

So I appreciated the quote from the Diamond Sutra and happily stopped worrying about seizing or holding any view. No need to seize anything, just return to the practice!

...to be a 'nothingist'

2009-02-23T22:11:00.003Z

天葬台

宰了

割了

烂捣碎了

燃一柱香

打一声呼哨

来了

就去了

来去都干干净净

Sky Burial

Cut

Scalped

Pounded into pieces

Light an incense

Blow the whistle

Come

Gone

Out and out

- 13 April 1986, Beijing

I discovered the Nobel laureate Gao Xingjian (高行健 ) last week via a reference in a novel I was reading. Sadly it seems that this poem is the only one to have survived his 're-education' during the Cultural Revolution and it does not appear that he has published any poetry since, although he has published 5 novels and many plays.

From an interview in the Guardian:
"Literature can't merely be an expression of self - that would be unbearable," Gao says. "You have to be critical not just of society and others, but of yourself: each subject has three pronouns: 'I', 'you', and 'he' or 'she'." He sees such self-scrutiny as a safeguard: "If you're not perfectly conscious of yourself, that self can be tyrannical; in relationship to others, anyone can become a tyrant. That's why no one can be a Superman. You have to go beyond yourself with a 'third eye' - self-awareness - because the one thing you cannot flee is yourself."

The interview also includes this excerpt from The Case for Literature, translated by Mabel Lee, published by Yale University Press:
"Without Isms is neither nihilism nor eclecticism; nor is it egotism or solipsism. It opposes totalitarian dictatorship but also opposes the inflation of the self to God or Superman. It hates seeing other people trampled on like dog shit. Without Isms detests politics and does not take part in politics, but is not opposed to other people who do. If people want to get involved in politics, let them go right ahead. What Without Isms opposes is the foisting of a particular brand of politics on to the individual by means of abstract collective names such as 'the people', 'the race' or 'the nation'."

All such thinking aside, I posted this because the poem touches me deeply. I read it and feel like weeping for the fragility of a human life, the pain and sadness of impermanence. And yet the simple beauty also. Come. Gone. Out and Out. Indeed! A reminder to let go, always to let go. Sadness? Let go. Pain? Let go. Happiness? Let go. Positive thoughts? Let go. Negative thoughts? Let go. Opinions? Let go. Hopes? Let go. Judgements? Let go. Emotions? Let go. This body? Let go. This mind? Let go. Light an incense.

Let go now, don't waste a precious moment, this life might be over sooner than we expect.

Caring for Ourselves this Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T22:58:00.004Z

The practice of metta (lovingkindness), uncovering the force of love that can uproot fear, anger, and guilt, begins with befriending ourselves. The foundation of metta practice is to know how to be our own friend. According to the Buddha, "You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere. You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection." How few of us embrace ourselves in this way! With metta practice we uncover the possibility of truly respecting ourselves. We discover, as Walt Whitman put it, "I am larger and better than I thought. I did not think I held so much goodness."

Sharon Salzberg, Lovingkindness

From Everyday Mind, edited by Jean Smith, a Tricycle book.

Received as Daily Dharma from Tricycle.com on the 14th of February 2009

The universe may one day perish, yet my vows are eternal

2009-02-04T01:08:00.006Z

The Most Venerable Master Sheng Yen let go of his physical body and left behind great compassion and great vows in this world

What I am unable to accomplish in this lifetime, I vow to push forward through countless future lives; What I am unable to accomplish personally, I pray for everyone to join forces to promote

Busy with nothing, growing old.
Within emptiness, weeping, laughing.
Intrinsically, there is no "I."
Life and death, thus cast aside. ~ Venerable Master Sheng Yen

The Most Venerable Master Sheng Yen, founder of Dharma Drum Mountain, passed away at 4:04pm of the afternoon of 3 February, 2009, at the age of 80.

The Master has dedicated his whole life in promoting the idea of "uplifting the character of humanity and building a pure land on earth" through the manifestations of his own physical body and actions. The Sangha community and followers of Dharma Drum Mountain around the world will uphold and fulfill the Master's wishes so that great compassion and great vows will continue in this world.

