Buddha | Buddhist | Buddhism

In the comments section of my last post, Buddhist blogger Ji Hyang, author of the wonderful blog Natural Wisdom, offered the following mind trainings from Thich Nhat Hanh for all of us to work with.Trainings of the Mind in Diversity1. Aware of the suffering caused by imposing ones own opinions or cultural beliefs upon another human being, I undertake the training to refrain from forcing others,

With Respect to All, Good Morning Everyone, Since opening the topic training with the Silent Thunder Order's abbot, Taiun-sensei, several members and friends of the Order have asked how to help financially. At our Order's bank we have a savings account. I am considering this account a "Training Fund" which will go towards Taiun's travel to and from New Mexico, as well as my travel to Atlanta for training there. Taiun is expected to train with us here in New Mexico in late September. His partner is now obtaining flight information. Fortunately, I am "retired" from the US Army and can fly on military aircraft "hops." So, my travel expenses will not be great. However, I am expected to offer Ango fees and dana to Taiun-sensei. The Ango fees are (at present) $1500.00 for the three months. I am considering beginning Ango (a three month training retreat) in the first part of 2012 with Taiun's permission. I am working on a budget for myself which w...

"A further sign of health is that we don't become undone by fear and trembling, but we take it as a message that it's time to stop struggling and look directly at what's threatening us." ~Pema Chdrn Technorati Tags: Buddha Buddhist Buddhism Meditation Dharma

Prior to nirvana, our human life is the immediacy of being embodied. Our consciousness is locked onto the determination, I am this (the corporeal entity). In short, a localized intensity best describes I am in which craving or want is apparent but in the sense of an embodied connection such that I desire this localization, the corporeal body. Nirvana, itself, is nonlocal. There is a marked difference between the embodied condition (local) and dis-embodiment (nonlocal) which is recognized only through wisdom or praj . This is also detachment, detachment meaning, this (the corporeal entity) is not mine, this I am not, this is not my self . Nirvana is fundamentally a return-to-self , but not self as localized in which self senses almost total embodiment and with it, the eventual horror of death and rebirth. Properly understood, nirvana is the extinction of the misapprehension of self or, the same, the extinction of the view of self believed to be the corporeal body.

Act without expectation. ~Lao Tzu Post written by Leo Babauta . How much of your stress, frustration, disappointment, anger, irritation, pissed-offedness comes from one little thing? Almost all of it comes from your expectations, and when things (inevitably) dont turn out as we expect, from wishing things were different. We build these expectations in our heads of what other people should do, what our lives should be like, how other drivers should behave and yet its all fantasy. Its not real. And when reality doesnt meet our fantasy, we wish the world were different. Heres a simple solution: Take your expectations, and throw them in the ocean. Picture all the expectations you have for yourself, your life, your spouse, your kids, your coworkers, your job, the world. Take them from inside you, and toss them in the ocean. A river or lake will also do. What happens to them? They float. Theyre carried around by waves. The current takes them out, and they drift away. Let them be washed away...

With palms together, Good Afternoon Everyone, The Dharma is incomparably profound and minutely subtleso, says the chant for opening a sutra. In fact, the Dharma is as plain as the nose on our face. It is the nose on your face. My face. Every face. No face. Because it is everywhere, it is nowhere. As one of the Ten Ox-Herding pictures suggests, no thing. If it is nothing and it is everything, what is it? We cannot say, because as we speak, falsehood flows from our mouths. One and all, all and one, yet both and neither. Goodnesswe can certainly get a headache with this sort of stuff. What difference does this Zennish nonsense make? Not much. The Dharma for me is the feel of the pc keys under my fingertips, the heat of the southwestern sun, the sweat dripping from my forehead as I work, or the taste of cold water as I take a sip from my glass. Everything in every direction manifests the Dharma. The flowing stream, once entered, is ours knowing in fact, there is no stream and that the stre...

