tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53567904599677207782024-03-13T06:50:01.664-07:00Hey Bro! Can You Spare Some Change?A blog created to slowly make "The Zen Teaching of 'Homeless' Kodo" available to all.Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18100647785880123235noreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5356790459967720778.post-37777705128089476692012-03-17T22:19:00.003-07:002012-03-17T22:31:24.673-07:00The MudraAnyone who stops by this blog knows that I'm fascinated with the mudra of zazen. I'm enthralled not only with what Dogen calls "The Buddha Mudra", but also the actual mudra of the hands. I think there is something physiologically profound about sustaining the and posture that makes zazen a real cultural innovation. <br /><br />I recently ran across this fascinating discourse on the Cosmic Mudra by a priest at the Austin Zen Center: http://www.rawzen.org/?p=231<br /><br />I highly suggest some of the other articles on the Raw Zen blog. He has handouts and courses on "Nueral Zen" that explore the science behind Dogen's instructions.<br /><br />Here are a few more pieces to chew on: http://www.arcatazengroup.org/pdffiles/newsletterarchives/na_july2004.pdf<br /><br />and of course Muho:http://antaiji.dogen-zen.de/eng/201203.shtml<br /><br />Enjoy!Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18100647785880123235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5356790459967720778.post-22733200000128065752012-02-09T20:33:00.000-08:002012-02-09T20:37:44.594-08:00Zazen is Buddha<span style="font-style:italic;">What follows is an interview conducted by Living and Dying in Zazen author, Arthur Braverman with Joko Shibata the only student of Sodo Yokoyama aka "The Leaf Whistling Monk". <br /><br />Enjoy.<br /><br />Al</span><br /><br /><br />An interview with Jôkô Shibata by Arthur Braverman<br /><br />Joko ShibataJôkô Shibata lives alone in a suburb of Komoro, a town in northern Japan, known as the Japan Alps. He moved to Komoro over twenty-five years ago in order to be with his teacher, the late Yokoyama Sodô Roshi, otherwise known as ‘the grass flute Zen master’. Jôkô is of average height and build, wears horn rimmed glasses and samue (work clothes worn by Zen Buddhist monks). He welcomes me into his home with a reserve that drops away quickly as we get to know each other.<br /><br />I had first seen Jôkô (we hadn’t really met) in 1971 when he accompanied his teacher to Antaiji, a small temple in Kyoto, where we both attended the yearly memorial service for Sawaki Kôdô Roshi. Jôkô leads me through a corridor lined with pictures of his teacher to a small chanoma (tea room) where we have tea. On one side of the chanoma is a kitchen, on the other a balcony with a view of Mount Yatsugatake. Across from where we sit is a newly built Zen meditation room, or zendo, with the distinct smell of fresh wood and new tatami straw mats. At the far end of the zendo is a small altar with pictures of Jôkô’s teacher, Yokoyama Sodô Roshi, and his teacher, Sawaki Kôdô, both sitting in the zazen [formal sitting] posture. Jôkô’s life attests to his devotion to these two teachers.<br /><br />Antaiji, a small temple in the northeast corner of Kyoto, was under the charge of Uchiyama Kôshô Roshi, a long time disciple and dharma heir of Sawaki Roshi, when Jôkô joined the practice there. He had read Uchiyama’s first book and decided to become a monk and study under the master. Yokoyama Roshi had lived together with his younger brother disciple Uchiyama Roshi at Antaiji for eight years and then in 1957 moved to Komoro. He visited Antaiji once a year from then on for the memorial celebration for Sawaki Roshi. It was during one of these visits that Jôkô met his future teacher for the first time. ‘I saw my teacher in zazen posture,’ he said, ‘and made up my mind immediately to study under him.’<br /><br />Yokoyama Roshi, who was living a rather eccentric life even for a zen monk, was not looking to train disciples. While living at a nearby boarding house, he spent his days sitting in a bamboo grove at Kaikoen Park in Komoro, playing tunes on a leaf, brushing poems he’d composed in a delicate calligraphic style, and practising zazen. He entertained travellers, helping them feel younger through their contact with him. He considered that his life in the park and his relationship with the passers-by to be his religious practice. The travellers bought his brushed poems through which he made a modest living.<br /><br />When Jôkô approached Yokoyama Roshi to be accepted as a disciple, the master refused and asked him to stay at Antaiji. The roshi said that his lifestyle could not accommodate a disciple, since he had no temple and very little income. Jôkô, not easily dissuaded, left Antaiji, went to Komoro, and pleaded to be accepted until the master acquiesced. After a two-year period of training at Eiheiji, the head training monastery for the Sôtô Zen sect, at Yokoyama Roshi’s request, Jôkô returned to Komoro and moved in with his teacher.<br /><br />Jôkô Shibata cooking with Yokoyama Sodô RoshiHe prepared the roshi’s meals and attended to his needs until the master’s death. To support himself he got a job in a miso factory. When he wasn’t working, he was receiving instructions on the life and practice of Zen.<br /><br />During our conversations, Jôkô quotes Sawaki Roshi as much as he does Yokoyama Roshi. This is not surprising because while the two masters had contrasting lifestyles, Yokoyama Roshi’s writings on zazen are composed extensively of his teacher’s words.<br /><br />Sawaki Kôdô Roshi was called ‘Homeless Kôdô’ and this is because he didn’t have a temple of his own. He lectured and taught zazen at temples throughout Japan, while remaining sceptical of institutional religion. When he was asked to be abbot of Antaiji, rather than live there, he put his disciple Uchiyama Kôshô in charge and visited the temple regularly to teach and hold meditation retreats. A dynamic teacher who spoke directly and, in true Zen fashion, without regard for social convention, his talks were enlightening and humorous and they captivated people, while his personality charmed. Like so many renegades in Zen, he developed quite a large following.<br /><br />Yokoyama Roshi, on the other hand, was a loner who taught through his lifestyle. He lived in metaphors through poetry and song. His lifestyle was elegant. He went to Kaikoen every morning and set up his temple under a self-constructed awning between three trees with tea pot, portable stove (hibachi), leaves in a bowl of water, tea cups, brushes, ink block, etc.<br /><br />People who met him were inspired as a result of meeting one whose life was so simple and who seemed to love what he was doing. Like the monk Ryôkan, by whom he was clearly influenced, he delighted in playing with little children, and they with him. Like his teacher, he spoke of zazen as the focus of his life, and his conduct testified to this.<br /><br />Sawaki RoshiGiven Sawaki Roshi’s dynamism and charisma, and Yokoyama Roshi’s elegance and artistic sensibility, Jôkô had quite a legacy to live up to. He is not charismatic, he doesn’t compose or brush poetry, and he can’t play the leaf (at least he hasn’t demonstrated that he can). His faith in zazen, however, is as strong as that of his two predecessors, and he has the advantage of their teaching. Though he displays little of the uniqueness of these two creative teachers, his life is truly a celebration of zazen.<br /><br />When I called on Jôkô, it had been seventeen or eighteen years since the death of his teacher. I knew that he wouldn’t have the foggiest idea who I was and would wonder how I got his unlisted telephone number, and that breaking the ice with him would be an uncomfortable formal affair. What I didn’t anticipate was that when we got past the formalities it would be a most delightful encounter and the highlight of my visit to Japan.<br /><br />Jôkô had just terminated his job at the miso factory and completed the construction of the new zendo. It was a perfect time to visit him, as I found on my arrival. The following are excerpts from the conversation I had with him.<br /><br />Arthur: Yokoyama Roshi was seventy-five when he died?<br /><br />Jôkô: Seventy-four.<br /><br />A: When I saw him at Kaikoen Park he seemed quite strong. Uchiyama Roshi always appeared weak, while Yokoyama Roshi appeared so healthy.<br /><br />Jôkô: Yes, but he used to go to the park during the coldest part of the winter. Little by little he exhausted all his energy. He lived with the bare minimum — he lived in poverty and he perfected this impoverished life.<br /><br />A: You worked in a bakery when you lived with Roshi?<br /><br />Jôkô: A miso shop.<br /><br />A: Until recently?<br /><br />Jôkô: Yes.<br /><br />A: How do you plan to make a living from now on?<br /><br />Jôkô: Well, I’ll live on a minimal budget and I’ll manage somehow (laughs).<br /><br />A: You have a vegetable garden?<br /><br />Jôkô: Yes, a small one. I rent a small plot. Having lived at Antaiji I got used to living in poverty (laughs).<br /><br />A: How long were you at Antaiji?<br /><br />Jôkô: I was at Antaiji for about three years. Then I went to Eiheiji and then I lived with my teacher.<br /><br />A: You were at Eiheiji for four years?<br /><br />Jôkô: Three years.<br /><br />A: A friend of mine who went to Eiheiji said that the only real practice there is during the first three months.<br /><br />Jôkô: That’s true (laughs). My teacher said that I should go to Eiheiji, not for practice but to see what it’s like there. You hear Eiheiji, Eiheiji, all the time and you think it must be an extraordinary place, but you go there and see it for yourself and you realize that it is nothing special — ‘This is all it is?’ Then you can relax and get down to practising. That’s the reality, isn’t it?<br /><br />A: Didn’t Yokoyama Roshi go to Eiheiji?<br /><br />Jôkô: No, he practised at Sôjiji. Sawaki Roshi was the Godô (Director of Training) at Sôjiji then.<br /><br />A: You went to Eiheiji because your teacher asked you to go there for three years?<br /><br />Jôkô: Yes. He didn’t say three years. He just said go, so I went.<br /><br />A: And you didn’t feel like leaving after six months?<br /><br />Jôkô: (Laughing) I wanted to leave, but what could I do? I stayed for three years, a full two years and some. No, it was a full three years.