The Most Venerable Master, who humbly called himself "a monk amidst the rain and snow", was voted as one of Taiwan's fifty most influential people in the last four hundred years. A review of the Master's life depicted a life of drifting from place to place, facing endless trials and dramatic turnarounds. As a child the Master was always sick and frail. After receiving monastic ordination in Wolf Hill, Jiangsu Province, China, and throughout the period of performing chanting rites for the deceased, serving in the military, studying in Japan for his PhD degree, propagating the Dharma in the United States of America, the founding and establishment of Dharma Drum Mountain, the Master always found a way out of all difficulties. In times of hardship we can witness his compassion, through his unswerving determination we can witness his wisdom through Chan practice. To the Master, life is a journey of practicing the Dharma.

In 2004, the Master, well aware of his poor health, made a will and instructed that after he passed away; instead of a traditional funeral ceremony, a Buddhist memorial rite should be held. It should be simple, solemn and economical, all flowers and wreaths are to be declined, just the chanting of "NAN MO A MI TUO FO" (Homage to Amitabha Buddha) so that we will all be joined in the Pure Land. Since he fell sick, the Master's attitude to life and death is not to wait for death, fear death or seek death. Instead he followed his vow "The universe may one day perish, yet my vows are eternal" and continued to lead everyone forward on the path of building a pure land on earth.

In September 2006, the Master handed over the position of Abbot President to his disciple Venerable Guo Dong, symbolizing the transmission of the Dharma Drum Mountain lineage from generation to generation. In regard to the issue of selecting the Abbot President, the Master had clearly stated that regardless of whether a bihikkshu or bhikshuni was elected from within Dharma Drum Mountain or engaged from outside, when the person takes up the position of Abbot President, he/she also receives the transmission of the Dharma Drum Mountain lineage and will not abandon the vision and direction of Dharma Drum Mountain.

Under the leadership of Abbot President, Venerable Guo Dong, the Sangha community and followers of Dharma Drum Mountain throughout the world will inherit the past and continue forward in carrying out the practice of "Four Insistence" - to insist upon the ideas of Dharma Drum Mountain, to insist upon the Three Types of Education, to insist upon the Four Kinds of Environmentalism and to insist upon the practice of orthodox Chinese Buddhism – to support the vision of Dharma Drum Mountain as they had done in the past and to jointly fulfill the will of the Master in the building of the Dharma Drum University.

In accordance with the Master's will, his ashes will be returned to the earth and buried in the Life Memorial Garden.

The Most Venerable Master Sheng Yen once said, "Where there is life, there must be death. If one cannot face this reality it will become one’s greatest barrier in life, if one can regard death merely as a fraction within the eternal time and space then death is not an end to life but the beginning of the next."

Original Article on the Dharma Drum Mountain website here.

Master Sheng Yen's will can also be found here in English and the same page carries links to photos, videos etc.

There is also a statement on the Western Chan Fellowship (which carries his lay western lineage in the UK) website here.

Dusk on the River

2009-01-31T09:05:00.003Z

There's a Zen story in which a man is enjoying himself on a river at dusk. He sees another boat coming down the river toward him. At first it seems so nice to him that someone else is also enjoying the river on a nice summer evening. Then he realizes that the boat is coming right toward him, faster and faster. He begins to get upset and starts to yell, "Hey, hey watch out! For Pete's sake, turn aside!" But the boat just comes faster and faster, right toward him. By this time he's standing up in his boat, screaming and shaking his fist, and then the boat smashes right into him. He sees that it's an empty boat.

This is the classic story of our whole life situation.

Pema Chodron, Start Where You Are

From Everyday Mind, edited by Jean Smith, a Tricycle book

Received as Daily Dharma from Tricycle.com on the 29th of January 2009

Ten Diseases of Meditation Practice

2009-01-17T14:29:00.005Z

1. Entertaining thoughts of "is" or "is not."

2. Thinking Zhaozhou said "no" because in reality there is just nothing.

3. Resorting to principles or theories.

4. Trying to resolve the hwadu (koan) as an object of intellectual inquiry.

5. When the master raises his eyebrows or blinks his eyes taking such things as indicators regarding the meaning of dharma.

6. Regarding the skilful use of words as a means to express the truth.

7. Regarding a state of vacuity and ease for realization of truth.

8. Taking the place where you become aware of sense objects to be the mind.

9. Relying upon words quoted from the teachings.

10. Remaining in a deluded state waiting for enlightenment to happen.

Edited from: Larkin, Geri. First You Shave Your Head. Berkeley, Celestial Arts, 2001, pp. 67.

Clear and Transparent

2009-01-16T21:57:00.004Z

Like the little stream
Making its way
Through the mossy crevices
I, too, quietly
Turn clear and transparent

- Ryokan

What we talk about when we talk about meditation.

