by SJZC Administrator | Sep 21, 2025
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...
by SJZC Administrator | Sep 15, 2025
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...
by SJZC Administrator | Sep 8, 2025
From Mushin: How often do you pay attention directly to sentiency? I mean, how often are you aware that a living being, tree or animal, bird, or insect is aware. More likely I may notice my own awareness but not so much how another sentient being might be aware in...
by SJZC Administrator | Aug 31, 2025
From Mushin: The practice of samu was introduced during the Tang Dynasty by Zen Master Baizhang Huaihai into Zen training in Buddhist monasteries. Samu moved them from being solely dependent on wealthy patrons and state sponsorship towards more independent...
by SJZC Administrator | Aug 24, 2025
From Mushin: Making a wholehearted effort or diligence is another of Dogen Zenji’s Eight Awakenings of Great Beings. Anybody who follows the Buddhadharma with sincere intention to live it out, to embody its wisdom, learns how to live steadily and completely. You...
by SJZC Administrator | Aug 17, 2025
From Mushin: Enjoying serenity is the third of the Eight Realizations of an Awake Person. If you want to enjoy serenity, realize it flowing directly in the still point at the very center of this moment. Zazen helps us realize serenity. Serenity in...
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...
