Hi, it’s been quite a while since i posted a blog. I have had several big changes in my life. The main one is stepping down from the guiding teacher position at Clouds in Water Zen Center and teaching at a very minimal level. The open space that stepping down has created has been good … Continue reading Goldstein’s mindfulness, “Ardency”
Tag: Karma
Bodhidharma’s Outline of Practice
Bodhidharma lived in the 5th or 6th century. He is traditionally thought of as the man who brought Buddhism to China and is called the First Ancestor in China. The “Outline of Practice” is his best known sermon. I was refreshingly surprised at how current this treatise feels to me. It is truly an outline … Continue reading Bodhidharma’s Outline of Practice
Intention and Vow, New Years
For the past many years, Clouds in Water starts the New Years off with an Intention and Vow Workshop. It was my answer to the failure, year after year, of my New Year’s Resolutions. Does Zen allow future goals? i.e. if you live in the present moment, can you have a future goal? Concurrently, there … Continue reading Intention and Vow, New Years
Three modes of Reality
Over the holidays, I recited the Lankavatara Sutra. This sutra is often said to expound the hallmark of the Zen school and very important in Early Zen in China. It seems to be a synchronistic occurrence that after studying the Gate Gate Mantra, I would stumble across this sutra, which really explores even more how … Continue reading Three modes of Reality
Beyond Constructions of Time #4
This blog is about the section in the Gate, Gate, mantra which says: going beyond constructions of time. In the past few years, I have practiced a lot on breaking open my “idea” of linear time. This practice has been one of the most powerful for me in terms of letting go of the obsession … Continue reading Beyond Constructions of Time #4
Wherever you are, enlightenment is there
Hashimoto Roshi, one of Katagiri Roshi’s teachers, said: The way we (Japanese) cook is to prepare each ingredient separately. Rice is here and pickles are over there. But when you put them in your stomach, you don’t know which is which. The soup, rice, pickles, and everything get mixed up. That is the world of … Continue reading Wherever you are, enlightenment is there
Vital Creativity
“Karma” has been a word that has been usurped by our society. Everyone uses that word, Buddhist and non-buddhist alike, but how terribly misunderstood that word is. We have just done a sesshin at Hokyoji Zen Community where we investigated the teachings on Karma. Particularly we read Katagiri Roshi’s book, Each moment is the Universe, … Continue reading Vital Creativity
Entrusting yourself to the Waves.
One of my favorite Ryokan poems: To find the dharma Drift east and west, Come and go, Entrusting yourself to the waves. Entrustment — to put into the care of and protecting someone or something. That is from the dictionary. Is there, in Buddhism, someone or something to entrust yourself with? Well, certainly it is not … Continue reading Entrusting yourself to the Waves.
Grace in Buddhism
I often search for a long time to find how certain Judeo-Christian terms translate to Buddhism. When I find a pathway of translation, I’m quite excited. I have long looked for the translation of “grace” into Buddhism. This week I heard, while listening to a Norman Fischer talk on “Transformation at the base,” what occurred … Continue reading Grace in Buddhism