Posted on August 4, 2021
Threads of Existence
From: The Zen Doctrine of No Mind ~ D. T. Suzuki 
It is like appreciating a fine piece of brocade. On the surface there is an almost bewildering confusion of beauty, and the connoisseur fails to trace the intricacies of the threads. But as soon as it is turned over all the intricate beauty and skill is revealed. Prajna consists in this turning-over. The eye has hitherto followed the surface of the cloth, which is indeed the only side ordinarily allowed us to survey. Now, the cloth is abruptly turned over; the course of the eyesight is suddenly interrupted ; no continuous gazing is possible. Yet by this interruption, or rather disruption, the whole scheme of life is suddenly grasped; there is the “seeing into one’s self-nature”.
FollowPosted on July 14, 2021
Attachment and Clinging
A few quotes that I had stored up about attachment and clinging:
In fact, it’s our belief that we have to avoid discomfort, which is one of our deepest sources of unhappiness.
Everything that has a beginning has an end. That is why attachment creates suffering.
Hold your breath, try to cling to that air. You will suffer. Try to not breath in, clinging to not having air inside you. Nirvana is to stop liking either.
Live neither in the entanglements of outer things,
nor in inner feelings of emptiness.
Be serene in the oneness of things and such
erroneous views will disappear by themselves.
When you try to stop activity by passivity
your very effort fills you with activity. ~ The Hsin Hsin Ming
Posted on September 6, 2019
Zen and Peace
Using Zen in the search for tranquility.
Love, Peace and Happiness
Zen and peace, love, and happiness. These are the terms of Eastern spirituality that seem to dominate social media. Every day, online, I encounter sincere individuals, seeking some kind of spiritual wholeness to mitigate the stress and pressures they feel in living their lives. Their questions, in various incarnations, always seems to ask; what’s the best way, or fastest way, or easiest way (what app should I use?), to meditate, so that I will be at peace. I fear that Zen is becoming the twenty-teens fad dieting. No fat, no wrinkles and no worries is the mantra of today’s social network universe. I’m not concerned with personal physical goals here, but I feel people’s need for some sort of mental and emotional anesthetization is distorting the essence of Eastern traditions. Gurus are the new personal trainers; everyone needs one if you expect to attain the much desired, serene persona.
It’s not that everyone on social media, in Zen based discussion groups, are focused on tranquility. There are serious people engaged in the traditional topics of no-mind, consciousness, and awareness. Being a relative newcomer to these social groups, I’m seeing genuine give and take discussions with meaningful references to sutras, and quotes from Zen patriarchs and Zen masters. But these go on under the radar. The main interest of the people in these groups is finding the means that allows them to escape from the day’s stress and strain.
Serenity Now
As they say in marketing,”Don’t sell the steak, sell the sizzle.” The posts on these sites revolve around seeking serenity (now). Just ignore the unpleasant, and embrace the pleasant. The trend seems to suggest rejecting and distancing ones self from the things one finds disturbing, and instead focusing on the calming aspects of life. Zen is looked at as a sort of noise canceling headphones for the mind. Sunny days = good days, rainy days = bad days. People want every day to be a sunny day; they post pictures of bright colorful flowers, puffy white clouds afloat in blue skies, cute little animals in forests with rays of light filtering through the trees. The authentic tranquility of accepting Eastern traditions comes from accepting both the pluses and minuses as part of the totality of existence. Zen and peace comes from seeing the sun and rain as weather and looking at each day as just a day.
“Under these circumstances, the life that we live is a contradiction and a conflict. Because consciousness must involve both pleasure and pain, to strive for pleasure to the exclusion of pain is, in effect, to strive for the loss of consciousness.” — Alan Watts
Posted on August 6, 2019
Good Karma
Like water flowing to the sea.
“Good karma stems from doing good; loneliness stems from selfishness; suspicion stems from fear and fear stems from hatred. Thus, only when we cultivate a calm and peaceful state of mind can we turn our mortal heart into a Buddha’s heart.” Attributed to Jun Hong Lu: Words of Wisdom, vol. 3, pg.30
Good Karma is a Value Judgement
I recently saw this quote posted in a Zen Facebook group. With all respect, this quote, particularly the “karma” part, sounds more like Judeo-Christian tradition rather than Buddhism. The “if …then” concept does not belong to the Tao. “Good karma stems from doing good” seems to be saying that if I do good deeds, then good things will happen to me. First of all, the terms “good” and “bad” are value judgments. The judgments require an arbiter to deem what is good and what is bad. And then, among other things, there needs to be a mechanism to discern and deliver the good karma and the bad karma.
As the saying goes: One man’s ceiling is another man’s floor. Recently as it was the 75th anniversary of D-Day, I watched the movie “The Longest Day” for the umpteenth time. There is one line in the movie, almost identical, delivered by both Curd Jürgen’s, character, German Maj. Gen. Gunther Blumentritt and John Wayne’s American Lt. Col., Benjamin Vandervoort; “I sometimes wonder which side God is on.” Everyone involved in any conflict or disagreement believes she or he is the good guy. It’s what gives marriage counselors steady employment. So, what actually is good karma? That brings us to the decider.
The idea that good deeds promote good Karma implies that there is some mechanism that determines you have committed good deeds. If your good deed is, for argument sake, rated 8 out of 10, is an 8 rated good karmic experience returned to you? If so, who determines how good you are? Is there a sliding scale? How good is good? Who makes these decisions?
Karma is like water from a mountain’s melting snow, running to the sea. It seeks its own way. If there is an obstacle it goes around, a sudden drop and it becomes a waterfall. Encountering a low point it forms a pond, and rises until it overflows, and then continues on its journey. It’s neither good nor bad. It just flows.
Posted on July 30, 2019
Dogs and Buddha Nature
Observing my dog this morning I was reminded about the Zen koan “does a dog have Buddha nature?”
My dog Ophelia Hasenpfeffer
Several months ago we picked a dog out at the town shelter. From what the vet told us, she’s probably a little shy of two years old now. My dog is a mix, with a bit of Schnauzer in her— which makes her a “rat” dog. Since day one, my dog believes she exists to keep the house and surrounding property free of any small critters. Every morning, when I let her out she makes a bee-line to the neighbor’s fence. My neighbor has a bird feeder and it attracts squirrels as well as birds. The presence of a walnut tree, on the property line enhances the appeal that this area holds for the squirrels.
On letting her out this morning, my dog spots a squirrel sitting on the branch that hangs over our yard. Up in the tree a squirrel was pulling apart a walnut. This action infuriated my Schnauzer mix. True to her instincts, she desperately tried to rid the area of the squirrel. Barking, growling, jumping up and down, she tried and tried but the squirrel wasn’t impressed. The squirrel knew it had the upper hand. I tried quieting my dog. I tried distracting her but she was determined to do her duty. And, as what so often happens with us, the dog became consumed with the task at hand.
The drama played out for about fifteen or twenty minutes. In spite of all that effort, the dog never got to the squirrel. And as it is the nature of things, eventually, the dog lost interest and the squirrel moved on. The earth kept spinning and the universe kept expanding.