Yesterday) at my local coffee shop (Steady Hand Pour House) three of us were discussing novels and writing. This led to what I shall term the vision thing insofar as great novels, in fact any great work of art depends, more or less, on the vision thing (okay, this is my opinion). In all this, the ultimate vision is self-knowledge, that is, knowledge of who we fundamentally are which takes us beyond the mundane realm which is the fodder of most novels, even very good ones. While there is no active attempt to suppress the vision thing, at least in academia (which is a good thing), there is somewhat of a covert attempt to suppress the vision thing in religion; in particular Buddhism (I have in mind the popularity of secular Buddhism). This is probably because with great vision, also comes a new religionat least a new interpretation which puts all the pieces of the puzzle together instead of leaving so many out. Just before we ended the conversation (it was running after six), I could not ...

Have I posted a picture of my repainted Zendo (which is really code for a living room with no furniture)? We lightened it up a while ago from a browny, pink colour to a soft green, a testament to how a paint colour can change a room. But really all this chat stand in for the fact that I don't have any artwork to post. However I can report that the little outbuilding that will become, at least

Greeting and peace all. Buddha Torrents has recently come under pressure from Blogger as well as Publishers to close its doors and cease postings and delete the blog. I have mixed feelings on this and know that the majority of people that use this blog would say no, however if you feel it should continue or should not I would invite you to comment below. If you use Buddha Torrents and have never left a comment now would be the time! If you dont use Buddha Torrents now would also be your time! Below is the original letter received. Hi there I see that you are responsible for posting many Buddhist books up on the web via buddhisttorrents.blogspot.com and other avenues. I am sure your intention is really good its so wonderful to be able to make so many precious teachings available to people. However, what you are going is actually really harmful in a number of ways and I wanted to bring these to your attention for your consideration. I am not trying to engage in a philosophic debate or a...

I have to say that the explosion over the post by Tassja over at Womanist Musings has jolted me. You'll have to forgive me for not moving on yet. Because I'm not moving on yet. Given my life experience, race and racism are never far from my awareness. However, the genuine nastiness, callousness, and defensiveness that have come in response to this single article has been a reminder of just how

Our body is so energized by the animative mind or spirit, which is also compassion ( karuna ), that as the body is stressed, we should sense compassion arising which works to dissolve our suffering. Whether we walk or sit, we should sense the work of compassion. But this is not often the case. From the standpoint of spirit we are abnormal. The cause or etiology of this abnormality is contingent upon our attachment to the carnal body, the intensity of which effectively cuts off our connection with spirit and, with this loss, compassion. Eventually, absent of spirit, we reach the stage of complete nihilism (I am beginning to see that the the total denial of spirit is nihilism). In such a state, it is impossible to make progress in Buddhism or any religion for that matter. And certainly, genuine compassion eludes us.

"As long as our orientation is toward perfection or success, we will never learn about unconditional friendship with ourselves, nor will we find compassion." ~Pema Chdrn Technorati Tags: Buddha Buddhist Buddhism Meditation Dharma

Normally, I try to blog Sunday to Thursday. Recently, I have been moving to another, larger (rabbit) warren. :) Eventually, my back gave outtwice in fact! Finally, I decided to get some movers to move out the rest of the junk. For two days I have been marking items with postal notes, for example, these clothes go to the attic or these items go to the kitchen. I confess, I haven't been in my usual mindset to blog. Well, anyway, the movers showed up today bright and early. This is all I could crank out.

It is preoccupation with possession, more than anything else, that prevents men from living freely and nobly. ~Bertrand Russell Post written by Leo Babauta . What do you do if you cant let go of something you own? How do you deal with the just in case syndrome , or the it has meaning syndrome? Theres no easy answer for letting go of the emotional attachments we put into our objects, nor for letting go of the fear of what we might need in the future. But for me, the answer has been to change how I look at ownership. Ownership, for me, is more fluid than concrete. We dont own something for life thats wasteful, because most of our lives we dont need or use something. We own something just for as long as we need it, and then pass it on. Think of ownership like a public library we check things out when we need them, and then return them when were done, so that others can use them. If we ever need something again, we can always check it out again. In practice, for me, this has meant passin...

