Blogma

The Buddha recommended that his disciples contemplate death each and every day. This body is of the nature to die. All conditioned things are impermanent. It is Springtime, everything is being born and we should not forget that birth is the number one cause of death.

When we remember our own mortality, and the mortality of everything and everyone we come in contact with, it motivates us. It realigns us with our deepest vows and intentions. Given the fact that I am going to die, at any point, how do I want to live? Is my to-do list really worth stressing about? Does that fat on my legs really matter? Do I want to spend my times thinking about myself? How do I want to spend my time?

What if I died today? What if I died after my next breath? How precious would that breath be? How closely would I pay attention? How fully would I love it? And who is it that dies anyhow? Who does the ‘I’ concept actually refer to?

This contemplation of death has the potential to completely shift our living, to help us prioritize what really matters and release what does not. We are already dying. How then do we want to live?

Love,
Shinei

Born, born, everything is always born. 
Thinking about it…
Try not to.

~Zen Master Ikkyu

Springtime! Every moment life is created anew. Each moment we are born again. Anicca, impermanence. This is a directly observable truth of reality. This life, this body, our mind state, our heart state, these things we call ours, these people we love, all of it is in a constant state of flux, changing faster than we can perceive in a direction we do not know. If we recognize and accept this reality, releasing attachment to how we think life should be, we find freedom and possibility in each new moment, not knowing what will come next. If we try to hold on to that which is ungraspable and constantly flashing in and out of existence, flowing like a river, we suffer. Don’t think about it, don’t resist it, just directly perceive this truth of impermanence, let go, and flow freely.

Hope you’re all enjoying this fleeting spring weather!

Love,
Shinei

To awaken we must awaken with the world. With this teacup in your hands, with this unresolved decision, with this aging body. In relationship with all things we practice, grow, learn, fall short, and try again…

The Vows of Kishitigharba (Jizo) Bodhisattva:

Infused by the great benevolence of Kishitigharba Bodhisattva,
Protector of all that is born from the earth.
May I welcome everything that comes towards me with a warm and undefended heart.

Infused by the great determination of Kishitigharba Bodhisattva,
Protector of all that is born from the earth.
May I walk the path to enlightenment, dissolving all obstructions and never turning back.

Infused by the great optimism of Kishitigharba Bodhisattva,
Protector of all that is born from the earth.
May I see and nourish the seeds of awakening in everyone I meet.

Infused by the great fearlessness of Kishitigharba Bodhisattva,
Protector of all that is born from the earth.
May I know that all demons arise from ignorance and take refuge in the one bright mind.

Infused by the great vow of Kishitigharba Bodhisattva,
Protector of all that is born from the earth.
May I gladly enter every hell realm, guiding myself and everyone to liberation.
May your life be an unsolved mystery…

This week I picked up a book from the Sangha Jewel library edited by our dharma grandfather, Taizan Maezumi Roshi and his student Bernie Glassman. It is a collection of teachings given by Maezumi Roshi and his teachers titled On Zen practice II. I flipped it open to a talk by Koryu Roshi titled, ‘Joshu’s Dog.’ Joshu’s Dog is often the first koan a Zen student is given. “A monk once asked Joshu, ‘Does a dog have Buddha nature?’ Joshu answered, ‘Mu.’

You might be thinking What!? That’s it? That’s the whole koan? Zen koans are often confusing at first glance, especially if we are trying to understand them with the thinking mind. Koans invite us into a kind of intuitive understanding below logic, below ‘yes’ or ‘no.’

By the way, ‘mu’ means ‘no’ or ‘not’ in Japanese. Here’s how Koryu Roshi instructs us to practice with this koan… “The whole essence of work on this koan can be summed up like this, you totally become mu yourself, from morning to night. Even in dreams, even in sleep you are with mu and mu becomes yourself. That is the way to work on this koan. When you work on this all the time, you will get very used to it, and without trying to put too much effort into it you will be in that state day and night. As you maintain such a state, you eventually become one with mu, and you become mu yourself, and mu becomes yourself, and you become the whole universe yourself…”

This kind of continuous presence and inquiry takes Great Determination and Great Love. These are two of the qualities of Jizo Bodhisattva, the theme of our Jizo retreat which starts tonight. We must be determined in our practice, moment by moment, to be fully present and cut through suffering, the belief in separation, the imagined ‘I’, ‘me’, ‘my’ that needlessly causes us so much pain. This determination comes from our great love for life and for truth. This love calls us to keep looking, continuously, devotedly into this koan. We can call it MU or we can call it NOW. Please bring this kind of unwavering devotion into your life. It is a truly satisfying way to live.

Love, Shinei

May you be free from stress and its causes. May you have the courage to look at your stress as an elaboration upon, and not an inextricable result of, your experience. Stress leads to poor digestion, poor relationships, expensive vacations, excess spending, headaches, frequent doctor visits, and addiction.

Stress is not caused by hard work. Hard work can be fun, exhilarating, creative, stretching you into new territory – which everyday living should provide! So let us not fear hard work!

What is the cause of stress? In Buddhism, the answer is clinging. What is the cause of clinging? In Buddhism there are many answers. One of them is- Don’t worry about the cause, just let go. How do we let go of stress? Courageously. What can we do instead of feeling stress? Pray for our, and other’s well-being.

If we do not think a thing is good to do we should not do it. If we think a thing is good to do we should do it. If we do not know if a thing is good or bad we need to practice more meditation. Meditation is the true teacher. This is because fundamentally we are not confused – we just think we are. May you be free from stress and its causes.