by Abby Mushin Terris | Feb 3, 2024
In zazen on the cushion (bench or chair) we look deeply, carefully, minutely into each breath, each sensation, each thought, or impulse…and come to appreciate how ephemeral this “each” is. Beyond zazen on the cushion, the instants unfold in a stream of nowness...
by Abby Mushin Terris | Jan 27, 2024
It used to get so dark you couldn’t see your own hand in front of your face. It still does. Do you ever go out into the forest at night, where the canopy is so thick it filters out even the starlight? Or have you been out in the ocean when silence stretched your ears...
by Abby Mushin Terris | Jan 13, 2024
Zen practice is a way of life. Does this life have some destination? If we answer this question using the mind of opposites, then the destination is death. Life and death. But surely this life is way more complex than this, as is death. So let’s set that approach...
by Abby Mushin Terris | Dec 30, 2023
On Sunday we are marking the New Year with zazen and by ringing the bell 108 times. Each of us takes a turn ringing the bell and being reminded of how we contribute our practice to the sangha jewel. The number 108 indicates the “defilements” which we can all get...
by Abby Mushin Terris | Dec 16, 2023
Poem from Rohatsu Sesshin A seed is planted, a wheat stalk grows. A farmer takes her scythe to harvest. A grain is milled into a fine flour. A baker turns the flour to bread. A man buys the bread and slices it. This is the one universe of time. And with each slice, A...
