be tolerant in judging the opinions of others

Be tolerant in judging the opinions of others and moderate in expressing your own.

Baltasar Gracian, Spanish Jesuit of the seventeenth century

Commentary:

This is hard to accomplish at the height of election fever! Maybe I should have waited until next to week to post this one. I am not very moderate in expressing my opinion at times - something I should probably work on, because I think I often offend people inadvertently. While I don't really judge the opinions of others out loud, I do so secretly sometimes, and thoughts are one of the three producers of karma (words and action being the other two). I try to be open-minded toward other's beliefs, but I bet I could be even more tolerant than I am. However, I will not be swayed one iota in my opinion of who should win the presidential election! In fact I already voted, so its too late anyway. :)

I guess there's nothing wrong with having an opinion, as long as you don't force your opinion on others and you allow others to have their opinions too. Many of us talk to one another expressing opinions, expressing opinions, but often are only interested in hearing ourselves speak. We rarely take a moment to hear what the other person is saying. You never know when an opinion of someone else might actually help you to see things in a new light. If nothing else, being tolerant in others' opinions makes for smoother relations between people - which is why they say you should never talk about politics or religion at a cocktail party.

Have a great Halloween weekend!

the teachings of the Awakened are simple

It is hard to be born into this world
and even harder to live the life of a human.
Yet it is harder still to hear of the path,
and even harder than this to awaken,
to rise and to follow the sacred way.

*
Yet the teachings of the Awakend are simple:
"Cease to do evil, learn to do good, and purify your mind."

*
Practice patience,
harm no one,
so say the Awakened Ones.
Profund liberation is the supreme goal.

*
Offend no one
either by word, action or deed.
Eat with moderation,
live in your heart
and seek to know your mind.

Buddha, translated by Karma Yonten Senge

Commentary:

The teaching does seem quite simple. Especially the 'do good, not evil' part. The purifying of the mind is the real challenge, but if we can attain a pure mind, then everything else will be easy.

So how to achieve a pure mind? Practice, practice, practice. We must always be aware of the thoughts in our heads, and purge the negative ones. Purging the mind of thoughts all together, and achieving a blank/zero mind is the ultimate goal. This is hard to do without performing sitting meditation, but not impossible. When doing the dishes or picking up all 100 toy blocks (again and again), I try not to think about the drudgery of repeating the same mundane tasks over and over, when there are probably more 'meaningful' ways I could be spending my time. I just do it without thought. Life is meaningful now, because I am living it. No matter what actions I might currently be performing.

letter from a student to a zen master

One of my students sent me a letter, in which he wrote, 'Zen Master, I have a problem. You sent me a picture of Shakyamuni Buddha. I kept it on my desk. My one-year-old son climbed up onto the table and ate the Buddha. What should I do?' I sent him a letter saying, 'Your baby is stronger than Buddha, and is a great Zen master. He has no hindrance. You must learn everything from your son, then you will soon get enlightenment.'

Zen Master Seung Sahn in Wanting Enlightenment is a Big Mistake

Commentary:

Children have no hindrance. They just are. They live in the present moment free from prejudices about the world. We can learn a lot from them. A picture of a Buddha, anyway, is the not the real thing. It is just a picture. It is not sacred or holy. Its just a piece of photo-paper.

ancient wisdom, rather comic

ANCIENT WISDOM, RATHER COMIC

Chuang-tzu dreamed,
And having dreamed that he was a bird, a bee, and a butterfly,
He was uncertain why he should try to feel like anything else,
Hence his contentment.

poem by Ezra Pound, in Personae of Ezra Pound (Lustra)

Commentary:

Sometimes our dreams alone are enough to get us through. When I need to relax, I picture myself on a bed of crisp, white sheets with white, translucent curtains draping the open doorway and lightly swaying from a tropical breeze. The sounds of the ocean are audible but not forcibly so. No activities are planned. Restaurant staff and cleaning crew are there when we need them. But I am not them! I eat when I want to eat, sleep when I want to sleep or walk the beach when I wish. Otherwise, I can lie on the crisp, white bed until the spirit moves me. That is my daytime fantasy.

Sometimes at night, I dream that I am flying. Or sometimes, I am swimming in the most crystalline, refreshing ocean one could ever dream of. The blue, blue water is so stimulating to my spirit, that I never want to leave.

What do you dream of that helps keep you content? I would love to hear from you. Keep dreaming over the weekend!

a little progress in meditation practice

Were you to attain but a little progress in meditation practice, at the moment of death you would not be dragged under by the force of negative karma, even if you have not attained enlightenment in this lifetime.

