Tag: meditation
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Sugar and Salt: My Four Days at Hosen-ji
By KazIt was a privilege to sit with all of you this morning for our final session of the year. As we look back on our time together at Hakone Zendo, I wanted to share a personal experience that has deeply shifted my perspective on our practice. Two weeks ago, before a business trip, I…
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The Non-Discriminatory “Merry”
By Ann I’m wearing my seasonal shirt today. It’s pink, and it has the word MERRY written across it. A number of people have commented on it, and I always tell them the same thing: it’s a non-discriminatory shirt. You can be Merry Christmas, you can be Merry New Year, or you can be Merry…
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Reflections on Why Buddhism Is True by Robert Wright
By Michael I recently finished a book by Robert Wright entitled Why Buddhism Is True… a very daring title, I thought. The book has been out for a few years and was a New York Times bestseller, but I only encountered it recently. What I found most interesting is how Wright focuses on the philosophical side…
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Waking Up to Every Breath
By Taylor Happy Thanksgiving. I’m Taylor, and recently I volunteered to speak at our meditation group. If I’m honest, the main reason I volunteer is that I can’t stand that awkward moment when we’re all standing in a circle and no one steps forward. I just raise my hand so we can all move on.…
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From “Begin to Sit and Breathe” to ‘Try Something New’
By Dongmin It’s hard to believe, but it’s been an entire year since I started coming here to meditate every Sunday morning. Today I would like to share some reflections, some observations, and something new that I start trying. When I first came to practice last year, I was desperately looking for something that could…
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A Reflection on the Enmei Jukku Kannon Gyo
By Ewa Good morning everyone.I’d like to share a few words about the chant we recite at the beginning of our Zazen practice. When I first started coming to Zazen Kai, the chanting, honestly, made me feel a little uneasy. I could read the Chinese characters, but I didn’t fully understand what I was chanting.…
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I’m Learning to Be a Shambhala Warrior
By Rona Lately in my practice, I’ve been feeling a deep pain—sorrow, anger, the heaviness of division in our world. It stirred despair in me, and even my own anger. I know I need to work with these feelings, to take care of them, because they’re not the energies I want to send into the…
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You are perfect as you are…..and you have more work to do
By Ann Having just experienced my familiar difficulty with technology, I am wondering about the accuracy of what I want to talk about with you today… the belief that each of us is perfect, in this second, in the experience of this moment. As I tangle with the headset, placing the mic in my ear,…
Hakone Zendo 