23 Saturday Feb 2013
Posted in Zen, Zen Videos
Many people make associations of being present and mindful when thinking of Zen practice. In this interesting video, Thich Nhat Hahn tries to give context in which to use this presence. He talks about using this presence as a gift to give family, friends and those other close to us. As he puts it succinctly:
How can you love if you are not there.
22 Monday Oct 2012
An interesting recording of one of the talks that Thich Nhat Hanh made in Vancouver, BC. He gives suggestions of how to find moments to slow down and breathe in mindfully in the “here and now.”
His aim is to bring more joy into practice. Jokingly, he says:
“If while breathing you suffer, breathing out you suffer, you know your practice is not correct. Life is already full of suffering, why do you have to suffer more by practicing Buddhism.”
04 Tuesday Sep 2012
Posted in Videos, Western Buddhist Practice, Zen, Zen Videos
Here’s an interesting series of interviews done with Taisen Deshimaru, a zen master responsible for spreading zen practice throughout Europe. He discusses the origins of zen, why it could flourish in western culture, and essence of zen practice. Continue reading »
07 Tuesday Aug 2012
Posted in Daily Life, Zen
Kyosaku
The zen tradition is well-known for use of the kyosaku (sometimes spelled keisaku), a stick that is whacked on the shoulders and backs of meditators in order to keep them awake. When the whack is administered correctly, it’s an efficient anti-sleep tool. In Kosho Uchiyama’s classic book Opening the Hand of Thought, he suggests that in his practice centers and temples, that a kyosaku should not be used during long retreats.
Bringing Toys Into Retreats
Uchiyama argues against the use of kyosaku during a retreat because it ends up being used like a toy. If someone is walking around with a stick, a meditator will attempt to sit up right and appear awake in order to avoid being hit. Instead of actually meditating and being forced to deal with the boredom that comes from hours of long sitting, they’re actually just playing a game. Continue reading »
11 Monday Jun 2012
Posted in Daily Life, Zen
In Kosho Uchiayama’s classic book “Opening the Hand of Thought,”
he makes an interesting analogy to the persimmon trees found in Japan and the spread of Buddhism around the world. I think if it understood correctly, it can explain how Buddhism could establish its roots in the west, and how it takes our collective, individual efforts to do so. Continue reading »
25 Friday May 2012
Posted in Daily Life, Zen
Kosho Uchiyama in his classic book, Opening the Hand of Thought, makes an interesting comparison between the serious approach we often take to our thoughts, and the the layer of atmosphere where clouds appear and disappear above the Earth. The layer itself is only pencil thin, but from the ground, all those clouds can seem dense and expansive. If someone were to move high enough off the ground, it becomes easy to see blue sky and a clear view. The clouds are not as thick and imposing as they seem. Continue reading »
20 Friday Apr 2012
Posted in Videos, Western Buddhist Practice, Zen, Zen Videos
Jakusho Kwong-Roshi is the abbot of Sonoma Zen Center and is a dharma heir to Suzuki Roshi. He also studied with Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. Suzki Roshi and Trungpa Rinpoche were known to be close friends, and it was common that their students would overlap.
Kwong Roshi recounts the two highly influential teachers, and what he see’s happening for the next generation of Dharma practitioners.
07 Monday Nov 2011
Posted in Recommendations, Zen
A few weeks ago, I wrote briefly about Steve Jobs, his life, and his practice of Zen. Recently, Steve Silberman wrote an interesting review of Walter Issacson’s biography of Steve Jobs
09 Sunday Oct 2011
I think by now, everyone is aware of the passing of Steve Jobs, the former co-founder and CEO of Apple. Many westerners have one way or another benefited through his work, be it through things like the iPOD; iMac, iPhone, etc. One of the first computers I ever used was a MAC, sometime in 1992. In 2011, many of the things I’ve put together on this site have been done from an iMac, and I’ve spent years listening to recorded Dharma talks through my iPod. Continue reading »
27 Tuesday Sep 2011
Posted in Tibetan Buddhism, Zen
Joan Halifax of Upaya Institute/Zen Center & HH Dalai Lama
With many forms of Buddhism being available to the west, more people have options for practice than they did 100 years ago. If someone was born in Tibet or Japan, they would practice whatever was avaible. In the west, people have more freedom to make choices. Sometimes this is good because it builds awareness. Other times it can be dangerous Continue reading »
27 Wednesday Jul 2011
Posted in Videos, Zen, Zen Videos
Zazen is derived from the word chan (Chinese), which derives from dhyana (Sanskrit) or jhana (Pali), which basically translates to meditation. Zazen is actually more than just sitting in meditation, its continous practice whether standing, sitting, or lying down. Most people, however, commonly associate zazen as sitting in meditation in a zendo. Continue reading »
14 Thursday Jul 2011
Posted in Zen
Lately one of my favorite peices is Zen Master Dogen’s “Mountains and Water Sutra.” I’ve found it to be very profound in that it reverberates with me during my daily life. There’s one stanza that is really interesting, it goes:
Now when dragons and fish see water as a palace, it is just like human beings seeing a palace. They do not think it flows. If an outsider tells them, “What you see as a palace is running water,” the dragons and fish will be astonished, just as we are when we hear the words, “Mountains flow.” Continue reading »
23 Thursday Jun 2011
Posted in Other, Videos, Zen, Zen Videos
Tags
buddhism buddhist meditation, buddhist daily life practice advice, introduction zen mind, life zen monastery zen monk, soto-zen monastery, sympathetic parasympathetic system, zazen meditation
Here are some short, interesting videos about Zen. The first video mainly serve as an introduction to a zen life or a state mind. Accompanying images provide a meditative like experience. The videos relate more to the practice and method itself. Continue reading »
17 Friday Jun 2011
Posted in Daily Life, Videos, Zen
Seung Sahn was a Korean Zen Master that died in the 1994. When he was 18-19, a monk saw potential in him and taught him a practice technique. The Zen master told him with this technique, he’d either die, go crazy, or get enlightened. Continue reading »
23 Saturday Apr 2011
Posted in Buddhist Documentaries, Videos, Zen
Tags
amongst white clouds, buddhism, buddhist documentnary, chan buddhism, china, chinese zen buddhism, hermit, mountainside, retreat, yogi, zen buddhism
This is an interesting documentary of a young american director, who at 19, bought a book of Chinese Buddhist poems from a bookstore in Portland for 2 dollars. He was so inspired by this, that he eventually later in life ended up in China studying with a Chinese Zen Buddhist monk who stays in a forest hermitage on a mountainside. Continue reading »