Sutra in The Mirror of Zen by Zen Master So Sahn

Commentary:

Rather than strive to reach the peak of the mountain of enlightenment, I am currently content taking one step at a time up the long, steep incline. Any little bit of work toward bettering my spirit counts!

ordinary mind is the way

Zhaozhou asked Nanquan, "What is the Way?"

Nanquan said, "Ordinary mind is the Way."

"Should I turn toward it or not?"

"If you turn toward it you turn away from it."

Zhaozhou asked, "How can I know the way if I don't turn toward it?"

Nanquan said, "The way is not about knowing or not knowing. When you know something you are deluded, and when you don't know you are just empty-headed. When you reach the way beyond doubt, it is as vast and infinite as space. You can't say it's right or wrong."
With these words, Zhaozhou had sudden understanding.

Japenese koan, retold by John Tarrant in Bring Me the Rhinoceros

Commentary:


Just like the koan about the innkeeper, here is another tale in which enlightenment, or the Way, is said to be found in the ordinary. It is not necessary that you must be in mystical, peaceful surroundings, or that your mind must meditate on the extraordinary. Instead the light of Buddha can be found all around you, when your mind is focussed on the ordinary, when your actions are involved in the ordinary. But of course, the twist is that you cannot go looking for it, just like you cannot go looking for true love and hope to find it. Its almost when you have given up all hope, or when you give it all up to faith and let yourself believe it will happen one day...and then carry on living... that the extraordinary happens: you find true love. Or you find the Way.

This is good news for me, because I don't have the luxury these days to surround myself in exotic, peaceful locations or to meditate for hours on end. Its not that I necessarily believe I will become 'enlightened' in my ordinary life, but at least I can achieve a more balanced mind, even when my mind is focussed on the ordinary. Or as said in Monday's quote, I am working toward "readjusting nervous activity" and even in my mundane world, I should be able to do so.

Zen is not, in my view, philosophy or mysticism

Zen is not, in my view, philosophy or mysticism.
It is simply a practice of readjustment of
nervous activity. That is, it restores the distorted
nervous system to its normal functioning.

Katsuki Sekida, in A Guide to Zen. Lessons from a Modern Master

it has been said that time is money

It has been said that time is money. That proverb understates the case. Time is a great deal more than money. It is the inexplicable raw material of everything. With it, all is possible; without it nothing.

Arnold Bennnett, How to Live on 24 Hours a Day

Commentary:


So seize your day!

a dispute in sign language

A Zen master and his one-eyed student lived together in a monastery. One day a wandering monk came to the Zen master and said, "If you will accept me, I wish to study with you."

The old monk replied, "Decide first if you belong here. Go into the garden and speak to my student. Converse with him in any way you wish. After that, come and tell me your decision."

The visiting monk nervously went out into the garden and saw the one-eyed monk meditating. "I will show him how profound I can be," thought the visitor. "I will converse with him in sign language."

Approaching quietly, the visiting monk tapped the one-eyed monk on the shoulder and held up one finger. The one-eyed monk held up two fingers. In response, the visiting monk held up three fingers. The one-eyed monk held up his fist. When the visiting monk saw this, he dashed out of the garden to tell the old monk his decision.

He came upon the old monk at his chores and gasped, "I do not deserve to stay here! I am unworthy of being a fellow student with the enlightened young monk I met in the garden!"

The old monk paused in his work and asked increduously, "Are you speaking of the young one-eyed monk in the garden?"

"Yes!" exclaimed the visitor. "His knowledge is far superior to mine. I will humbly leave."

"Please tell me what happened in the garden," said the old monk, wide-eyed with amazement.

The visitor explained, "I approached the venerable monk and decided to converse in sign language. I held up one finger to indicate the Buddha. Whereupon he held up two fingers to indicate the Buddha and his teaching, the Dharma. I persevered in the discussion, however, and held up three fingers to show the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha, the community. Then he revealed the limitations of my understanding. He held up his fist to show me that they all are one. I immediately ran here to tell you I must leave." With a sigh, he turned and left the temple.

A moment later the young one-eyed monk stumbled into the temple. He grumbled and shouted, "Where is that scoundrel?" How dare he insult me!"

"Calm your temper," said the old monk. "Please tell me what happened in the garden."

The young monk explained, "I was peacefully meditating when that rude visitor interrupted my concentration. When I looked up at him, he held up one finger, indicating that I have only one eye. I held up two fingers, politely congratulating him that he has two eyes. Then he insulted me further! He held up three fingers, pointing out that there were only three eyes among us. I could bear it no longer. I raised my fist to punch him in the nose and he ran away!"

Japanese Zen story, retold by Heather Forest in Wisdom Tales from Around the World.

Commentary:

More humor today! I guess it just goes to show, you don't always know what the other person is thinking.

The woman at the inn

There was a woman who kept the pilgrims' inn at Hara under Mount Fuji. Her name is unknown, and it is not known when she was born or died.

