Sejiki

From Mushin      Sejiki is an important ceremony in the Soto Zen school where we comfort and feed the ancestral spirits and hungry, restless ghosts. Every autumn we enact this ceremony of offerings to the ancestors, to our parents, relatives, community and other...

Studying The Self

From Sogen: Dogen Zenji wrote in Genjokoan, which we sometimes chant: “To study the Buddha Way is to study the self; to study the self is to forget the self. To forget the self is to be verified by all things.” Or as that last line appears in our chant book: “To...

Song of Loving Kindness

From Sogen The Song of Loving Kindness is sung during each weekday morning service: May you dwell in the heart, may you be free from suffering, may you be healed, may you be at peace. The Pali word for Loving Kindness is Metta, as in Metta Sutra, which is chanted in...

Getting to Know Yourself

     Dogen Zenji wrote in Genjokoan, which we sometimes chant: “To study the Buddha Way is to study the self; to study the self is to forget the self. To forget the self is to be verified by all things.” Or as that last line appears in our chant book:“To forget the...

Cultivating Curiosity

From Sogen: Curiosity is a skillful attitude in Zen practice. Cultivating curiosity, inquiry, investigation, questioning, wondering, asking, exploring in your practice leads to new insights, new perspectives, new understanding, and new questions. A useful practice...