"We think that the point is to pass the test or overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don't really get solved. They come together and they fall apart. Then they come together again and fall apart again. It's just like that. The healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen: room for grief, for relief, for misery, for joy." ~Pema Chdrn Technorati Tags: Buddha Buddhist Buddhism Meditation Dharma

By Mary Jaksch Here is an inspiring story from Korea. A young man whose terrible childhood echoes the story of Oliver Twist rises above his suffering to touch the hearts of many through the power of his voice. Choi Sung-Bong was left in an orphanage when he was three years old. He was beaten so badly that he finally decided to run away. He was only five years old at the time. He survived by selling gum and cigarettes on the street a kid trying to stay alive against all odds. For ten years Choi live rough, finding shelter where he could. Watch this inspiring and emotional video to see what became of Choi. (If you are reading this by email, click here to access the video). What did you feel when you watched this video? Please share in the comments below. Click here to Download the FREE first chapter of Start Over: Create the Life YOU Want From Street Kid to Stardom the Inspiring Story of Choi Sung-Bong

In response to a comment I made about the blog post I wrote about yesterday, Barbara O'Brien asked me "Exactly what do you propose we do?" This, to me, gets at a big part of our collective misery when it comes to race relations - at least here in the U.S. All this wanting to "do" something. Having spent years of my life paying close attention to issues of race and racism, and how all of it seems

True religion is very difficult for the modern mind to grasp since, from birth, it has been taught that the bodys movement is due to biological causes as if to suggest that life , itself, depends on a deep structured cellular mechanism and chemistrynot the other way around (this would be life as pure, animative spirit). Buddhism doesnt bother itself with debating this matter. In goes to the very heart of the matter demanding that we make direct contact with the animative power by means of meditation. This means the truth of this animative power is present for us when we experience it face to face and not otherwise. This eliminates endless debates which always defy resolution. Laying the previous train of thought aside, the reason for posting this particular blog has to do with meeting a person today, at my local coffee shop, who was discussing yoga postures. I pointed out to them that that posture, itself, is to be filled with Mind ( citta ) which first requires that we actually awaken...

With palms together, Good Morning Everyone, This morning I want to address some rather serious business: our relationship with the greater Zen world. My mission is to bring the correct Dharma into the world. This was Master Dogens mission, and it is the mission of all the Buddhas and Ancestors throughout history. This mission has been my life since taking Jukai in 1998. Our Order is growing both in its membership and its public profile. In tandem with this growth is a growing movement in the greater Zen world to create bodies which help seekers determine the authenticity of Zen Teachers and their Centers. And while I personally abhor such bodies, I understand their importance as it is possible for anyone to order a Buddhist robe, print a certificate and call themselves Zen priests. Our Dharma Grandfather, Matsuoka-roshi, did not register his priests at Soto headquarters in Japan, he streamlined and collapsed much of the ceremonials, rites, and rituals, and made Zen practice centers muc...

In this first book ( Mourning the Unborn Dead ) based on his dissertation by young scholar Jeff Wilson, he looks at the state of ritual in American Buddhist communities and what this means for the state of American Buddhism as well as the categories scholars use to describe Buddhism in America. To do this, Wilson focuses on a Japanese ritual for aborted fetuses called mizuko kuyo and the ways this has manifested within American religiosity. Wilson first compares Japanese-American temples with Zen convert communities practices of this ritual but then moves more broadly to appropriations of this ritual within a non-Buddhist context. The differences and changes he finds between the Japanese-American and Zen convert temples are illuminating as ways to ethnicize Western Buddhist communities. Wilson demonstrates how American culture is forming a hybrid with Buddhist concepts to create new forms of Buddhist practice. Through investigating how Zen convert communities adapt the mizuko kuyo ritu...

This post, written by a young woman from Sri Lanka who lives in Minnesota, has been getting a lot of attention in the Buddhist blogosphere. It's not an easy to read post. And it's gotten a bit of negative attention already, as well as dismissive comments about how she's a just a young, angry, and/or ignorant woman. This paragraph is probably the one where the rails fall off for many white

"No one ever tells us to stop running away from fear...the advice we usually get is to sweeten it up, smooth it over, take a pill, or distract ourselves, but by all means make it go away." ~Pema Chdrn Technorati Tags: Buddha Buddhist Buddhism Meditation Dharma

Hi Everyone, I thought I would write today's post in the form of a letter. A recent post by Peter over at Moment by Moment got me thinking about blogging, audience, and what it is we're doing here anyway. I say "we" because my writing and your reading (and commenting) go together. They aren't separate. People like to talk about "my blog," but actually there is no "my blog" anymore. The moment I