<br /><br />A: And when you returned to Komoro, you got a job so you could have money to live?<br /><br />Jôkô: Yes.<br /><br />A: To live near your teacher?<br /><br />Jôkô: Yes. I thought about how I would manage living with my teacher in a boarding house. I couldn’t go begging (because we weren’t in a temple) so I had to get a job. When my teacher died, I thought about what to do next. Since I decided to stay here, I still had to make a living.<br /><br />A: Did you live here at that time. [We were about thirty minutes from Kaikoen Park. The boarding house where he lived with Yokoyama Roshi was walking distance from the park.]<br /><br />Jôkô: Not then.<br /><br />A: You were still near the park?<br /><br />Jôkô: Yes.<br /><br />A: While you were working, were you thinking about building this meditation room?<br /><br />Jôkô: Yes. My teacher thought about doing this. Antaiji no longer existed in Kyoto. I thought that if I created a place where people could practise zazen together, it would be a good thing.<br /><br />A: How do you plan to let people know that you have this place?<br /><br />Jôkô: I don’t know . . . I really have no idea. How did you make the connection? I had no idea that you would come here, yet . . . (laughs) I wondered how you got my telephone number since it’s not listed.<br /><br />A: That’s why I’m wondering how other people are going to find out about this place.<br /><br />Jôkô: Arthur may tell people he came here. I don’t know who or from where the connection will be made (laughs).<br /><br />A: I’ll write something in English and people will come here.<br /><br />Jôkô: Do you believe in zazen?<br /><br />A: I don’t know to what degree I can say I believe in it.<br /><br />Jôkô: Do you believe that it is the universe?<br /><br />A: I’ve read that statement many times, but how much it has penetrated . . .<br /><br />Jôkô: But you believe that it is so, don’t you? As Sawaki Roshi said, ‘taking you to a place where you can do nothing else (yuki tsuku tokoro o yuki tsuita . . .).’<br /><br />A: I may believe it with my head, but . . .<br /><br />Jôkô: It really does take you to a place where you can do nothing else.<br /><br />A: Even if I say I understand, there will always be some question.<br /><br />Jôkô: If you understand, that’s enough (laughs). You’ll do zazen. Have some candy. It’s from my teacher’s home town.<br /><br />A: Really?<br /><br />Jôkô: He was from Kome. It says, ‘A speciality of Kome.’<br /><br />Buddha in meditation. Photo: © Hazel WaghornA: Did you believe ‘Zazen is Buddha’ [I am quoting a phrase used regularly by both Yokoyama Roshi and Sawaki Roshi: zazen wa hotoke de aru] from the beginning?<br /><br />Jôkô: I believed it, but I didn’t understand it. Sawaki Roshi said it, Uchiyama Roshi said it, my teacher said it. They all said, ‘First do zazen, you have to do zazen.’ I came to realize that. When I met my teacher, that’s what he said in his teishôs (sermons).<br /><br />There’s nothing other than zazen. I didn’t know that. But I did zazen and somehow, through the body, I came to know it in the end. The posture is one important thing; the most important thing after all.<br /><br />It is said that if you do zazen, you know what zazen feels like. If you steal, you know what a robber feels. So if you do zazen completely, you really become in tune with the universe. If you don’t do it completely, you won’t really understand the meaning of being in tune with the universe.<br /><br />A: You talk about the importance of posture. In Pure Land Buddhism they don’t emphasize posture, yet you’ve said that Pure Land is the same spirit as Zen.<br /><br />Jôkô: It is the same spirit. But it’s another application. Sawaki Roshi said that Namu Amida Buddha(Praise a Buddha) is an application of zazen. You recite the name like this (he demonstrates). Zazen is done with the whole body.<br /><br />I would say that whichever one is easier for you to understand (zazen or nembutsu) is the one you should choose. After all Namu Amida Buddha expresses infinite life, doesn’t it? Infinite, limitless, unobstructed . . . ‘Namu’ means surrender, doesn’t it? So you surrender to it, right? Sawaki Roshi says zazen puts you in tune with the vibrations of the universe. It’s basically the same, isn’t it . . . after all?<br /><br />So first you believe it emphatically, then you realize it. It is said that whoever does zazen will experience the same thing — this is true. The question is whether you can believe that this is it when you do zazen. In general, people don’t believe it. They usually seek something else, satori (enlightenment) or something. Understanding that zazen is the end in itself is most important. Realizing that doing zazen is all that is necessary — that is the universe as it is . . . Everything, your thoughts and objects are all one with the universe. Because this body is the universe’s body, you’re not controlling your breathing. Isn’t that right? Think about when you are sleeping. Then your breath is naturally regulated, isn’t it?<br /><br />A: Yes, I agree.<br /><br />Jôkô: Humans think, distinguishing between this and that . . . Using our mind in this way, we create the existence of a ‘me’. But originally there was only the universe. The Heart Sutra says, ‘There is no birth and no death,’ doesn’t it? Really nothing is born and nothing dies.<br /><br />The phrase ‘the life and death of the universe’ (uchû shôji) means you don’t live and die — the universe does. This is very difficult to understand. If you understand it, you will be at ease. That’s why you should do zazen. It’s quite difficult to understand.<br /><br />A: My father-in-law, as a Pure Land Buddhist priest, says that if you practise zazen, you are expressing your lack of faith in the fact that you already have been saved. You want to get something out of it, or be somebody, so you practise.<br /><br />Jôkô: That’s true. But zazen is not religious practice. You don’t try to become great or attain something.<br /><br />You only see one side with words. Sawaki Roshi said doing zazen once is eternal zazen. That’s absolutely true. If you really understand the meaning of eternal zazen, you will do it again. That’s the truth.<br /><br />A: You’ll do it because it’s eternal?<br /><br />Jôkô: Yes. If you understand that it is eternal, you’ll do it again. ‘If I do it once and it is eternal, I don’t need to do it again,’ — that is false understanding. Because you don’t understand it, you say that. If you really understand it, you want to do it again. When we eat delicious food, we want to eat more, don’t we? You do (true zazen) because you understand it. People who don’t understand it, do it once and then rationalize, ‘I did zazen once, therefore . . . ‘ So when someone reasons that reciting ‘Praise to Amida Buddha’ (Namu Amida Buddha) once is enough because it is eternal recitation, he is not telling a lie. However, if that is true, he will recite it again and again (laughs).<br /><br />A: Your teacher talked of how Sawaki Roshi realized that zazen was posture. When the roshi was in a monastery and all the other monks went to a festival, he stayed back and did zazen. A lady who came to clean walked by and saw him sitting in zazen and immediately bowed and recited prayers to him. He realized that she was praying to the form regardless of what deluded thoughts were going through his mind.<br /><br />Sawaki RoshiJôkô: Yes. Sawaki Roshi felt that for human beings the most sacred position was that of zazen. When I saw my teacher in that position, I too felt how true that was. It’s from that experience that my faith in zazen was aroused. That’s where the faith-mind comes from.<br /><br />That photo over there of Sawaki Roshi doing zazen . . . I look at it often . . . It’s quite powerful. Look at it carefully. See how powerful it is when you sit and stare at it.<br /><br />My teacher always told me to pay attention to my posture. I would sit in front of a mirror and check myself and sure enough when I got lost in thought or sleepy I would see my body bending or my head tilting. When I put all my energy toward it, I would sit like this (he demonstrates a straight zazen posture). Your nose should be in line with your belly button, your ears in line with your shoulders and your head should be pushed up toward the sky. Then that (posture) will arise. And with that the feeling will arise.<br /><br />A: You mean the blood will leave your head and you will feel settled?<br /><br />Jôkô: Yes, yes. They say your blood settles . . . You become sane. The Buddha-way is the true way to sanity. You become natural. So correct posture is important.<br /><br />There are people who can’t keep this posture and maybe they can’t do zazen. But that’s okay. Still, right posture is important when doing zazen.<br /><br />A: When you sit in zazen, what do you focus on? Your posture? Your breath?<br /><br />Jôkô: In the Sôtô sect you are not told to focus on your breath or posture. They do say short breaths are short and long breaths are long. In Sawaki Roshi’s book there is mention of breathing from your tanden (lower abdomen). In general you straighten your posture and breathe from your hara (abdomen).<br /><br />A: Does that mean that it’s okay to let thoughts arise?<br /><br />Jôkô: Thoughts naturally arise, but you shouldn’t follow them. When you are thinking, you will slump. When I sit across from a mirror, I can really see this. When I am wrapped in thought and I glance at a mirror, I see how my posture is. Sure enough, something is off.<br /><br />Human beings are thinkers. We can’t rid ourselves of thinking, but we don’t have to chase after thoughts or wipe them away. Of course, what I am suggesting is difficult.<br /><br />When we think, we tend to chase after our thoughts. So when we are doing this, we just have to correct our posture. Thinking is not good, but chasing after thoughts, or trying to erase them, is no good either. This is why posture is so important. You think, and your posture crumbles. You correct it. You think again, and your neck or your torso bends, or some part of your body slips, and again you correct it. Keep your posture right, leaving things as they are (aru ga mama) . . .<br /><br />There is ‘good feeling’ zazen too, isn’t there? ‘Ah this feels great.’ In fact, this too is not really good zazen. When you are feeling ‘this is good zazen,’ just check yourself out and you will see. You may think, ‘This is wonderful. The time flew by while I was sitting.’ But if you check your posture during these times, you’ll see you’re actually spacing out.<br /><br />You really have to give all your effort to it, and it’s not easy to do this kind of zazen. Still, you have to keep aiming for it. When you do that, and your body is in the correct position, you will feel it. Then the feeling, ‘This is fine,’ will become apparent. It will happen naturally. ‘Ah, I should just sit — this is the way of the universe.’<br /><br />The body becomes the ‘body as it is’ (sono mama) . . . The body is the universe, isn’t it? Breathing is the work of the universe; it’s not the work of your individual self. Thinking too is the work of the universe. And, as is written in the Genjôkoan, delusion and realization are one — both a part of the same scenery. So bringing your body back to the universe is zazen (the essence of zazen). Hence, Sawaki Roshi’s statement, ‘By yourself you make the self your self.’ Truly, you become your self. And that is the universe. That this thing becomes this thing is the form of the universe. If you want to become something else, you are making a mistake. You need to be satisfied with who you are.<br /><br />A: Is there no difference in sitting alone or with a group?<br /><br />Jôkô: In the final analysis there isn’t.<br /><br />A: In the ancient writings, there is talk of the importance of a community (sangha). Dogen says you should sit with one or two others.<br /><br />Jôkô: Yes, that too is important. When you practise by yourself and get tired, you can easily quit. ‘Ah I’m tired, I’ll just rest . . . ‘(laughs). But when you practise with others, you can’t operate that way.<br /><br />A: You are taught by your posture, aren’t you? When you think about something, your posture starts to collapse. When you practise with others, aren’t you still taught by your posture?<br /><br />Jôkô: Yes. You practise with all your heart, and when you start to slip up, you correct yourself. Because zazen is your world. Even if someone is sitting next to you, it’s still your world. At that time, you have to practise with care. But when you practise by yourself and your legs hurt after thirty minutes, you say to yourself, ‘I’ll take a break. ‘ When you’re sitting with others, you can’t do that. If you agree to sit for forty minutes, you sit for that time. If you agree to sit for fifty minutes, you have to sit for that duration. You have to hang in there, don’t you?<br /><br />A: Jôkô-san, haven’t you been sitting by yourself for the last eighteen years? (Yokoyama Roshi died eighteen years ago.)<br /><br />Jôkô: Yes. Now it’s easier to sit; I sit a lot longer. Zazen goes deeper and deeper. The more you practise, the deeper you go. It’s still just zazen — the depth . . .<br /><br />A: Do you do sesshins by yourself?<br /><br />Jôkô: I’m not sure what you mean by sesshin, but if you mean sitting fourteen hours a day (he’s referring to the Antaiji schedule), I can’t sit fourteen hours each day. I usually sit between eight and ten hours a day. That’s all I can do. I get tired when I do more than ten hours. By the eleventh hour, I’ve had enough. No matter how wonderful my zazen is, at some point it feels like it’s too much (laughs). I feel like I’ve had it (laughs).<br /><br />A: Years ago you sat with others — Shûsoku-san and others.<br /><br />Jôkô: Yes, yes.<br /><br />A: You don’t get together with any of them now?<br /><br />Jôkô: They are all doing their own thing now. And, after all, fewer and fewer people are doing zazen now.<br /><br />A: In Japan there are fewer people doing zazen?<br /><br />Jôkô: I think so. I really don’t get much news about it, so it’s just a feeling I have. I don’t know if it’s really so.<br /><br />A: If someone came along and wanted to practise as your disciple, would you let him?<br /><br />Jôkô: Sure. We would live and work together and he would have to be willing to do zazen as I do it. He wouldn’t be able to play around (laughs). This is a place for zazen. If someone wants to do zazen here, I don’t care who it is, it’s fine . . . This is a nice place, isn’t it? You can see Yatsugatake Mountain on a clear day.<br /><br />A: Is the altitude of Komoro high?<br /><br />Jôkô: Yes. It’s about six hundred metres high. The city is at the front entrance to the mountain. Later we can walk around here. I’m always doing zazen, so I don’t take good care of the garden — it’s pretty sloppy (laughs). I really have to attend to it . . .Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18100647785880123235noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5356790459967720778.post-65808641685042328562011-08-18T11:50:00.000-07:002011-08-18T11:54:44.397-07:00Ian MacKayeI just ran across this quote from one of my favorite musicians and Washington D.C. native Ian MacKaye:
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<br />"The first time I played a bass, I was successful. Success is not a goal. Success is in the doing. Always."
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<br />I think that describes Shikantaza pretty well( even though it is beyond success and failure).
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<br />Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18100647785880123235noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5356790459967720778.post-48820128636257837182011-04-07T06:23:00.000-07:002011-04-07T06:45:23.383-07:00The Posture is Beyond ThinkingI read this passage today from Issho Fujita via Kyoshin Samuels excellent Jodo Shinshu/Zazen blog <a href="http://echoesofthename.net/2009/02/26/zazen-notes-21/">"Echoes of The Name"</a>. I highly recommend Kyoshin's blog. I've really become intrigued with Shinran through Kyoshin's blog. Taigen Leighton also has a number talks on the similaatities between Dogen and Shinran on his sight. <br /><br />"<em>When we refer to the qualities of.....beyond thinking(hishiryo).....we mean that the sitting posture is (itself) beyond thinking and has no thought,.....not that we ourselves are. We will never be beyond thinking.....What we can do is sit with the faith that zazen posture itself is Buddha, that zazen posture itself is beyond thinking. We tend to think that we are sitting zazen. This is not the case. The entire universe is sitting zazen</em>." <br /><br />How awesome is that? <br /><br />AlAlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18100647785880123235noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5356790459967720778.post-36640177314041859702010-12-21T06:06:00.000-08:002010-12-21T08:31:35.569-08:00The MudraIt's been a while since I've posted anything.<br /><br /><br /><br />For one, I've been extremely busy( a good thing) at work and I was away at Sesshin at the Milwaukee Zen Center w/ Rev. Tonen O'Conner. Tonen is one hell of a teacher and is the dharma sister of my teacher, Toshu. MZC's library is excellent. I stayed awake most nights reading instead of sleeping. It was worth it.<br /><br /><br /><br />One of the things I've been paying attention to quite a lot lately is the cosmic mudra while I sit. I read <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Warm-Smiles-Cold-Mountains-Meditation/dp/1930485107/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1292940789&sr=8-1">Warm Smiles from Cold Mountains</a> by Reb Anderson recently and was inspired by a particular passage in the chapter "Listen to The Body". The passage reads, " I would also like to take this opportunity to mention again the wonderful practice of touching your hands to each other in this mudra we call the concentration, or cosmic mudra. <strong>Please keep this mudra in contact with your abdomen while sitting.</strong> Actually touch the hands to the abdomen, and keep actual tactile contact there. "<br /><br /><br /><br />Reb goes on to explain how the hands drifitng away from the abdomen is an "advanced gaurd" against drowsiness and probably more reliable than the eyes closing. My experience since reading this is that he is absolutely correct. Almost every one has been told that what the mudra looks like is a mirror of what the mind is going through during zazen, but the suggestion about contact with the abdomen was new to me. I'm glad I've been made aware of this as it has been really helpful.<br /><br /><br /><br />A few observations: First there may be something very physiologically profound about this. If you look at a <a href="http://www.vis.caltech.edu/~zoltan/szeged8/img8.htm">Motor Homonculus</a> one of the first things you will note is the size of the hands. For those of you who don't know what a Homonculus is, it is a chart that shows what if would look like if the human body were built in proportion to the amount of brain power needed to "motor" a body part. If we were proportioned accordingly, our hands and mouth would be our biggest body parts.<br /><br /><br /><br />Interesting huh? What does this tell us? For one it says sit down and shut up. Next it tells us that the hand position may in fact be the most important part of the zazen posture, not the spine, head, neck, etc. My recent experience has shown me that if my mudra stays "energized", nuetral, and against my abdomen, then my spine stays effortlessly erect, my neck stays free and relaxed, my breathing deepens and my mind quites down without any manipulation. My sitting "sits" in the mudra.<br /><br />Of course I need to be careful not to come across as sounding as if this is a technique, but I do find it interesting that in the "zazen world" so much attention is placed on other parts of the body while nueroscience clearly shows that the hands are much more responsible for a larger consumption of brain activity. Looking at this as a feedback loop and refering to my experience, I think that the hands may play more important of a role than they get credit for in keeping the zazen posture whole.Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18100647785880123235noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5356790459967720778.post-88375085472121681632010-09-09T03:42:00.000-07:002010-09-09T03:46:44.637-07:00Issho Fujita Audio TalkI found a talk by Issho Fujita(along with a bunch of other gems) over at Taigen Dan Leighton's website. It is talk number 64 and is titled "Zazen is Not Learning Meditation". What an inspiration! Enjoy.