She went to hear a talk by Hakuin who said "They say there's a pure land where everything is only mind, and that there's a Buddha of light in your own body. Once that Buddha of light appears, mountains, rivers, earth grass trees and forests suddenly glow with a great light. To see this, you have to look inside your own heart. Then what should you be looking for? When you are looking for something that is only mind, what kind of special features would it have? When you are looking for the Buddha of infinite light in your own body, how would you recognize it?"

When she heard this the woman said, "This isn't so hard." Back at home she meditated day and night holding the questions while she was awake and during her sleep. One day, as she was washing a pot, she had a sudden breakthrough. She threw the pot aside and rushed to see Hakuin.

She said, "I've met Buddha in my own body, and everything on earth is shining with a great light! It's wonderful!" She danced for joy.

"Is that so?" said Hakuin, "but what about a pit of shit, does it also shine with a great light?"

The woman ran up and slapped him. She said, "You still don't get it, you old fart!"

Hakuin roared with laugher.

Japanese koan, retold by John Tarrant in Bring me the Rhinoceros

Commentary:

I thought the blog needed a little humor today! This koan is retold and expanded upon in John Tarrant's book Bring me the Rhinoceros. There is more than one message in the koan. The first is that during one's ordinary day, doing ordinary things, one can reach enlightenment (or see the beauty in all life, or whatever you may want to call it). Tarrant speaks about two others in the same chapter who 'saw the light' while scrubbing pots in their kitchens. I like this, as it means there is hope for me yet! Maybe I can start looking forward to doing dishes. :)

Another message the koan brings is best summarized by Tarrant himself: "When you forget your carefully assembled fiction of who you are, you can find a natural delight in people, in the planet, the stones and the trees." In the expanded version of the above koan, the innkeeper began to see the light in everything around her, only after having a near out-of-body experience, where she completely forgot who she was and all of her past life experiences. When she re-awakened, all her past life experiences where given a new 'light', and she even saw herself in a new way. In our modern day, so much of our identities are tied up in our accomplishments and the things we can tell others about ourselves. But this 'fiction of who you are' can ultimately become a trap. Forgetting your sense of self is the key to seeing the Buddha of light.

Another layer to the koan is the reference to the 'pit of shit.' It is a test to see if indeed the innkeeper has now become enlightened, then even a pit of shit must glow. It is far easier to see the beauty in beautiful autumn trees and vast mountainscapes, in the faces of strangers, or the tools of man; than it is to see beauty in darkness, painful memories and death. But darkness, pain and death have purpose in our lives. Understanding their purpose and seeing how difficult situations may actually further our spiritual growth, will help us see the Buddha of light.

Does a pit of shit actually serve a purpose? Well I don't know. But accepting that 'shit happens' makes facing the hardships of life just a little easier. And accepting the fact that 'everyone poops', makes poop itself seem a little less dark and evil (I am reading this book now to my son, in the hope that he will one day make the transition from diapers to toilet!).

So there you have it. I never thought I would be talking about poop on a zen-inspired blog!

if you cannot find a worthy companion

If you cannot find
a worthy companion,
better to travel alone,
like a king who has renounced
his kingdom or an elephant
that has left the elephant grove.

*

Travel alone
rather than in the company of fools.
A solitary life is better
than a life kept in bad company.

Buddha, translated by Karma Yonten Senge

Commentary:


This post is dedicated to three people in particular, one who is struggling in her marriage, another who is going through a divorce, and a third who has long since decided to travel through life alone, and seems quite content doing so. I hope the first two of my friends can find this same contentment soon, as well as any other readers out there who might be going through relationship problems.

Of course, if you have relationship problems now, it doesn't mean you will necessarily always have to go it alone. Maybe you just haven't met your true travel companion yet.



P.S. After posting this entry, I learned that the person I mentioned above who has been 'traveling' alone for ten years now, has actually met someone new and may no longer have to tread alone! And he is in his sixties. So you never know what lies ahead on your path!

travel together with joy

If as you travel,
you find a good companion
who is wise and virtuous,
travel together with joy
and overcome the troubles of this world.

Buddha, translated by Karma Yonten Senge

I am very lucky to have found a good companion to share my life's journey with. Happy 5th anniversary to him (tomorrow)!

do not concern yourself with outer appearances

Do not concern yourself
with outer appearances;
only the inner landscape
of liberation concerns the wise.

Buddha, translated by Karma Yonten Senge

may I be well, may I be happy, may I be free from suffering

“May I be well, may I be happy, may I be free from suffering.”