Post written by Leo Babauta . My daughter Chloe is starting out in college in the fall, and with her newfound independence will come the newfound responsibilities of dealing with money. Like many young people, she hates thinking about finances. I was one of them. I always dreaded budgeting and paying bills and thinking about savings and retirement, and figured I could always deal with it later. Problem with that is you end up screwing yourself if you put things off until later. Living for the moment is great, until the finances catch up with you and the moment starts to suck because you owe a ton of debt. Ive found that living mindfully means not just partying in the moment, but taking care of things now, when theyre small, rather than when theyre huge. So with that in mind, I have a few lessons Id like to emphasize for Chloe, and for anyone else starting out in college. 1. Spend less than you earn . OK, this is almost the only lesson you need, but its so important Im going to break it...

With respect, Good Morning Everyone, Up front: We have cancelled the Zen Discussion Group. Our on-going Educational Groups are Comparative Religion, Introduction to Zen, and Women in Zen. Each meeting at 7:00 PM on their respective weekday evenings. As you know, we are moving our new residence tomorrow morning. We would love to have your assistance. Please consider joining us at 6:30 AM at 2190 Mars Avenue, Unit 6 to begin. My phone is 575-680-6680. I will take calls. Throughout next week, we will be attempting to settle in there. We will continue to operate the Temple in the Alameda Zendo. I will office there and we will conduct all Temple functions there. Moving is always a chore, it seems. More than a chore, it is a psychological and emotional deconstruction. Very, very Zen. We read in the Shobogenzo, that it is essential to "leave home." Yes, we must leave what we know and step into the light of the living moment. I have said once too often, "this is my last move!...

"The more we witness our emotional reactions and understand how they work, the easier it is to refrain." ~Pema Chdrn Technorati Tags: Buddha Buddhist Buddhism Meditation Dharma

One instant is eternity;eternity is the now.When you see through this one instant,you see through the one who sees.Wu Men (Hui-k'ai)(1183 - 1260)

To measure is an act of consciousness by which it compares various extended things, ultimately, with itself. By analogy, using a tape measure a piece of timber is compared with units of measure. No matter how small we cut the timber it can be measured. Even down to a milligram of fiber, we can still measure the timber. In order to measure anything, the units of measure must always be finer than what is measured. Moreover, as the measure becomes increasingly smaller it approaches, also, the range of consciousness which can be thought of as zero. Thus, we approach a limit to our measure where the measure, so to speak, instantly disappears into the immeasurable, that is, consciousness itself, or the same, pure Mind. This also means that consciousness has no actual dependence on measurement or the things measured. It transcends all measurement, in other words. But now we ask, can consciousness or mind know itself, directly? Well, in a way yesbut it cannot measure itself which implies a dis...

By Mary Jaksch Do you know the landscape of you parents, or grandparents? If your family is still well rooted in the soil of your homeland, then you will know that landscape intimately. But if you come from a family where the roots have been cut, you may not have a felt sense of where you come from. My familys roots were severed. My father, Wenzel Jaksch who, as a Social Democrat was part of the Resistance fled Czechoslovakia just before the Nazis invaded and was never allowed to return. This affected not only my father, but also the next generation my brother and myself as well as our children. We are all rootless. Taken together, we have lived in over twenty different countries, and we each hold at least two passports. There is a telling moment: ask any of us where we come from and there is a lengthy pause. Well we tend to say, and then we start explaining where we were born and what nationalities we hold. A few weeks ago, a small group of family and friends got together for a...

"The Buddha in the Classroom: Zen Wisdom to Inspire Teachers," by Donna Quesada is primarily a book that long-time teachers, new teachers and students studying for a teaching job will find helpful. I must say, however, that while there are some helpful Buddhist tips for anyone, they are fairly basic and can be found in greater depth in books that are primarily about Buddhism in general. But, for less ardent students of Buddhism, it might just be the right amount of Dharma mixed with career advice. This book is really geared toward the teaching community, and how they can use mindfulness techniques to keep teaching fresh for both teacher and student. The book advertises itself as helpful to anyone and while that it's true, you have to read through a lot of specific advice to teachers. Still, I can see how the tips the author gives would be helpful to anyone who feels stuck in a rut with their career. I get a lot of books and this one wasn't horrible but it wasn't g...