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.ancientdragon.org/dharma/dharma_talks_audio">http://www.ancientdragon.org/dharma/dharma_talks_audio</a>Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18100647785880123235noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5356790459967720778.post-71574172127231012182010-03-06T08:56:00.001-08:002010-03-06T09:19:54.386-08:00Issho FujitaHere is an excellent two part video introduction to Zazen by the Reverend Issho Fujita.<br /><br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_pryjchBis<br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zme-93kzv<br /><br />For those of you who don't know of him, Rev. Fujita was a practitoner at Antaiji before moving to Massachusetts to help guide Antaiji's satellite, the Valley Zendo(he moved back to Japan a few years ago). The Valley Zendo website has the notebooks of Rev. Fujita and in my opinion should be deemed required reading for all of those who practice Shikantaza. Rev. Fujita has explored in his writings the physical aspects of sitting in a very unique way. He is always trying out new forms of bodywork to expand and deepen his understanding of Zazen. <br /><br />Here is an interview where he discusses this and an article of his on the differences between Zazen and meditation.<br /><br />www.dharma.org/ij/archives/documents/v24InsightJournalSpring2005.pdf<br />www.dharma.org/ij/archives/2002a/zazen.htm<br /><br />Enjoy.Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18100647785880123235noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5356790459967720778.post-7903927102896833692009-09-14T13:39:00.000-07:002009-09-14T13:57:13.925-07:00Sodo Yokoyama-Distracted ThoughtsHere is a wonderful article from Sodo Yokoyama aka; "The Leaf Whistling Monk". Yokoyama was a disciple of Sawaki Roshi and the dharma brother of Uchiyama Roshi.<br /><br /><p class="head"> Distracting Thoughts </p> <p class="quote"> "All you have to do is decide that wherever you are is the best place there is. Once you start comparing one place to another, there's no end to it." -- Sodo Yokoyama </p> <p class="text"><br /><br />"My teacher, the late Sawaki Roshi, often made the following self-evaluation: 'I am an eternally deluded person. No one is as deluded as I am. I am deluded with gold trimmings. How clear it is to me when I do zazen!'<br /><br />"What a strange thing this zazen is. When we practice it, distracting ideas, irrelevant thoughts — in short, delusions, which ordinary people are made of, suddenly seem to feel an irresistible temptation to arise and appear on the surface. Then there is a desire to drive these thoughts away, in irresistible desire to which our complete effort is added. Those who don't do zazen know nothing about this. Why is it that when we practice, deluded thoughts continue to surface one after the other? The reason, which we learn from Zazen, is that each one of us, from prince to beggar, is an ordinary (deluded) person. The attempt to drive these deluded thoughts away — delusion being so much nonsense (interfering with the happiness of oneself and others) — is also something brought home to us through zazen. We tentatively call this zazen that guides us in this way, 'Buddha'.<br /><br />"According to this teaching, simply the awareness that you are deluded, which comes from practising zazen, makes you, in reality, a Buddha. It's zazen that teaches us that we too are deluded, and hence delivers us from this delusion. When we actually practice zazen and look carefully at all the deluded ideas that keep popping up, we realize how ordinary we are and how little we have to be proud of or to brag about; nothing to do other than quietly hide away. This is, after all, what we truly are.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.lookagain.ca/images/sodo.jpg" width="200" align="left" height="323" /> <img src="http://www.lookagain.ca/images/px.gif" width="10" align="left" height="323" />"Satori is being enlightened to the fact that we are deluded. There is then the desire, however small, to stop these deluded acts. That is how ordinary people are saved by zazen. So we realize, beyond a doubt, our ordinariness through our zazen practice, and any departure from zazen (Buddha) will give rise to the inability to deal with these delusions and hence we will lose our way. We can say that the world has gone astray because it can't deal with its delusions...All the troubles in this world, political, economic and so forth, are created from situations in which the awareness of one's ordinariness is absent.<br /><br />"Sawaki Roshi said, 'Those who are unaware of their ordinariness are from a religious point of view shallow and comical.'<br /><br />"The devil — that is, illusion — when seen as the devil, can no longer exhibit its powers, and disappears of its own accord.<br /><br />"Shakyamuni was enlightened beyond all doubt to the fact that he was an ordinary person and became a Buddha. Then he began to live the life of a Buddha. When you realize your ordinariness, you are a Buddha, and when you are a Buddha, no matter how many distracting ideas and irrelevant thoughts appear they are no match for a Buddha and hence no longer remain obstacles. Delusions that no longer obstruct us are called fantasies. The Buddha way — the way of peace — is turning of delusion into fantasies."</p> <p class="smallhead" align="right"> — Sodo Yokoyama 1907-1980 </p><br /><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div>Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18100647785880123235noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5356790459967720778.post-63862937560677933412009-08-06T06:39:00.000-07:002009-08-06T07:05:41.780-07:00My Life<span style="font-style: italic;">Sawaki Roshi: </span>Human beings don't seem to wake up unless they are compelled to compete with each other<span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>for a prize. It would not be strange to run a race if we were ostriches; it would not be strange to swim a race if we were fur seals; it would not be strange to scramble for a ball if we were kittens.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Uchiyama Roshi:</span> Spectator sports are popular now. Some people watch games all the time and make a big deal out of them. They hardly have any time to reflect on themselves. I wonder about them. If they say that it's just entertainment, I agree with them. But entertaiment, like everything else<span style="font-style: italic;"> <span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span></span>must be judged must be judged form the perspective of a constant questioning of the value of the content of our lives.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Sawaki Roshi: </span>Because their bored, in order to kill time, people are always agonizing , falling in love, drinking wine, reading novels, or watching sports; they are always doing things randomly and living from hand to mouth. For them this world is <span style="font-style: italic;">ukiyo </span>(floating or transitory world). It is the place were people are always wobbling, window shopping, and going by detours.<br />****<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Sawaki Roshi:</span> Everywhere in this world, people feel bored, so they go to war<span style="font-style: italic;"> <span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span>brandishing deadly weapons as if they were children's toys, saying, "Right Wing" or "Left Wing." They do so because they think there must be something to it. But there isn't. Only the grave waits for us.<br />****<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Sawaki Roshi: </span>Human beings boast that Man is the lord of creation, but in fact human beings don't even know how to take care of themselves and watch sports or pursue other vapid forms of entertainment to avoid facing themselves and then justify it all by saying that they are just like everyone else.<br />****<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Sawaki Roshi: </span>When children nag about something, their parents scold them and tell them they are being unreasonable. These parents are also being unreasonable. This is <span style="font-style: italic;">Mumyo</span>, ignorance of the true nature of existence, one of the twelve links in the chain of dependent origination.<span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><br /></span>Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18100647785880123235noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5356790459967720778.post-26839304231784293162009-08-04T04:11:00.000-07:002009-08-04T07:28:02.202-07:00In the Family<span style="font-style: italic;">Sawaki Roshi:</span> Too often, the home is nothing more than a place where husband and wife, parents and children, spoil one another and bind each other up in fatal ties.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Uchiyama Roshi: </span>I don't think I'm qualified to give advice to other people, but this world is a strange place. I say that because there are many people who come to me for advice about their familt problems. They open their hearts to me and tell me about their home lives, sometimes travelling a great distance only for that purpose. Since this is a temple, they feel safe here, thinking that what they say will not leak out to others. I have been listening to them one by one for a number of years, frequently hearing the same story. People often get married only out of mutual sexual attraction. Although they reach fifty and their sexual passion diminishes, they treat each other like strangers or even hate each other and share a disordered house. They want to divorce, but cannot, because of the opinions of others, or their children, or their economic situation.<br /><br />Consider the relationship between parents and children. No matter how much they hate each other, they are "similar figures" and when the corners of similar figures come into contact, there can be trouble: passionate mother and passionate daughter, stubborn father and stubborn son, greedy parent couple and greedy young couple, unfeeling parents and unfeeling children. It would be good if they could realize they have horns pointing in the same direction and sympathize with one another. If they continually butt one another, its just endless trouble. In order to create a home that is truly a place of rest, consideration, and love, we should respect each other's feelings and opinions, reflect upon oursleves, and make an effort to live in harmony with others.Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18100647785880123235noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5356790459967720778.post-56344867159839281042009-08-03T06:36:00.000-07:002009-08-03T07:32:19.893-07:00Ghosts and the power of suggestion<span style="font-style: italic;">Sawaki Roshi: </span>People often ask me if ghost exist. Anyone who thinks about such matters is a ghost.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Uchiyama Roshi: </span>Sawaki Roshi always expressed himself unequivocally. As long as you don't believe in ghosts, there are no ghosts, but once you become confused to whether ghost exist or not, you become a ghost yourself because of your confusion.<br /><br />When someone believes a spiritualist who tells him that he is haunted by an ancestor's soul, or that they can call up the soul of a dead person and solve all his problems, he becomes firghtened, is swindled out of his money, and loses his wits. One who can't walk a straight line in such matters really is a ghost. Moreover, a person who is easily influenced by the power of suggestion is unreliable. When he gets sick he gets sick and his condition deteriorates, he becomes really foolish. Even after his body has recovered from the illness, he still suffers, thinking that his doctor has given up on him. And he can't regain his wits because of the suggestion that he is sick. Under these conditions, he can easily be influenced by a charismatic religious leader and after a mesmerizing prayer, incanation, or laying on of hands believes that he has been cured. Anyone who is easily manipulated is a ghost.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />Sawaki Roshi: </span>People often say that they saw the spirit of a dead person or that they dreamed of so and so when he was dying. It's just another detail in the vast landscape of <span style="font-style: italic;">samasra.<span style="font-style: italic;"></span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span></span></span>Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18100647785880123235noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5356790459967720778.post-7137287344700565032009-07-31T04:08:00.000-07:002009-07-31T05:12:26.018-07:00Given that I will die<span style="font-style: italic;">Sawaki Roshi:<br /><br /> </span>A shower<br /> in the middle of a fight<br /> about irrigation.<br /> <br />After a long drought, they fight over water for the rice fields. In the middle of the fight, a shower hits them. Since the fight about irrigation depends on the condition of dry weather, if it rains, there's no problem. There will be no difference between a beautiful and an ugly woman when they become eighty years old. The original self is empty and clear.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Uchiyama Roshi: </span>Because the fight about irrigation depends on the condition of dry weather, if it rains, there's no problem. Let's see: there is the possibility that if I go out now, I will have a car accident that will finish me off. If I were rundown by a car and knocked out, my thoughts, "I want this, I want that," my frustrated anger. "Oh....that fool!" or my longing for a certain woman would all be resolved quite spontaneously, like a shower in the middle of a fight about irrigation. As long as we are alive, we will have problems which are based on the assumption that we will continue to live. But it is also important to look at these problems with the assumption that in the next moment, we will be in a coffin. Then we can live in a more leisurely fashion, knowing that we don't have to get stuck in our own opinions, gritting our teeth and furrowing our brows. In a word, zazen is to look back on this world as if you were already in your grave.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Sawaki Roshi: </span>Imagine thinking of your life after your death. You see it didn't matter.Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18100647785880123235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5356790459967720778.post-62700935550486140942009-07-30T09:43:00.000-07:002009-07-30T10:18:56.718-07:00Everyone is naked<span style="font-style: italic;">Sawaki Roshi: </span>To wander from place to place in this transitory world is to pursue "name". A person is born naked. But then he is given a name, registered, and covered with clothes, and a nipple is stuffed into his mouth, and so on. When he grows up you say, "He is great, strong, clever, rich." You find consolation only in words. In fact, everyone is just naked.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Uchiyama Roshi: </span>Rousseau said, Even emperors, nobles and great, wealthy men were born naked and poor, and at the end of their lives they must die naked and poor." This is absolutely true. For a short while between birth and death, human beings put on various and complicated clothes. Some wear beautiful costumes, some rags, some prision uniforms. There are the clothes of status and class, of joy and anger, of sadness and comfort, of delusion and enlightenment. We unwittingly take these clothes to be out true selves, and devote ourselves to obtaining, by a<span style="font-style: italic;"></span>ny means, a satisfactory wardrobe.<br /><br />As long as we live, we must wear some kind of uniform. I hope that we don't forget that our true selves are naked, and remembering these naked selves, we look once more at our clothed lives and put them in order. In the <span style="font-style: italic;">Heart Sutra</span> it says, "No birth, no extinction, no defilement, no purity." This is the true, naked self, which has cast off even the clothes of birth and death and enlightenment and delusion.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Sawaki Roshi:</span> When a woman dies, it doesn't make any difference whether she is beautiful or ugly. Is a beauty's skull superior to an ugly woman's? That has nothing to do with truth.<br />****<br />There are no rich, no poor, no great, no plain. These are only words that make us anxious.Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18100647785880123235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5356790459967720778.post-11198467328394440252009-07-02T13:02:00.000-07:002009-07-02T14:31:38.163-07:00Money<span style="font-style: italic;">Sawaki Roshi: </span>If you have no money, you are in trouble. But it's good to know that there are more important things than money. If you have no sexual desire, something is wrong. But it's good to know that there are more important things than sexual desire.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Uchiyama Roshi: </span>If I were super-rich, I would by everything. If I gave a lot of money to neighbors and people around me, they would greet me with smiles. When someone is in trouble, in most cases they are suffering from a shortage of cash. I would give them money unsparingly and solve their problems. If I got sick, I would go to one of those hospitals furnished like aluxury hotel and hire several beautiful, young nurses. I could recieve medical treatment while feasting my eyes. When I got old, I could make people think that I was a kind and trustworthy person. I could enjoy a fabulous second youth. I could act as a peacemaker saying, "Hey, I'll buy the Vietnam War!" and resolve the conflict by giving both sides a fat lot of money.<br /><br />There is always disagreement in the areas of economics, politics, and philosophy. Although they all seem to be very complicated, most problems can be solved with money, if we have enough of it. But when you believe it is possible to solve any problem with money, you become totally dependent on it. Unfortunately, the problem of the self can't be solved with money.<br /><br />Once I met a man who had inherited a large fortune from his parents, but who was so worried about losing it that he became neurotic. We read that in Sweden there are many people who commit suicide out of despair, even though the country ensures a livelihood for all its citizens and has no problems with its economy. When people look into themselves, they do not find their lives at all settled.Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18100647785880123235noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5356790459967720778.post-54002356357383812372009-06-25T08:28:00.000-07:002009-06-25T15:38:40.895-07:00Our inertial lives<span style="font-style: italic;">Sawaki Roshi: </span>A strange creature, the human being; groping in the dark with an intelligent look.<br />****<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Human beings strive only to avoid boredom.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">****<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />A lot of things in this world attract you. But once you do, or get them, they're worthless.<br />****<br />There are people who <span style="font-style: italic;">never </span>find their own way in life.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Uchiyama Roshi: </span>If I broach the subject of the essence of your life, you might feel as if some old, moldy clothes were being given to you. But when we reflect deeply on thge essence of our own lives, we will realize that this is not an old, moldy subject, but our lives as we live them are. Why? Because we get up sheerly through inertia, eat breakfast through inertia, encounter our aquaintences through inertia, watch televison through inertia, read magazines through inertia, and go to work through inertia. We spend most of our time this way. <br /> <br /> How do we find our lives worth living at all? We are always running after one thing or another so that we don't have to consider this question. When we play <span style="font-style: italic;">mah-jong, </span>we find the significance of life in winning a game. When we go to a department store, we find the significance of life in shopping. If we can't afford to buy things, we find the significance of life in imaginig that we could. When we watch baseball or <span style="font-style: italic;">sumo</span> wrestling, we find the significance of life in hoping our favorite athletes will win. These activites are merely diversions. No matter how clamourous the times in which we live, we should sincerely reflect on the meaning of life. <br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span><br /></span></span></span></span></span>Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18100647785880123235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5356790459967720778.post-26832065500441547612009-06-09T09:07:00.000-07:002009-06-09T09:54:23.661-07:00Calculating The Difference<span style="font-style: italic;">Sawaki Roshi: </span>During World War Two, I visited a colliery and went into a coal mine in Kyushu.<br />Like the colliers, I put on a hat with a lamp and went down in an elevator. For some time, I thought the elevator went down steadily. Then I started to fell as if it were going up. I shined my light in the coal shaft and realized, "Oh! It's still going down." When the elevator starts going down, you actually feel that it's going down, but once the speed becomes fixed, it's possible to feel as if it were going up. That's the other side of the balance. In the ups and downs of life we are deceived by the difference in balance.<br />****<br />Saying, "I've got Satori!" is only feeling the difference in the balance. Saying, "I'm deluded!" is only feeling another difference in the balance. To say it's delicious or it tastes terrible, to be rich, to be poor, all are just feeling about the differences in the balance.<br />****<br />In most cases, common sense only shows a difference in the balance.<br />****<br />A human being puts his "I" into everything without knowing it. "Oh, that was good!" he sometimes says. What is good? It's just good for him, that's all.<br />****<br />The reason that we human beings are often exhausted is that we do things with personal profit in mind.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Uchiyama Roshi: </span>Usually, we are terribly concerned about luck. Are there really such things as good luck and bad luck? There aren't. There are only calculating measures. Only when expect to make things profitable for ourselves, is it possible to feel that we didn't make it. Only when we compete with others, is it possible to feel the difference in the balance as loss.<br /> True religion takes no notice of the human desire to make things profitable for ourselves or our calculating measurement. If we throw away our ordinary expectations and take an attitude of settling down on whichever side of the balance we fall, it is right there that a truly peaceful life unfolds. Doing zazen is to stop being an ordinary person.Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18100647785880123235noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5356790459967720778.post-16861998517688144472009-06-08T08:25:00.000-07:002009-06-08T08:38:07.134-07:00Collecting Food and Hatching Eggs<span style="font-style: italic;">Sawaki Roshi: </span>Everyone steeps himself in his own life or lives, blindly believing that there must be something to his daily activity. But in reality, a human being's life does not differ from a swallow's, the males collecting food and the females hatching eggs.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Uchiyama Roshi: </span>This is the season swallows are flying about. People working in the shadow of tall buildings in the city probably miss seeing swallows hatching in the spring. It's a lovely site to see them during spring and summer, isn't it? Some people just get by in life, live from day to day, and never see their lives as a whole. Kobo-Daishi(774-835, the founder of the Shingon Sect) called them <span style="font-style: italic;">Ishoteiyoshin, </span>a flock of stray sheep.Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18100647785880123235noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5356790459967720778.post-5051605499876266972009-06-06T23:21:00.000-07:002009-06-06T23:24:11.516-07:00Zen Master PatrickHere is a funny parody on Zen.<br /><br />Go to minute 3:30. In this instance, Stanley Squarepants is representative of what actually happens in zazen.<br /><br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g24UxCIx8QA<br /><br />Enjoy :)<br /><br />AlAlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18100647785880123235noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5356790459967720778.post-84271187526544315942009-06-02T11:24:00.000-07:002009-06-02T11:42:41.642-07:00One's Own Opinion<span style="font-style: italic;">Sawaki Roshi:</span> Human beings are not the same. Our consciousness is our own individual possession.<br />******<br />Everyone just sees the world from their own hole. They drag their opinion and thoughts along with them; that's why there is so much trouble in this world.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Uchiyama Roshi: </span>Usually we consider ourselves to be very important. We take it for granted that our own thoughts are the best measure of things and judge others' activities and the conditions around us as to whether they are good or bad. When things do not go well according to our judgement, we become angry , get into trouble, and carry around bad feelings afterwards. At times like these, if you can see that this world does not exist only for you, and that your evaluation of things is not absolute, you will be able to breathe more freely and need not cause trouble for others.<br /><br /> Prince Shotoku(574-622 A.D.) expressed it skillfully in the Constitution of Seventeen Articles. He said: "If you are right, then others are wrong; if others are right, then you are wrong. You are not right all the time; others are not right all the time. We are all nothing but ordinary people." This means not only others but you are also just an ordinary person.Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18100647785880123235noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5356790459967720778.post-61100946738588790702009-05-24T14:37:00.000-07:002009-05-24T15:30:47.823-07:00Giving Credit Where Credit is DueOn this lazy Sunday I decided to pick up "To Meet The Real Dragon" by Gudo Nishijima and give it a read( for the millionth time).<br /><br />What strikes me about this book, and Nishijima's writings in general(as well as Uchiyama's), is the unique approach he takes to explaining Buddhism and the teachings of Master Dogen. I'd go out on a limb and say there has never been a teacher like him. It is this latter statement that I feel has set Nishijima apart from all other Zen teachers in the last 100 years. <br /><br />It seems to me that the orthodox Soto Zen community all but ignores him. In my opinion this is a good thing. Everything you read on the net seems to either be an over intellectualized version of Dogen's teachings or a handful of quizzical statements meant to take you "beyond words." Nishijma doesn't bite that bait. He gives you the most direct answer everytime. Everything relies on the balance of the ANS.<br /><br />Too simplistic one might say? I don't think so. It is actually quite brilliant. No more chasing your tail, just fold your legs, face the wall, and align your spine vertcally. <br /><br />This is probably quite threatening to those who have spent their whole lives trying to understand Dogen and Buddhism. If you break all of Buddhism down to keeping the balanced state, you have taken away their toys. Nothing more to play with and talk about. No reason to keep doing Dharma talks.<br /><br />However, just because the toys have been taken away doesn't mean they won't be given back or serve no purpose. When you understand how to properly take care of your toys or tools, you can use them more efficiently and enjoy them more. <br /><br />"To Meet The Real Dragon" is a great example of adding a new twist to the typical party line, that allow you to see the same old BS in a new light. It especially reveals a much more positive outlook on the human capacity for the proper use of logic. We are in the 21st century and if the teachings of Master Dogen and Buddhism are to survive they need to be packaged in big ol' box o' logic that appeals to those with a scientific bent. No more bizzare language, just simple and direct techings that doesn't waste a moment of time.<br /><br />The biggest example of this is his and Mike Cross's translation of Hishiryo. I mean, how many internet arguements have ensued over the meaning of 'non-thinking.' Even the Soto Zen Text Project prefers to translate it this way. Nishijma/Cross go with 'It is different from thinking."<br /><br />I don't know a lick about the Japanese language, so for all I know 'non-thinking' may be a more accurate translation, but it certainly isn't more direct to a westerner. I personally like 'different from thinking' better. Thoughts are thoughts, thinking is the process where by thoughts get linked together in a chain. It is a process of conception. Zazen lays that aside. We are not supposed to mess with the thoughts and give them a chance to meet each other and turn into thinking. We perform the act of sitting upright and letting our thoughts go. It is <span style="font-weight: bold;">literally </span>an act that is '<span style="font-weight: bold;">different from thinking</span>.' What is so complicated about that? Nothing if you ask me. <br /><br />The problem is that 'different from thinking' isn't something nebulous that can be argued over by scholars or the orthodoxy. In a way it destroys their God. I think the arguements over the literal meanings of Dogen's and the Buddha's works often turn into a shit throwing contest. It really is no different than argueing over Chrisitian scripture. <br /><br />I'll finish my ramble for now, but I'd like to add that I am a total amature who knows nothing.<br />I just <span style="font-style: italic;">really </span>find benifit in the writings of Nishijma and the like who use words as the logical tools that they are intended to be.<br /><br />AlAlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18100647785880123235noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5356790459967720778.post-80364346137121725912009-05-21T07:58:00.000-07:002009-05-21T09:56:25.709-07:00Human Advancement<span style="font-style: italic;">Sawaki Roshi: </span>After all their efforts, racking their brains as intensely as possible, people today have comeback to a deadlock. Human beings are idiots. We set ourselves up as wise men and subsequently do foolish things.<br />****<br />In spite of scientific advancement, human beings haven't come to greatness.