‘Some people think that when we eliminate all thought and experience enlightenment we are liberated; we don’t have to do anything else and can be happy for the rest of our lives. I think this is a misunderstanding or even a superstition. Dogen tried to caution his students that the point is to let go […]
The birds have vanished down the sky. Now the last cloud drains away. We sit together, the mountain and me, until only the mountain remains.
As we were sitting out on the Embarcadero this past Monday, on a warm and sunny day, my eyes drifted over the bay, and I realised that directly across from us was the Grand Princess, which had come in to the far end of Oakland docks that morning. The next day, as I emerged from […]
‘What we call the conscious world is nothing but a provisional picture of the world produced by our dualistic minds. Is there anything wrong with our provisional pictures? I don’t think so. If we think the world is just something imaginary or provisional, it appears to have no value and we become pessimistic. But remember, […]
‘Zazen is more… than just the formal activity of sitting in meditation; it is also the embodiment of our interconnection. This is zazen as our daily life, of being in the world of harmony and discord. Don’t we all know the annoyance of someone else’s unskillful driving and the joy of another’s compassion toward our […]
‘What I need to know is that being a person who understands that giving is better than getting is the proper way to live. Live your life now in a positive way. Help people if you can. Don’t hurt people. That works perfectly for me, man.’ (from a New York Times article) For many years, my […]
‘ Practicing in a monastic or residential environment always shows me how selfish I am. It can be kind of embarrassing seeing myself this clearly. But I think this is the point of practice, to show us who we really are, not just how we imagine ourselves to be. When we first start to understand […]
