by SJZC Administrator | Aug 10, 2025
From Sogen: We all have personalities, and at the same time we are all part of the whole world. In our practice, on and off the cushion, we come to know our habitual thoughts, opinions, desires, feelings, and practice setting them aside. Setting them aside so we can...
by SJZC Administrator | Aug 3, 2025
From Mushin Recollecting and forgetting. This is a pulse that runs through a life of practice. Starting a day with zazen, as we do every day at Sangha Jewel, orients us to the completeness of our life, our breath, and the full possibilities of each moment. Zazen...
by SJZC Administrator | Jul 20, 2025
Dogen Zenji offered us Four Methods of the Bodhisattva. The first is generosity, what and how we give. Our daily lives are where we offer our energies, our hearts, our efforts. As in zazen, where we sit in our authentic self, when we’re not on the cushion one way that...
by SJZC Administrator | Jul 13, 2025
From Mushin: We gathered for a summer movie night at Sangha Jewel, where we watched I Heart Huckabee. The story begins with Albert confused and worried about coincidences that he feels have some meaning which he can’t figure out. His confusion prompts him to seek help...
by SJZC Administrator | Jul 8, 2025
The first of the Eight Awakenings of Enlightened Beings is having few desires. This is a great practice. It steers us to noticing how often desire lurks just below the surface of our mental stream. All the thoughts of “I want this” or “I don’t want that.” All the ways...