<br />****<br />Since the dawn of history, human beings have constantly fought with each other. No matter how big or small a war is, the root cause is our minds, which have a tendency to make us growl at each other.<br />****<br />You should not forget that modern scientific culture has developed on the level of our lowest consciousness.<br />****<br />"Civilization" is always the talk of the world. But civilization and culture are nothing but the collective elaboration of illusory desires. No matter how many wrinkles of illusory desire you have on your brain, from the point of view of Buddhism, they will never bring about meaningful advancement for human beings. "Advancement" is the talk of the world, but what direction are we going in?<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Uchiyama Roshi: </span>People today are dazzled by advances in science and technology and take human advancement to be identical with the advances of science. Because the advances of science are significant primarily within the contexts of scientific disciplines, we must clearly distinguish them from human advancement. Arnold Toynbee said, "Our modern scientific culture increased the speed of Adam's orginal sin with explosive energy. That is all. And we never released ourselves from orginal sin." Real human advancement would release us from the mind of the lowest consciousness, which says, "I hope to make easy gain. In order to do that, I must struggle with others."Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18100647785880123235noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5356790459967720778.post-58338973618434814082009-05-18T08:48:00.000-07:002009-05-18T09:30:32.150-07:00Loyalty part 2<span style="font-style: italic;">Sawaki Roshi: </span>With the Sino-Japanese War(1894-1895) and the Russo-Japanese War(1904-1905), we enlarged Japanese territory and annexed Korea. We believed that it really happened. But when we lost World War Two, we lost everything and tuely understood that we had only incurred the enimity of other countries. <br />***<br /> People often ask about loyalty, but I wonder if they know the direction of their loyalty and their actions. I myself was a soilder during the Russo-Japanese War and fought hard on the battlefield. But since we had lost what we had gained, I can see that what we did was useless. There is absolutely no need to wage war.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Uchiyama Roshi: </span>Because Sawaki Roshi fought in the Russo-Japanese War, his words are not only for others, but also for himself, as self-reflection. We who were educated before World War Two were taught that Japan wa the greatest country in the world and absolutely righteous in all its actions and that we would obtain personal immortality if we were faithful to it. We really believed it. After the war, most Japanese could see that it was not true, and some of them reacted against nationalism. <br /><br /> When we reflect upon our past and think about our future, we should question not only loyalty to Japan but loyalty to any nation. Whichever country you are devoted to, eventually it will only be a page in the book of history. "If the troops win, their side is called loyal; if the troops lose, their side is called a 'rebel'." The important thing is to have a clear-eyed view of the self and to behave sanely and soberly.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Sawaki Roshi: </span>What is the true self? It is brilliantly transparent, like a deep blue sky, and there is no gap between the true self and all sentient beings.Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18100647785880123235noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5356790459967720778.post-14778233508596740572009-05-16T16:09:00.000-07:002009-05-16T16:12:30.793-07:00Aiming at No Target Sitting in the Midst of ContradictionsHere is part two of the talk I posted yesterday. Another good one. On a side note, Okumura Sensei's website has just been updated and has a very good introduction to zazen audio file.<br />http://www.sanshinji.org/<br /><br />Regards,<br /><br />Al<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;color:#ff0000;"><b><span style="font-size:+1;">Aiming at No Target Sitting in the Midst of Contradictions</span></b></span> <br /> <b>Second in a Two-Part Lecture by Shohaku Okumura </b> <p>When our discriminating mind tries to understand what zazen is or is "good" for, then zazen becomes the object and we become the subject. If we look at it that way, then we are already thinking. That is really a problem. In zazen, there is no self-observation and no self-evaluation. We need to go beyond this subject-and-object dichotomy. </p> <p>In "Opening the Hand of Thought," Kosho Uchiyama Roshi writes: "When we actually do zazen, we should be neither sleeping nor caught up in our own thought. We should be wide-awake -aiming at the correct posture with our flesh and bones. Can we ever attain this? Is there such a thing as succeeding or hitting the mark? This is where zazen becomes unfathomable." We cannot measure or observe it. We cannot say: "My zazen is getting better." If we say it that way, we are already thinking, it's not zazen. It's the same as when we are sleeping. We sleep almost one third of our life, and yet we cannot say, "I am asleep." We can say, "I want to sleep" or "I'm sleepy." If I say I'm sleeping, I'm not sleeping. Zazen is the same thing. </p> <p>Uchiyama Roshi writes: "In zazen, we have to vividly aim at the correct posture, yet there is never a mark to hit. Or at any rate, the person who is doing zazen should never perceive whether he has hit the mark or not." If we perceive it, we're already thinking and we're already off the mark. When we are hitting the mark, there is no perception. We are just sitting. </p> <p>Uchiyama Roshi says, "If the person doing zazen thinks he is really getting good or that he has hit the mark, he's merely thinking his zazen is good, while actually, he has become separated from the reality of his zazen." Yet that is what we all want to do. We want to make sure we are in the correct zazen. We want to make sure this is good for me, that this practice is meaningful for my life. Unless we believe it or think this way, it's really difficult to practice zazen. So before we sit, we have to really try to understand this point. </p> <p>Uchiyama Roshi says that when we have a target we can aim. But if we know that there isn't a target, who is going to attempt to aim? I think all of us know why we have to sit, just aiming without hitting the target. It is because the person hitting and the target are the same thing. </p> <p>This is not only true in zazen. Say we are running. The action of running and the person running is one thing. What can zazen be unless it is this person? This person is zazen itself. And what is zazen unless it is this person sitting? Zazen and the person sitting really is one thing. There is no separation. But when we explain it, we have to say I am "doing" zazen. In that case, there's a concept of we and a concept of action-zazen or sitting. But in actuality, there's no action without this person and no person without this action. </p> <p>Our zazen is based on the essential philosophy of Mahayana Buddhism-that is, emptiness. Emptiness means no self and no other. Everything is connected as one thing. All beings are connected to each other. All beings interpenetrate each other. There's no separation between subject and object, particularly in our zazen. The subject is this person, and the object is also this person. </p> <p>We practice zazen with this body and mind, but we can't practice zazen if we don't think about sitting. We are here because we want to sit, and we think sitting is good. I came from Minnesota to sit together with you, and the reason why I'm here is I think zazen is good for me to practice. Without thinking we can't take any action, but once we make up our mind we should do our action with moment by moment awareness. </p> <p>There is a Zen expression: "Break through the bottom of the bucket." In zazen, the bottom of our thinking drops out. It's like a ladle of water running through a strainer. We have to break through the bottom of the bucket, and yet, according to Uchiyama Roshi, zazen is not a method to break through to anything. Usually we think it is. We practice in order to attain a certain stage of mind that is free from thinking. If our zazen is a means to break through the bottom of the bucket, then there's a target. That's the problem. That is a common idea in Zen-we have to break through our thinking, and our zazen is a method to do it. If we practice in that way, already there is a target and the basis of our practice is hitting that target-that is to break through our thinking. That is a contradiction. We just sit in the midst of this contradiction, in the correct posture, not thinking and not sleeping. </p> <p>There's no target, no way we can judge whether we are doing good zazen, there is no way we can make sure if this practice is good for us or not. This is a basic contradiction in our zazen. We just sit in the midst of this contradiction. That is our practice. Although we aim, we can never perceive hitting the mark. We just sit in the midst of this contradiction that is absolutely ridiculous when we think about it with our small minds. </p> <p>Sawaki Roshi is my teacher's teacher. One of his most famous sayings is "Zazen is good for nothing." It's difficult to sell something that is good for nothing. It's like selling you the air. When we practice this kind of zazen and just sit, how unsatisfied or completely lost we may feel. Our zazen is not an easy thing. </p> <p>There are many different traditions in Buddhism. The Theravada tradition in Thailand, Burma, and Sri Lanka. The Mahayana schools in China, Korea, Japan and Vietnam, and the Vajrayana Tradition in Tibet. Each school has its own approach to meditation, and what it means to practice meditation. In Buddhism, skillful means are important. Those different paths are considered to be skillful means to encourage people not to stop practice. Teachers and teachings show a kind of a goal that encourages practice, and when a student reaches that stage, the teacher shows the next goal. That's the way a student practices with encouragement. That's the meaning of stages in Buddhist practice, but Dogen Zenji says our practice is very unique. He doesn't use this kind of skillful means. </p> <p>If a person is just thrown in the ocean without