2009-01-16T20:50:00.003Z

If you do decide to start meditating, there's no need to tell other people about it, or talk about why you are doing it or what it's doing for you. In fact, there is no better way to waste your nascent energy and enthusiasm for practice and thwart your efforts so they will be unable to gather momentum. Best to meditate without advertising it.

Every time you get a strong impulse to talk about meditation and how wonderful it is, or how hard it is, or what it's doing for you these days, or what it's not, or you want to convince someone else how wonderful it would be for them, just look at it as more thinking and go meditate some more. The impulse will pass and everybody will be better off - especially you.

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

From Everyday Mind, edited by Jean Smith, a Tricycle book

Received as Daily Dharma from Tricycle.com on the 16th of January 2009

A flower / A weed

2009-01-09T22:24:00.003Z

A flower falls even though we love it,
And a weed grows even though we do not love it.

- Dogen Zenji

REFUGE AND SELF-REFLECTION

2009-01-03T22:31:00.005Z

When we stop ignoring the futility of samsara, we enter the path of liberation. Without self-reflection, we can't take this step. Habitual tendencies cause us to ignore impermanence, karma, and the suffering of samsara. We ignore the preciousness of our human birth and our potential to work with our mind. We ignore our vulnerability, which is the cause of so much suffering. When we remain in denial, even if we take refuge thousands of times, nothing will change. Denial is the first thing we must really give up.

Seeing the futility of samsara brings a sense of discenchantment, or brokenheartedness. This is the realization that everything we've ever taken refuge in, from time immemorial, has been unreliable. From this realization, feelings of tenderness and sadness* arise toward our world - along with a deep sense of renunciation. Longing to move closer to the truth, we realize there is no more genuine refuge than the Three Jewels.

This is not just Dharma "propaganda." When you take refuge, it's for your own sake. Nobody benefits but you, and nobody suffers but you when you take refuge in samsara. It is your choice: You can take refuge in samsara, or you can take refuge in waking up. But at some point, you do have to drop your doubts and make up your mind.

*Tib. skyo chad. This feeling of disenchantment or brokenheartedness is cherished by all the great masters as the root of developing genuine renunciation.

Kongtrul, Dzigar. It's Up to You: The Practice of Self-reflection on the Buddhist Path. Boston, Shambala, 2005, pp. 41-42.

Link to Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche's oganisation Mangala Shri Bhuti.

The Perfections

2008-12-28T10:42:00.006Z

Subhuti asked: "How does a person practice all the perfections?"

The Buddha replied: "By not perceiving any duality. Through understanding this nonduality he teaches reality to all beings. With physical energy, he travels widely to teach. With mental energy, he guards against the arising of such ideas as "permanence or impermanence," "good or evil," and so on. With the perfection of wisdom, he does not consider anything ultimately real but serves all beings with loving attention so that energy, patience, and meditation will be aroused in them. But even though he attends to the minutest detail of whatever must be done, he never grasps it or tries to make ultimate sense of it, because he knows it has no enduring substance of its own."

- Prajnaparamita

Bancroft, Anne (ed). Buddha Speaks. Shambala, 2000.

Being Peace

2008-12-28T10:22:00.001Z

Excerpt: If You Can't Smile, You Can't Help Others Smile

In the peace movement there is a lot of anger, frustration, and misunderstanding. The peace movement can write very good protest letters, but they are not yet able to write a love letter. We need to learn to write a letter to the congress or to the President... that they will want to read, and not just throw away. The way you speak, the kind of understanding, the kind of language you use would not turn people off. The President is a person like any of us.

Can the peace movement talk in loving speech, showing the way for peace? I think that will depend on whether the people in the peace movement can be peace. Because without being peace, we cannot do anything for peace. If we cannot smile, we cannot help other people to smile. If we are not peaceful, then we cannot contribute to the peace movement.

I hope we can bring a new dimension to the peace movement. The peace movement is filled with anger and hatred. It cannot fulfill the path we expect from them. A fresh way of being peace, of doing peace is needed. That is why it is so important for us to practice meditation, to acquire the capacity to look, to see, and to understand. It would be wonderful if we could bring to the peace movement our contribution, our way of looking at things, that will diminish aggression and hatred. Peace work means, first of all, being peace. Meditation is meditation for all of us. We rely on each other. Our children are relying on us in order for them to have a future.

Being Peace (Thich Nhat Hanh)

Quoted here.