Category: zen
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Interbeing
Sharing by Peter photo by Sondra “Interbeing” is a new word and a new concept introduced by Thich Nhat Hanh. He employs this new word to explain the interconnectedness of all things in the universe. A sheet of paper, for example, is an interbeing as it is connected with a cloud through a chain of relationships.…
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The Impossible Question J. Krishnamurti
Sharing by Reni. In our everyday lives we tend to ask possible questions. Why? Is it difficult for us to ask impossible questions? What if the constant feeling of “something is missing” is beyond our thinking mind. What if we only find real answers within the unknown. What if we only find it in the…
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Ann’s New Year Sharing
On New Year’s Eve, in many Buddhist temples, there is a ceremony of ringing the temple bell 108 times (Joya-no-kane). The bells are rung 108 times to symbolically represent the cleansing of 108 worldly imperfections or passions (defilements) from the year just ending. Eihei Dogen, a Soto Zen priest, referred to these 108 defilements as…
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Dynamic Meditation
Shared by Luke Chrysanthemum planted by Rev Ito near our zendo bloomed. Today Luke shared the transformative power of Dynamic Meditation. Luke is currently taking my time to write an article on Dynamic Meditation, so stay tuned… The Five stages of Dynamic Meditation can be found here (my favorite description online):Stage 1 — chaotic breathing…
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NO MUD, NO LOTUS: THE ART OF TRANSFORMING SUFFERING
Sharing by Sondra Author: Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, teacher, poet, peace activist, was known as the “father of mindfulness” and was a major influence on Western practices of Buddhism. The meaning behind the title is that without mud, the beautiful lotus flower cannot grow. This is an analogy of life—without pain or…
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丹田 Tanden / Dan Tien
Shared by Reni. 丹田 Dan Tien Your Secret Energy Center by Christopher Markert Dan Tien in Chinese is in the same location as it is described in Japanese, Hara. In his book, he talks about his own journey on finding the ancient Chinese knowledge about Dan-Tien. The ancient script describes it as “the best place…
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“November 3rd” by Kenji Miyazawa
Nick shared a poem called “November 3rd” by Miyazawa Kenji. Neither yielding to rainnor yielding to windyielding neither tosnow nor to summer heatwith a stout bodylike thatwithout greednever getting angryalways smiling quietlyeating one and a half pieces of brown riceand bean paste and a bit ofvegetables a dayin everythingnot taking oneselfinto accountlooking listening understanding…
Hakone Zendo 