Nothing Special

Words from Mushin: “Zazen never becomes anything special, no matter how long you practice,” said Kodo Sawaki Roshi. “If it becomes something special, you must have a screw loose somewhere.” Listening to this fine old master Zen adept we are...

A Quiet Moment

Words from Mushin: Writing this on a quiet afternoon during the Memorial Day weekend, I notice the very simple pleasure that a warm breeze on my face elicits. It’s these unanticipated moments of simplicity, where no mental agenda presses, and the thinking mind is as...

Mother’s Day

Mothers’ Day brings to my mind Prajnaparamita, mother of all Buddhas.  What IS prajnaparamita? We translate it as the “perfection of wisdom”. “Prajna” is “wisdom”, and “paramita” means “that which goes beyond”. Whatever’s happening right here and now. Where is the...

Listening

Listen. Just listen. At any time of day or night, anywhere. Listen to the sounds of the world. This simple practice is always available in the midst of activity or stillness. One of the gifts of just listening, according to Master Dogen, is what that allows for. At...

For the Sake of All Beings

For the Sake of All Beings. This was the sign we carried at Saturday’s rally, affirming our practice in Bodhisattva School (Jomon’s phrase). There was a huge variety of signs at the rally, and much joyful cacophony as those in the crowd expressed what each found most...