Lately I’ve been coming across a certain saying or quote (but from who or where I don’t know the original) and it’s basically:

“To “whom” is this happening?”

And my answer as far as I can go is:

“I don’t know”

Now how do I get past the “I” to “don’t know”? Is there a “know” or “knower” to be “known” or is every answer that is “something” a label? Is there even something to “get past”?

So far when I sit and ask this over and over and not labeling I just find emptiness, and not even an echo of anything. Complete silence.

What am I missing? Is something even missing? Is it “just” that? Can we get deeper?

Your thoughts?

Hey!

I'm diagnosed with ADHD and have it hard to spend 1 hours of singing during Buddhists Zen meeting in a temple followed with 3x (30 minutes of sitting+10 minutes of walking).

I know that I can attend part of it but it's not seen weel and I couldn't get meetings with teacher this way. I told him about my ADHD but he doesn't seem to understand it anyhow or it just need to be like that.

I don't know what can help me after getting answers for this posts but I will try.

Thanks for every post!

######Excerpt of Dayi’s Inscription of Sitting Meditation

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直须坐究探渊源，此道古今天下传。

• [One] has to directly sit in thorough exploration of the source of the depth. This is the way that has been passed down since ancient past to the present across the world.

正坐端然如泰山，巍巍不要守空闲。

• Sit upright properly so, like Mount Tai, majestically/toweringly yet not [wasting time] by guarding empty idleness.

直须提起吹毛利，要剖西来第一义。

• [One] has to directly raise the sharpness of the blown-hair [sword], to dissect the ultimate truth/meaning from the West-coming.

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譬如静坐不用工，何年及第悟心空。

• [If it] just has been quiet sitting without employing work [of investigation], which year then [would one] achieve realisation to mind’s emptiness?

急下手兮高著眼，管取今生教了办。

• [So] quickly act on it, observing/contemplating from a high level, to guarantee what’s taught will be settled by this lifetime.

若还默默恣如愚，知君未解做工夫。

• If [you] still mutely indulge in apparent foolishness, [then] know that you have not understood how to work [on sitting meditation].

抖擞精神著意看，无形无影悟不难。

• Rouse [your] energy/spirit and look intently. [What’s] formless/shapeless and traceless/shadowless (original basis of mind) is not difficult to enlighten to.

此是十分真用意，勇猛丈夫却须记。

• It requires total-true (sincere) use of intent, which brave and vigorous heroes/men should therefore remember.

切莫听道不须参，古圣孜孜为指南。

• Be careful not to listen/believe [the idea] that the dao/way need not be investigated. [Regard] the ancient sages’ patient [teachings] as [your] compass.

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######Excerpt of Dogen's Fukanzazengi (Universally Recommended Manner of Sitting Meditation)

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所以須休尋言逐語之解行，須學回光返照之退步。身心自然脱落，本來面目現前。恁麼事欲得，恁麼事務急。

• Therefore [one] should stop the practice of finding words and chasing phrases for explanation/interpretation. [Instead one] should learn the retreating move of reversing light to return illumination. As mind and body fall away by themselves, the original face-eye is manifested.

• If [one] wants to attain this, [one] should urgently act on this [matter of sitting meditation].

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正身端座，不得左側右傾，前躬後仰，要耳對肩，鼻對臍。舌掛上顎，唇齒相著，目須常開，鼻息微通。身相既調，欠氣一息，左右搖振，兀兀坐定，思量個不思量底。

• The body is to be upright and properly seated, without leaning towards the left or right or front or back. The ears have to be aligned to the shoulders, and the nose aligned to the navel.

• [Have the] tongue hooked on the upper jaw/palate, teeth and lips in mutual contact, eyes should be constantly open, nose in unobstructed faint/light breathing.

• When bodily characteristics are regulated/adjusted, give a [full] sighing/exhaling breath [with a] left-right vibratory shake.

• Diligently/steadily sit in samadhi, to deliberate that which does not deliberate (original face-eye).

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當知正法自現前，昏散先僕落。若坐立徐徐動身，可安詳而起，不可卒暴也。

• It should be known that for the proper dharma (original basis of mind) to manifest by-itself, dullness and scatteredness first have to be driven away.

• So if the sitting [is dull and scattered due to lack of concentration/collectedness], move the body by standing up slowly, there can then be a calm safe arising. Be not reckless [in this].

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然則不論上智下愚，莫簡利人鈍者，專一功夫正是辦道也。修證自不染污，趣向更是平常物也。

• Yet, despite superior wise (people) or inferior foolish (people), regardless sharp people or dull ones, just the gong-fu (effort/skill) of concentrating singularly is exactly the execution/doing of the Way.

