Category: zen
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Frustrations
Shared by Susan Good morning, everyone. I’m Susan and I am a teacher and my students are second graders. There are certainly rewarding experiences about teaching but there are also frustrations. Today I am sharing about frustrations. Sometimes my students have frustrations and sometimes I do. I have been thinking about how I sometimes think…
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Milarepa’s Demons
Shared by Linu I recently came across a story that resonated with my own battle against a personal problem – fear. I was afraid of conflicts, confrontation, and embarrassment, and it was messing with my self-esteem. I tried for years to get rid of this fear, but it just wouldn’t go away. The below story…
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Invictus by William Ernest Henley
Shared by Reni ( William Ernest Henley) Invictus Out of the night that covers me, Black as the pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul. In the fell clutch of circumstance I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeonings of chance My head is bloody,…
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Taming the Monkey Mind
Shared by Michael The origin of this share was on a 3-week trip to Japan my wife and I took back in June. The trip itself was amazing, taking us across multiple regions and cities over the course of our stay. It was on our walking tour of Kyoto, as we approached Kenninji Temple when…
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“My Visit to Heirinji Temple, Where Rev. Ito Trained.”
Shared by Kaz I joined Hakone Zendo in 2010, and several years after I joined, Rev Ito suggested I visit Ryūtakuji near Mt. Fuji, where he received his training when I traveled to Japan for business. Unfortunately, due to its distance from Tokyo, I couldn’t make the trip to the temple then. However, last year,…
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Hairsbreath attunement
Shared by Dev There are many excellent Zen texts. One of them contain the song of the jewel samadhi, which in my opinion is beautiful, obtuse and complex at the same time. I’m not reading the poem here but highly recommend it. One of the phrases contained in it is: “A hairsbreadth’s deviation will fail…
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The Dragon Who Never Sleeps by Robert Aitken
Taylor shared the book, “The Dragon Who Never Sleeps” by Robert Aitken. Also, the Thich Nhat Hanh video I mentioned is here Waking up in the morningI vow with all beingsto be ready for sparks of the Dharmafrom flowers or children or birds. Waking up in the morningI vow with all beingsto listen to those…
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Poems: “The Guest House” & “Autobiography in Five Short Chapters”
Ryan shared poems: “The Guest House” by Jalaluddin Rumi & “Autobiography in Five Short Chapters” by Portia Nelson. The Guest House by Jalaluddin Rumi This being human is a guest house.Every morning a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness,some momentary awareness comesas an unexpected visitor. Welcome and entertain them all!Even if they’re a…
Hakone Zendo 