Poking Fun at Zen

This video of Ruth, taken during last year's Fall women's retreat is one of my favorites!



May you enjoy . . . 

The Vow Hour

(Back from two and a half week retreat with Ruth Denison, at Dhamma Dena Desert Vipassana Center, I am devoting the next few weeks to sharing Ruth's wonderful teachings.)

This morning, sitting in the quiet house, I remembered Ruth's 'Vow Hour' instruction that she got from her zen training. 

It's very simple. You vow to sit perfectly still for the whole duration of the meditation. If one hour seems too daunting, you can shorten the duration. The main thing is to commit to the stillness for however long you chose to sit.

30', I sat, not moving at all. Body freed from the possibility of nervous restlessness, there was ample space for breath to come and go, and physical sensations to be felt, and sounds to be heard, and thoughts to be noticed.

Small vow, big reward . . . 

Pure Mind, Pure Heart

Learning From Zen, About Purification Practice.

Reluctantly, I dragged myself out of bed to make the one plus hour drive to Green Gulch Farm. I was to spend the whole day with fellow Zen Hospice volunteers for a silent retreat, with Victoria Austin as our teacher. Once there, there was no escaping the unpleasantness that had been with me for the past few days. Mindfully sitting, or walking all morning, mind had nowhere else to turn but to the hotness, and the hard ice coldness permeating my whole body. I had been quick to jump to conclusion, finding a convenient hook out there for the stuff. Someone else was responsible, I was convinced. 

After lunch, walking the path through the gardens, I had plenty of time to contemplate between each step. There had to be another way. I remembered Ayya Khema's wisdom, and started tracing back the source of such discontent. Down the ladder of emotions, and thoughts, I went. Until, poof, the light went on, just as I was coming around a curve in the road.

Green Gulch - Path Through the Gardens.

Of course, the real trigger was not outside. No, it was to be found inside, deep in some old part of my personality, same one that had caused me troubles in the past. I almost leaped with joy, as I felt the relief from clear seeing. I started feeling love for the object of my previous ill-will, and for myself. There was a completely new feeling also towards the young one inside. A sense of welcoming, that it could teach me exactly what I needed to know next. I continued to walk until I reached the beach. And picked up a black pebble in the shape of a heart. 

Late, I returned to the zendo where Victoria had started giving her talk already. I had not bothered to check the topic ahead of time, and was struck by the synchronicity. Victoria's talk was about purification and the 3 Pure Precepts: 

"The traditional version of the Pure Precepts is "Renounce all evil, Practice all good, Keep the mind pure, Thus have all Buddhas taught." . . . One way that Suzuki-Roshi translated them was, "With purity of heart, I vow to refrain from ignorance. With purity of heart, I vow to reveal beginner’s mind. With purity of heart, I vow to live, and be lived, for the benefit of all beings." . . . The Pure Precepts also are related to Right Effort, the sixth aspect of the Eight-fold Path. The traditional meaning of Right Effort is one’s endeavor or energetic will to abandon unwholesome states and to develop wholesome states. Wholesome states are those which have what in Buddhism is referred to as wholesome roots. The three unwholesome roots are greed, hate, and delusion, and so their opposites, non-greed or generosity, non-hate or lovingkindness, and non-delusion or wisdom are the roots of wholesome states. In Buddhism, volition, or the mind with which we act, determines whether an action is "good" or "bad," wholesome or unwholesome, rather than the activity itself being inherently good or bad . . . When I think of "evil," I think of some really extreme situation like Hitler or a fairy tale-like evil stepmother. If our vow is to "Renounce all evil," it is pretty easy to think, "Of course I renounce Hitler, or I renounce evil"; but if our vow is to abandon unwholesome activity or to refrain from actions leading to attachment, this suggests much more subtle and pervasive activity. We really have to look at, and be present with, our actions and intentions in order to find how attachment and defensiveness set in, and to be aware of self-centered motivation. If I try to refrain from evil, it seems pretty easy since almost nothing I have ever done do I consider "evil." On the other hand, if I try to refrain from action that is motivated by greed, aversion, or delusion, i.e., unwholesome activity, I need to pay a lot of attention to what I am doing and thinking."

~ Josho Pat Phelan, 'Taking and Receiving the Precepts', Part 3 ~

I was struck by Victoria's story of how she came to Buddhism. She told us about her near-death experience as a young woman, of her car being thrown into the air, and her whole life flashing before her eyes. "I felt I had led such a petty life. I was ashamed."Victoria realized she had to lead her life differently. This is what the Pure Precepts are about, living life out of a pure heart, and with great clarity.