knowing how to swim, there is no step-by-step instruction. In the midst of the ocean of the Dharma, we have to learn how to swim by ourselves. We have serious problems in each moment when we practice in this way. We always have to be questioning. We always have to inquire about what we are doing, and whether our practice is heading in the right direction or not. </p> <p>In our practice, the function of the teacher is different from the Rinzai school. In Rinzai, teacher and student sit facing each other and the teacher gives a question, and the student answers. In our practice, the teacher doesn't face the student. Uchiyama Roshi says, "I never face my students and watch them, but I am facing Buddha." And we face Buddha as well. As a practitioner, we have to walk with our own two feet in the same direction our teacher is walking. </p> <p>In our practice there's no goal, no target to hit. We don't feel safe. But Uchiyama Roshi says this is the most important and wonderful part of our practice. When we are confused, and insecure, that is the best thing: "This small foolish self easily becomes satisfied or complacent. We need to see complacency for what it is-just a continuation of the thoughts of our foolish self." If we feel satisfied, we should question whether we are doing the right thing or not. When we are doing things based on my thinking, my desire, and even if our desire is desire to be enlightened, to be free from our egocentricity, from ourselves, there's a basic contradiction. This desire or aspiration which makes us practice is in a sense an obstruction in our practice. The goal of Buddhist practice is to be free from ego. Our desire to be free from ego comes out of ego. That is a problem. How we can go beyond this desire even to become Buddha? </p> <p>This is really an essential point in our practice. Dogen Zenji said we should give up even the aspiration to become Buddha in our zazen. And this is the meaning of just sitting. When we practice in this way, just aiming at and letting go even of the aspiration to be enlightened, then Buddhahood is there. When we are actually doing that letting go, then Buddha nature is truly revealed. When we give up our gaining mind, then our true life force arises and is actualized. </p> <p>He concludes by saying: "It is precisely at the point where our small foolish self remains unsatisfied, or completely bewildered, that the immeasurable natural life beyond the thought of that self functions. It is precisely at the point where we become completely lost that life operates and the power of Buddha is actualized." </p> <p>This is a really important point. Keep this in your mind, when you practice or whenever you read Buddhist texts. Then you will find out what this means. And please don't think about this when you sit. </p> <p> </p>Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18100647785880123235noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5356790459967720778.post-35203309858859198082009-05-15T19:06:00.000-07:002009-05-15T19:10:05.994-07:00Mind and ZazenHere is one of my favorite articles. It was a talk given by Shohaku Okumura at the Stillpoint Zen Center in Pittsburgh. Enjoy!<br /><br /><span style="font-size:+1;color:#ff3333;"><b><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mind and Zazen<br /> </span></b></span><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;color:#ff3333;"><b> <span style="color:#000000;">A Lecture by Shohaku Okumura </span></b></span> <p>Posture, breathing and mind are the three most important points in our practice. This morning I'd like to talk about mind in our zazen or meditation. Actually, we do nothing with our mind. Why we do nothing is a very important point in understanding the meaning of our practice. I think Uchiyama Roshi is one of the few people who could explain why in an understandable way for modern people. So I'd like to share his teaching with you this morning about the quality or nature of our sitting meditation practice. </p><p>In "Opening the Hand of Thought," as a conclusion or explanation of how to sit and how to breathe, he said doing correct zazen "means taking the correct posture and entrusting everything to it." It seems very simple, and yet it's not easy. </p><p>So it is with our mind. We are usually doing something with our mind. We are always like a hunter. We want to hunt something, and we have tools to catch it. When we have some object or gain, we think, "What is the best way to get it?" When we don't have an object, how we can catch it? That's a problem. And we are confused about it. </p><p>Not only in the practice of zazen but in Buddhist teachings, the basic philosophy or understanding about reality is: no separation between self and others, subject and object. And since we are a hunter, there's an object and subject. As far as we are in that kind of relationship with the object or things we want, we are against the basic philosophy of Buddhism. Even when the gain is enlightenment or reality or peace of mind, if it's a gain or object, our attitude is going against the philosophy of emptiness. Emptiness means no subject and no object, everything working together. So actually this is one life, and there's no one who is hunting and who is hunted. </p><p>In our meditation, the whole is our life. When we want to attain peacefulness of mind or some kind of insight or wisdom, that is ourselves. The one who wants to do it is ourselves, so both subject and object are ourselves. And also in the case of meditation, we meditate and the object of meditation is reality or truth or nirvana or our true self. If we watch our true self, like we're watching the mirror, what we can see is only the reflection. We cannot see this person. So actually, subject cannot be seen. It's simple reality. We cannot see our eyes. This is a difficult point to understand and to practice. The problem is ourselves, and our intention to see it. We have to be very careful about this, and how we can deal with it. That is a main point to understand our practice. </p><p>Our practice is a really unusual, unique practice. We have no object to watch or meditate. So actually, our sitting practice is not meditation or contemplation, because there is no object. </p><p>It's really important to first have a kind of intellectual understanding about what our practice is. When we sit on the cushion, we should forget about it, and just sit. It's the same as when we drive a car, or when we learn how to drive a car. First we have to study about the parts of the car, and how to deal with it. But when we really drive a car, we should forget about that knowledge, and just drive. </p><p>The same is true for our meditation practice. First we have to understand it. When we really practice, we should forget it and just sit. Intellectual understanding is also important in our practice. While we are in the zazen position, if we continue our thoughts, we are thinking and no longer doing zazen. So we have to think before we sit and practice zazen, or after we stand up. Uchiyama Roshi says: "Zazen is not thinking; nor is it sleeping. Doing zazen is to be full of life aiming at holding a correct zazen posture." Thinking and sleeping, or in Dogen Zenji's expression, dullness and destruction, are two problems in our zazen. </p><p>Uchiyama Roshi says that if we become sleepy while doing zazen, our energy becomes dissipated and the body limp. If we pursue our thoughts, our posture will become stiff. He writes: "Zazen is neither being limp and lifeless nor being stiff. Our posture must be full of life and energy." So in our zazen, we should be really awake and full of energy. Zazen is not thinking and not sleeping, just being there. </p><p>And he says, this posture of not chasing after thinking and not being sleepy is important, not only in our zazen but in our day-to-day lives, too. He says it's like driving a car. If the driver is drunk, sleepy, or nervous, this too is dangerous. Being too caught up in our thinking while we are driving is also dangerous, because we don't see things around ourselves. </p><p>This really applies to any kind of work, any activity. The life force should be neither stagnant, or dull, nor rigid. It should be relaxed, awake and relaxed. The most essential thing is that our life force live to its fullest potential. Zazen is the most condensed form of life functioning as wide awake life. </p><p>The practice that directly and purely manifests that life is the most crucial thing in our life, and at the same time, a tremendous task. It's not an easy thing. You need to be really mindful, not too caught up in thinking or not sleepy. Then we can be aware of things happening inside and outside of ourselves. This is really difficult because we want to know the effect or result or benefit we get from that. When we are thinking benefit, then our zazen becomes object again-self and others, subject and object, separated. We cannot observe it. We can just keep doing. </p><p>Often when we try to understand, we have to use language. The basic function of language-thinking, using words and concepts-is separation. So there's a basic contradiction between our outer life, which is one with all beings, and thinking. Even when we think that we are one with all beings, still we separate from the idea that we are separate from all beings. There is no way to become one by using words. The only possible way is by using negative expressions-something like "not two." That's why Buddhist or Zen phrases or expressions are paradoxical or negative. Only by negating our thinking or intellection can we express the reality before separation of subject and object. <i>[To be continued]</i></p><p><br /></p><p><i><br /></i> </p>Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18100647785880123235noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5356790459967720778.post-31221735634718507122009-05-11T15:34:00.000-07:002009-05-12T15:06:52.504-07:00Loyalty part 1<span style="font-style: italic;">Sawaki Roshi: </span>When Hojo's troops attacked Masashige Kusunoki's Chihaya castle, it was said that fallen warriors of the Hojo Clan were praised by their friends as they met "gloroius death" on the battlefield:<br /><br />" A man lays down his life in vain for the sake of fame, why doesn't he give up clinging to life for the sake of the Dharma?"Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18100647785880123235noreply@blogger.com2