Dharma Bum

Real

Roshi [his Zen Buddhist teacher] said something nice to me one time. He said that the older you get, the lonelier you become, and the deeper the love you need. Which means that this hero that you’re trying to maintain as the central figure in the drama of your life— this hero is not enjoying the life of a hero. You’re exerting a tremendous maintenance to keep this heroic stance available to you, and the hero is suffering defeat after defeat. And they’re not heroic defeats; they’re ignoble defeats. Finally, one day you say, ‘Let him die— I can’t invest any more in this heroic position.’ From there, you just live your life as if it’s real— as if you have to make decisions even though you have absolutely no guarantee of any of the consequences of your decisions. -Leonard Cohen

I asked the river
About its destination
And came out lucky:
It babbled about nothing
And never came to a point
- Gyosen

"At Ryoan-ji in Kyoto there is a famous rock garden; wherever in it a person stands, one of the fifteen rocks cannot be seen. The garden reminds that always something unknowable is present, just beyond what can be perceived or comprehended - and that something is as much part of the real as any other stone amid the raked gravel."
- Jane Hirshfield

Retreat

Friday I escaped to the Five Mountain Zen Order's winter retreat. It was exactly what was needed, and It was great to connect with my Dharma family. If you're interested in exploring a meditation practice, the HB Meditation/Ocean Eyes Zen sitting group will be meeting on Feb 12th at 5:30. Conact me for details. Here's a few photos from the weekend, we're actually a pretty casual Zen crew, but we do robe up every once and a while. Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Update: HB Meditation/Ocean Eyes Zen - Feb 12th

Meditation is old and honorable, so why should I
not sit, every morning of my life, on the hillside,
looking into the shining world? Because, properly
attended to, delight, as well as havoc, is suggestion.

Can one be passionate about the just, the
ideal, the sublime, and the holy, and yet commit
to no labor in its cause? I don't think so.

All summations have a beginning, all effect has a
story, all kindness begins with the sown seed.
Thought buds toward radiance. The gospel of
light is the crossroads of - indolence, or action.

Be ignited, or be gone.
- Mary Oliver

I'm going away this weekend to sit with the Five Mountain crew. But will be back next week ready to reconvene the Sunday night sitting group, aka HB Meditation/Ocean Eyes Zen. If you haven't been we meet at 5:30 at my place and anybody interested in exploring meditation, with a little bit of Zen thrown in for good measure, is welcome. Beginners especially welcome. Contact me for directions. I hope to see you on Sunday Feb. 12th!

Questions

If something appears that we cannot explain, that is O.K. Our Zen practice leads us back to become comfortable living inside of questions and not constantly seeking answers. - Rev. Paul Yuanzhi Lynch (my teacher)

 

 

Zen - On Becoming a Teacher

I don't post much about my spiritual practice on this blog. I've been thinking about that recently. Maybe it's something I will do more this year. I was directed to the following video by my teacher Paul Yuánzhì Lynch. I used to think I wanted to be a teacher, I'm currently a novice priest in a Korean Zen order, but lately I haven't been so sure. Maybe it's time. The following video is of Jakusho Kwong-roshi, the abbot of Sonoma Mountain Zen Center where I hope to do a solo retreat this year. Kwong-roshi is a dharma heir of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi and also had a close relationship with Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. In this video, Kwong-roshi discusses his own path of becoming a Zen practitioner and eventually a teacher. It got me thinking..

"I had a discussion with a great master in Japan, and we were talking about the various people who are working to translate the Zen books into English, and he said, "That's a waste of time. If you really understand Zen, you can use any book. You could use the Bible. You could use Alice in Wonderland. You could use the dictionary, because the sound of the rain needs no translation."
- Alan Watts

via

Psychology & Zen

For those that might be intererested, attached is a video of a talk I participated in at the Las Vegas Zen center early this year where I and some of my Dharma brothers, who happen to be Psychologist's, spoke about how Zen informs our professional lives. If you are my Mother, or my friend, and not interested in Zen or Psychology you can jump to my part at 12:48.

Notice

“The range of what we think and do is limited by what we fail to notice. And because we fail to notice that we fail to notice, there is little we can do to change; until we notice how failing to notice shapes our thoughts and deeds.”

-R. D. Laing

 

Zen enriches no one. There is no body to be found. The birds may come and circle for a while in the place where it is thought to be. But they soon go elsewhere. When they are gone, the “nothing”, the “no-body” that was there, suddenly appears. That is Zen. It was there all the time but the scavengers missed it, because it was not their kind of prey. - Thomas Merton

Bending with the irises..

Leonard Cohen remembers his Zen Master:

“I never really understood
what he said
but every now and then
I find myself
barking with the dog
or bending with the irises
or helping out
in other little ways.”

—Cohen, L. (2006). Book of Longing. McClelland & Stewart, p. 16. Via

Pilgrim

Okinawa Soba, Pilgrim.

Sit

Tonight we kicked off the first sit of the re-start of HB Meditation/Ocean Eyes Zen. It being Mothers Day, a few people that wanted to come couldn't make it, but I was fortunate to have Susan, Samantha and Kai in attendance. Practicing in community makes such a difference, and they made it great. I look forward to catching up next week with those that weren't able to make it tonight. Please feel free to drop in on us anytime, just email me for details. Some pics..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Five Mountain Spring Retreat

Well I'm back from the Five Mountain Spring Retreat. I could have used a few more days but it's back to work. I had a great time getting robe'd up and hanging out with my teacher, and my Sangha who came from all parts of the country. It was a wonderful, and much needed retreat. Friday night I had the great privilege of participating in a conversation with 3 of my Dharma brothers who are Psychologists. Our teacher asked us to share how Zen practice has informed our work in the mental health field. There was a lot of great dialogue and great questions. I look forward to many more of these conversations in the future. The whole thing was recorded, so snippets might show up sooner or later. A couple of pics, the rest are on FB.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Retreat?

Or is it a sort of surrender?

Either way, I'm going away to sit on a cushion for a few days with some friends.

Regular posting will resume on Monday..

Karma Repair Kit: Items 1-4

1.
    Get enough food to eat,
    and eat it.
 
2.
    Find a place to sleep where it is quiet,
    and sleep there.
 
   
3.
    Reduce intellectual and emotional noise
    until you arrive at the silence of yourself,
    and listen to it.
     
4.

- By Richard Brautigan

Via LiveorTell

Precepts Ceremony- Ocean Eyes Zen Center

try, try, try for 10,000
years non-stop.
soon get enlightenment
and save all beings from suffering

This Saturday I followed through with something that I had been wanting to do for some time. I took the five precepts at the Ocean Eyes Zen Center. I knew I would eventually do it sooner or later but I wanted to do it with the right Teacher, at the right time, and with the right Sangha. I have found all of those in our little but growing Sangha right here in Huntington Beach. The ceremony was very moving for me and I'm grateful for the people that showed up to watch.

For those interested in the first five precepts are:

1. I vow to abstain from taking life.

2. I vow to abstain from taking things not given

3. I vow to abstain from misconduct done in lust.

4. I vow to abstain from lying.

5. I vow to abstain from intoxicants, taken to induce heedlessness.

From here on out I look forward to continuing my Koan practice with my Teacher and participating in my Sangha and deepening my practice right here and right now. Hopefully there will be more Precepts for me along the way. Here's some pics from the ceremony: