Category: zen
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Zen and Excitement
Shared by Aaron on 1/28/24 From Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind by Shunryu Suzuki “Zen is not some kind of excitement, but concentration on our usual everyday routine. If you become too busy and too excited, your mind becomes rough and ragged. This is not good. If possible, try to be always calm and joyful and keep…
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Zen Study
Shared by Taylor on 1/21/24 Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind by Shunryu Suzuki: “If you continue this special practice every day, you will obtain some wonderful power. Before you attain it, it is something wonderful, but after you attain it, it is nothing special.” Dogen: “Before one studies Zen, mountains are mountains and waters are waters; after…
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Mindfulness & Present Moment–
Shared by Peter on 1/14/24 Through meditation, we practice mindfulness. So what is mindfulness? Mindfulness is a skill that involves focusing attention on the present moment, rather than dwelling on the past or thinking about the future. When I learnt practicing meditation for the first time, I was told to be mindful of my breathing–breathe in and breathe…
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Finding Joy in Life!
Shared by Deepak Deepak generated this image using AI To lighten the mood, I shared a humorous story about meditation A bunch of monks were meditating together when a Buddhist deity suddenly appeared before them. The deity pointed to one of the monks, named Larry, and said, “Your meditation is so pure that it has…
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Growth and Comfort
Shared by Chris on 12/17 What is the relationship between comfort and growth? Often, discomfort is the gateway or catalyst to growth, which means we should be wary of being overly focused on comfort. A reading from “The Prophet” illustrated this: And tell me, people of Orphalese, what have you in these houses? And what is it…
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“Fear is nothing more than a negative stream of consciousness”
Shared by Anand Reference and Acknowledgement – The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, by Robin Sharma, Page 101, 102 “Study a baby. She has no limits. Her mind is a lush landscape of potential and possibility. Properly cultivated, it will lead her to greatness. Filled with negativity, it will lead her to mediocrity, at best.…
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Sitting
Shared by Nan I am grateful for having this time to share my meditation practice with our group. I have been experiencing the joy of in person sitting in California. Recently, I was fortunate to have a vacation in Japan, and I was able to do zazen while I visited Kencho-Ji Temple at Kamakura. My…
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下山路是上山路 “The path down the mountain is the way up the mountain”
Shared by Kaz Grateful that we’re sitting together and sharing. Let me share a recent Zen saying I came across: “下山路是上山路” (asan no michiwa kore jozan no michi) translates to “The path down the mountain is the way up the mountain.” The lesson is all about “sharing what you’ve got” in a positive way. If…
Hakone Zendo 