Victoria asked us to come up with a purification ritual. We ended up each writing our unwholesome thought on a piece of paper and burning them with a stick of incense. Then we gathered in a circle in the four-gated meadow, removed our shoes, then placed our hands on our heart, bowed and held hands. 

Which mind states do you need to purify?

The Policy of Caring - by Jaye Seiho Morris

It is such a treat to be included in the Great Buddho-blogging Article Swap, sponsored by Nate DeMontigny, from Precious Metal blog. Today, as part of the swap, Jaye Seiho Morris and I are trading blogs. Seiho is posting on Mind Deep blog, and I am writing on his blog, Digital Zendo. I can't remember where I first 'met' Seiho first, Twitter, or this blog, but since then, he and I have been supporting each other with the gift of our spiritual friendship.

As people we hold any number of policies and rules, within our mind. For me, my experience with Zen (the practice of unifying the mind) gives me an opportunity to look, sit with and come to know my internal operating system. The one I've been spending a lot of time with on the sitting cushion is the "Policy of Caring."

Today if You asked me to summarize my Zen practice, "Learning to consistently express, a policy of caring" would be my answer. The attributes that I associate with the policy of caring are; Hope, honesty, active listening, kindness, mindfulness, open-ness of heart, attentiveness, fortitude and to be vested in each other. In applying the attributes mentioned above, we are enabled to see well beyond our own experiences and appreciate the life and effort of others.

Yesterday, in a comment to me, a person wrote something which deeply moved me. He said, "I have lived a fairly nomadic lifestyle over the past 3 years: 2 major moves for downsizing and financial reasons and many micro moves for abatement and PTSD issues. I"m still healing from some traumatic events (stalker, sexual assault, workplace bullying, financial hemorrhaging, getting robbed, loss of friends in the mess of it all, judgmental family members... 5 Christmas mornings alone (2 in hotels) and equal birthdays (Dec 26) and New Years eve's on my own. I have done alright with it... chosen my own company and blessed those whom I wished to be with but was not. "

In another instance, I know someone who struggles with the nature of a relationship to their significant other, unsure if the person will ever arrive emotionally. In another instance, a person verbalized anxiety and frustration in a job, feeling undervalued and unappreciated. I listened to someone scared their children would be upset if they couldn't give them the gifts they really wanted at Christmas. In still another instance, I encountered someone fearful they would not be able to stay sober over the holidays, because of feelings of loneliness.

Everyone seems to have something, large or small that contributes to suffering or a feeling of not being at home with ourselves. It's all there. The question is are we caring enough to see the person… hear the person… feel the person… take a moment to understand the person...

Once we recognize suffering, an opportunity presents itself for us to be an expression of caring. This can take on innumerable forms. Despite the many different ways of expression, the one thing they are have in common is moving off the sidelines, being engaged, reaching out and making an effort to connect hearts and minds. The gap and distance is shortened, if not dissolved altogether.

This is my point of appreciation, having the opportunity to write on Marguerite's blog today. Her efforts as a wife… a hospice volunteer… a writer… a friend… a human being…. and her willingness to discuss the process, especially as it reflects within her practice is a kindness that's not designed to be measured. It's a simple gift. It's "Shu Jo Mu Hen Sei Gan Do." In english this means, "However innumerable all beings are, I vow to help them all." Indeed simple but so very profound.

Put another way, it's the policy of caring, put into action. It is an effort that ripples out, through our lives, improving the texture and quality of This moment. As a human being, I continue to learn so much, by that paths travelled by others.

May All Beings Be Caring,

Seiho Jaye Morris, Friend.

Sitting the Talk

I have been wondering, what if I spent less time writing, talking, and reading about meditation and more on just practicing, sitting, actively engaging in mindfulness throughout my day?

Thanks to @sweepingzen on Twitter, I came across a timely interview with Sei'Un Roshi, woman Zen master, and founder and guiding teacher of the Mountain Moon Sangha.

Particularly this part:

SZ: What book or books might you recommend to someone interested in reading up on Zen?

RS: I don't. If you want to know what it's like to ski, put on the skis and go down the hill; if you'd like to know what Zen is, sit under the guidance of a properly authorized teacher. Three Pillars of Zen gives a pretty good portrait of Zen practise but does not replace getting onto the cushions and presenting oneself regularly to an enlightened teacher for examination.

Makes sense, doesn't it?