Category: zen
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Finding Balance in the Midst of Life’s Chaos
Shared by DongminFor the past year, I’ve been working on finding balance in my life—between work, daily responsibilities, and the elusive sense of “me.” I’ve tried many approaches, like carving out time for walks or runs each day. While these activities helped ease the stress, I still felt as though something was missing. Life in…
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Understanding Zen Meditation: Embracing Wandering Thoughts
Shared by Kaz The bamboo: straight and upright, yet flexible and resilient. This simple yet profound metaphor beautifully captures the essence of Zen practice. Shared by Roshi Joan Halifax in an NHK program I recently watched while in Japan, it offers a powerful way to understand meditation and mindfulness. The NHK program explored why meditation…
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Finding Oneness: Reflections on Goodness
By Ann This morning, as I sat in silence, I found myself reflecting on a moment from years ago that shifted my perspective in a profound way. It was around Christmas time, much like now, when Rev. Ito, a Buddhist priest, walked into the room and said, “Jesus was a good man.” Hearing those words…
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The Power of Ritual: Strengthening Community Bonds
By SusanRecently I’ve been wondering about the importance of ritual. I read an article about how important ritual is to a community and it mentioned a study by an anthropologist, Dimitris Xygalatas. And I started to wonder more about this topic. I know that in a community, in a society, there are rituals that are…
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Things You Cannot Control
By Aaron One thing though I’ve been thinking about a lot lately is how I should react when there are things in the world outside of my control that trouble me. So I collected a few quotes on that topic that maybe will help me or maybe will spur thoughts among others. The first one…
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Embracing Imperfection: Finding Light in the Cracks
By Taylor I recently found myself contemplating what to discuss and was reminded of a song lyric by Leonard Cohen: “There’s a crack in everything; that’s where the light gets in.” This sentiment feels particularly relevant to Buddhist practice in our daily lives. When we examine anything closely enough, we discover flaws and inherent changes…
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Life’s Best Lessons Come from Doing, Not Reading
Shared by KazYou know that moment when someone says something that doesn’t quite make sense at first, but later it hits you like a lightbulb? That’s exactly what happened to me about fifteen years ago when I started practicing zazen meditation. My teacher, Rev. Ito, once told me: “Kaz, steal from others on how to…
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Meditation Posture: Finding What Works for You
Shared by Chris. I’ve been reflecting on my meditation practice lately and wanted to share some specifics that have evolved over the years, in the hope that it might be helpful to others—or perhaps spark some suggestions for improvement. Since I started attending regularly in 2019, a significant part of my journey has been about…
Hakone Zendo 