Loving-kindness mantra from wildmind buddhist meditation

Commentary:

In a follow up to Friday's post and this morning's post, there is another way to work on forgiving and forgetting. It is to cultivate loving-kindness (metta) through meditation. There are many different mantras associated with metta. You first begin by cultivating love toward yourself (as in the above mantra) and visualize yourself as you say the mantra. Then move on to showing love to your loved ones (replace "I" above with "you" and visualize your loved ones). Next repeat the mantra (with "you" instead of "I") and focus on a neutral person, the mail carrier or bus driver for instance. The fourth stage of the meditation is the hard part: cultivating loving-kindness toward your enemies. Repeat the mantra again, this time visualizing your enemies. If you project love toward your enemies (repeatedly) as you visualize them, it will become increasingly difficult to stay angry with them. There is a fifth stage of the loving-kindness meditiation and that is to cultivate metta toward all beings.

If, like me, you do not have the time to devote to focussed and disciplined meditation practice, you can reflect on loving everyone around you throughout your busy day (when at the stoplight, when walking to work, etc.) or as you are going to sleep, much like Christians say their prayers before going to bed. I find it a pleasant way to drift off to sleep as I aim to project love outwardly toward everyone I know. If you are lucky enough to have more time in the day to devote to meditation, and you would like a more in depth study on the loving-kindness meditation, please check out the wildmind tutorial on metta.


P.S. two quite long posts in one day! I hope this makes up for lost time over the past few days.

every person you ever meet has either been your mother once, or will be so in the future

Dear Readers,

I apologize for the delay between the last post and this one. I have been under the weather, so I hope you understand.

A reader commented on Friday's post about how difficult it really is to forgive and forget. I agree that this is easier said than done. Usually after a hurtful situation we seek an apology or revenge, but to just let it go.... that is not something most of us ever really want to do. But as mentioned in the Friday post, surrounding yourself by thoughts of misfortune and misdeeds from the past only furthers your misery.

In an effort to help us heals those wounds, there are two things one can meditate/reflect on to get closer to forgiving your enemies and thus ultimately forgetting the pain they caused you.

The first notion is to remember that in Buddhist philosophy, the universe is seen as having no beginning and no end. Thus people are born, reborn, and reborn again endlessly. If this is the case, then every person you ever meet has either been your mother once, or will be so in the future. Therefore everyone we ever meet deserves the same respect that we give our mothers.

I like to follow this notion even further. Not only has everyone once been your mother (or will be in the future) but as a parallel, everyone we meet has once been in the same predicament that we are now. Haven't you ever cut someone off on the road - maybe accidentally - or maybe you knew it was wrong but you were in a hurry? So then you can't really get angry the next time someone else cuts you off on the road. Maybe you once insulted someone with harmful words, whether by accident or out of anger. You may regret those words later, and may not have the chance to apologize. So too may the person who insulted you, be feeling that same way. Or in the example provided by Buddha, if you were born into a life of violence and poverty, you may very well beat and rob someone just to get money to survive. And because we live in a continual cycle of reincarnation, it is very likely you might be that violent robber one day (or once were in the past).

Projecting yourself into the life of your enemy makes it a little easier to see things from their perspective and thus understand and forgive their actions.

"Look how they abused me and beat me,

"Look how they abused me and beat me,
how they threw me down and robbed me."
Live with such thoughts,
and you will know only hate.

*

"Look how they abused me and beat me,
how they threw me down and robbed me."
Abandon such thoughts,
and you will know only love.

from the Dhammapada, by Buddha, translated by Karma Yonten Senge

Commentary:

This is similar to the 'turn the other cheek' mentality encouraged in the Christian religion. However, Buddha explains that if you forgive and forget, you heal yourself. If you hold a grudge, you are only continuing your own misery by rehashing hurtful moments.

Yoga teaches us to cure what need not be endured and endure what cannot be cured

Yoga teaches us to cure what need not be endured and endure what cannot be cured.

~B.K.S. Iyengar

Commentary:

When I have an opportunity to exercise, I tend toward strenuous activities in order to burn up as many calories as I can in the limited time I have. I have been wanting to include yoga in my exercise routine as well, since it has so many benefits for the body and the mind. I used to do yoga a lot, when I was single with no children and seemed to have endless time at my disposal, but until now I haven't been able to find a way to include it in my busy schedule.

But this week as I have been laying on the floor with my 'rug rat', between reading him his favorite books and putting all his toys back in the toy box over and over... it dawned on me, that I too can be a 'rug rat' or rug 'downward dog' or rug 'cobra'. I can do yoga right here in my living room, a little here, a little there. It may not be the absolute quieting of the mind, and I may not always get to complete a full series of asanas, but it would still be better than nothing. I am sure it will still have benefits on my mind and body. There won't be incense burning, fancy yoga clothes or Western gurus named sri something-or-other, but I can live without all that!