no gaining idea
February 6, 2010
Practice without an idea of gaining is called Buddha’s practice. If we become attached to enlightenment or to the profundity of the teaching, we will lose the point. When we just practice zazen as a human being without any idea of gaining we have the universality of the teaching, and also its individuality and validity. If we attach to some idea of perfection, we will lose the validity of the teaching, although we may have its universality. But this is no longer religion: it is philosophy or science.
So the point is to practice our pure way as human beings with sincerity and without an idea of gaining. That is pure practice. It is not important whether it is the first stage or the second stage or the third one, that is not the point. Just to practice with a pure-way seeking mind, that is true Zen and true Buddhism.
– Shunryū Suzuki, from an early afternoon lecture in November, 1965
impermanent poem
February 6, 2010
wood is good
sun is warm
water on leaf falling
breeze is light
sky is blue
hear the old crow calling
– dsk
first things first
February 6, 2010
To enjoy good health, to bring true happiness to one’s family, to bring peace to all, one must first discipline and control one’s own mind. If a man can control his mind he can find the way to Enlightenment, and all wisdom and virtue will naturally come to him.
– Siddhartha Gautama
mirror mind
February 3, 2010
We assume that our mind automatically grasps reality but don’t know how artfully the mind works and, therefore, we live in delusion and suffering. The mind must be developed. The Buddhist teachings show how to liberate the mind from ignorance and obtain wisdom or insight. Wisdom implies a mind with equanimity, free of mental defilements, not influenced by worldly pleasures or suffering, a mind detached from the past and the future, a calm and collected mind that experiences that the reality of all phenomena is in its impermanence and selflessness.
– Lieu Phap, from “Land of Ten Thousand Lakes”
same as it ever was
January 31, 2010
At the heart of Christianity, which defines much of Western civilization, and Buddhism, a driving force in Eastern culture, lies the same basic wisdom. Both Jesus and Buddha focused on the individual, emphasizing that the inner person is more vital than the outer image, and that each of us needs to look at our own life rather than criticizing others. They use the same imagery of light and darkness, sun and rain, the fruitful and the barren in describing their moral world.
Contemporary scholars searching for the historical Jesus are placing increasing emphasis on his role as a first-century sage. Many of the aphorisms they cite in portraying him as a wisdom sayer embody the same advice that Buddha provided to his followers five hundred years earlier.
– Marcus Borg, from “Jesus & Buddha – The Parallel Sayings”
it comes and goes
January 29, 2010
Consider the ebb and flow of the tide. When waves come to strike the shore, they crest and fall, creating a sound. Your breath should follow the same pattern, absorbing the entire universe in your belly with each inhalation. Know that we all have access to four treasures: the energy of the sun and moon, the breath of heaven, the breath of earth, and the ebb and flow of the tide.
– Morihei Ueshiba, from “The Art of Peace”
where you go is where you’ll be
January 29, 2010
Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”
– Isaiah 30:21
loving the unlovable
January 25, 2010
Metta, or lovingkindness, is one of the most important Buddhist practices. Simply stated, metta is the heartfelt wish for the well-being of oneself and others. When describing metta, the Buddha used the analogy of the care a mother gives her only child. Lovingkindness is also understood as the innate friendliness of an open heart. Its close connection to friendship is reflected in its similarity to the Pali word for friend, mitta. However, metta is more than conventional friendship, for it includes being openhearted even toward one’s enemies, developed from insight into our shared humanity.
– Gil Fronsdal, from “Five Practices to Change Your Mind”
here and now
January 25, 2010
A monk was being chased by a tiger toward the edge of a cliff. He leaps off the cliff, grasping a vine that has grown over the edge. Below him is a long drop to a certain death, above him is the snarling tiger. As the monk swings in midair, a mouse begins gnawing at the vine above him. His position is one of utter precariousness. Growing out of the cliff in front of him is a wild strawberry, which he picks and eats. He says, “This strawberry is delicious.”
– Sylvia Boorstein, from “It’s Easier Than You Think”
wake up
January 23, 2010
How many people have provoked the question, “What are you? What order of being do you belong to? What species do you represent?” Not, “Who are you?” with respect to name, origin, or ancestry, but “What are you?” Not Caesar, certainly. Not Napoleon, or even Socrates.
Only two: Jesus and Buddha. When the people carried their puzzlement to the Buddha himself, the answer he gave provided an identity for his entire message.
“Are you a god?” they asked. “No.” “An angel?” “No.” “A saint?” “No.” “Then what are you?”
Buddha answered, “I am awake.”
– Huston Smith, from “The World’s Religions”
You Are IT 