The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cant read them. - Mark Twain (attributed) How many books are on your shelf collecting dust? As a coach, educator and self professed life-long learner, I believe that books are one of the very best bargains around with years of experience and best practice crammed into a $20 package. However, that doesnt mean you should read indiscriminately. A book may only cost you $20.00, but the cost of your time to read it may be significantly higher. If your time is worth $100+ dollars per hour, then reading a book must be worth thousands of dollars to make it worthwhile Here are four suggestions to make the most of the current books on your bookshelf, and, the future books you plan to read: Choose the Right Books By choosing books which are aligned with your professional and personal goals, you will be feeding your mind great thoughts that will fill you with the knowledge for greater achievement. The only books that influen...

Pure Mind has nothing whatsoever to do with moral behavior. On the same track, a defiled mind can be mind of the highest moral behavior. This is not so paradoxical when we understand that pure Mind means Mind, itself, its wave-like actions having momentarily ceased. On the other hand, the defiled mind is one in which no such cessation has taken place. Mind does not behold Mind, itself. For it there is only ceaseless waves of disturbed mind, like water being constantly agitated. The history of morality, in particular, that we should act in pure ways, is a checkered history, replete with many instances of overt cruelty and violence. Moral history, for example, informs us that Nazi Germany regarded itself as a great moral culture almost without peer. From this we would not be off-track to say that moral cultures are often totalitarian and monophasic (i.e, adverse to multiple states of consciousness). Order, obedience, and uniformity are the rule in which strict limits are set with regard ...

With palms together, Good Morning Everyone, The days are being filled with new and exciting people. The first two days of this week, which included our new schedule, were very full. We had a number of drop ins, several new visitors at our Zazen periods, and an apparent excitement about our simply being there. At our six oclock Zazen periods, we had eight practitioners, not including myself or Soku Shin, who was on her way to El Paso to practice with our Sangha there. Very nice. Our weekday schedule includes Morning Services at 9:30 AM, Zazen at 3:00 PM, and Evening Services at 6:00 PM. People are welcome to join us for these practice periods. If new to the practice or the center, we ask that you arrive a half hour early in order to be given instruction. Our Order is working hard toward defining itself as an Engaged practice organization. Several of our members are entering Hospice Training programs, entering Prison Work, and doing a variety of volunteers jobs to assist those in need in...

"At the root of all the harm we cause is ignorance." ~Pema Chdrn Technorati Tags: Buddha Buddhist Buddhism Meditation Dharma

The Summer DayWho made the world?Who made the swan, and the black bear?Who made the grasshopper?This grasshopper, I mean-the one who has flung herself out of the grass,the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down-who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.Now

Absolute Mind ( ekacitta ) wills itself, as it must, but the result is never pure Mind ( cittamatra ) but Mind as phenomenalized which is the macro and micro cosmos. Call this cosmos illusion or appearance but through it absolute Mind can eventually behold itself, face to face, having penetrated through all appearance thus awakening to itself. This is the highest attainment because Mind recognizes phenomena to be no more than a configuration of itself. In this sense the world while seeming to exist, doesnt actually exist, any more than does a dream. All sentient beings, although they appear to suffer relative to their strong desire for appearances, are inherently saved; this is true nirvana. While the above sounds simple and straightforward the most difficult part for the spiritual adept concerns the penetration through the illusory veil. Every spiritual adept must, at the beginning, penetrate through this veil in order to advance on the Bodhisattva path to Buddhahood. In line with th...

Like many people I know, back in 2007 my employer was badly affected by the banking crisis and subsequent economic climate. Given that I was working at a bank, you can imagine things got a little more precarious than usual. Despite all that and a wobbly business climate, in 2008 I still decided to leave my job and start my own business. The allure of working for myself, in control of my day-to-day working environment was too strong. Id been planning and plotting for probably 9 months (Ill spare you the pregnancy metaphor), and to be honest, had initially planned to just freelance on the side, too risk adverse to take the plunge completely. Although I wasnt in danger of losing my own job, even just a small taste of the freedom and possibilities of entrepreneurship was irresistible. And three years later, with a fairly successful business, I have no regrets. Zero. Along my twisted journey, which has been a lot of fun and a lot of hard work, theres been one common theme that I keep ...