• [Such a] practice-verification itself does not filth-stain. The inclination is furthermore a thing of constant-evenness.

凡夫自界他方、西天東地，等持佛印，一擅宗風，唯務打坐兀地礙，雖謂萬別千差，只管參禪辦道，何謾拋卻自家坐牀，去來他國塵境？若一步錯，當面蹉過。

• All [practitioners], whether [from] own land or other places, from the Western Heaven (India) or the Eastern Land (China/Japan), [to be] in samadhi (equal-maintenance) of the Buddha-mudra, [to be] singularly grasping the custom of the [Zen] Buddhist school, just solely work/act [on the task] of hitting the sitting [meditation], steadily in restriction/limitation [to the singular concentration on the original face-eye].

• Although there is said to be the ten-thousand differences and thousand distinctions, just only care/focus on investigative/engaged meditation of the execution/doing of the Way.

• For what deception [is it] to throw away the seat/chair of one's own home, to go arrive at the dust-visaya of other lands/worlds? A single wrong move, and [you] waste/fall past before [it].

既得人身之機要，莫虛度光陰，保任佛道之要機。誰浪樂石火，加以、形質如草露，運命似電光，倏忽便孔，須臾即失。

• When there's attainment to the human body's pivotal-essence, do not waste [your] time away for nothing. Protect the allowance of Buddha way's essential-pivot.

• Who is carelessly/futilely enjoying the added flint sparks - where substantial forms are like grass dews, and life fortunes like lightning flashes; when in an instant [they are] hollowed, and in a moment, gone?

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######From zen teacher Dahui Zonggao's letter to Upasaka Qingjing

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學道人。十二時中心意識常要寂靜。

• Student of the way, within [all] twelve periods (24 hours), the citta-mano/manas-vijnanas constantly have to be in quiet quiescence.

無事亦須靜坐。令心不放逸。身不動搖。

• Even with no-matter/concern, [one] must sit quietly [in meditation], so that the mind will not be lax and the body will not be moved.

久久習熟。自然身心寧怗。於道有趣向分。

• Practise [this quiet sitting] on and on for long to ripe-familiarity, [then] naturally the body and mind are peaceful/tranquil/even/stable, [then] there is the possibility of going towards the way.

寂靜波羅蜜。定眾生散亂妄覺耳。

• The paramita of quiet quiescence, just stills the viksepa (scatteredness) and delusory perceptions of sentient beings only.

若執寂靜處便為究竟。則被默照邪禪之所攝持矣。

• If [one] clings to the place of quiet quiescence as complete, then alas [one] is being held control by the crooked [type] of silent illumination meditation/dhyana.

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######Excerpt of Dogen's Zazen-shin

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近年愚昧杜撰之徒曰：“功夫坐禪，得胸襟無事了，便是平穩地也。”此見解，尚不及小乘之學者，較人天乘亦劣也，爭奈稱學佛法之漢！現在大宋國，恁麽功夫之人多。祖道荒蕪，可悲矣！

• Lately, [there are] ignorant fools who make things up saying: “The practice of zazen, in attaining no concerns in the heart/chest, is therefore the peaceful stable ground.”

• Such a view, can’t even reach up to the studies of the Small Vehicle (Hinayana), and is comparatively worse than that of the Humans-and-Gods Vehicle, how can [these fools] be called men who study the Buddha-dharma.

• Now in the Great Song empire, people who practice like this are many. The [zen] ancestral way is barren, how sad.

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Hello all: I am new to Zen. I started a regular meditation practice a just few months ago and have visited local Zen sanghas a few times over the last month. I've read a bit about Zen practice (Kapleau and Lew lately, and Suzuki-roshi many years ago) and have meditated off and on throughout my life.

When I sit, I notice that I am very preoccupied with doing Zazen "right." For example, I spend a lot of time thinking about whether I am choosing the right focus--breath counting, breath observance, shikantaza, koan, etc. I also become somewhat obsessed with looking for any changes in my perception or my mental state, so I can be sure my practice is having an effect.

I'm sure this sounds very shortsighted and foolish, since part of the point of zazen is to let go of hard distinctions like "correct" and "incorrect" and just be present. But at this point in my practice, I am experiencing a lot of insecurity and impatience.

Do you have any advice for someone in my position?

I'm traveling across the country soon and am curious what everyone's favorite spots are, or at which temple / zen center you practice at.

Anything is appreciated! 🙏

I recently visited the Albuquerque Zen Center and enjoyed the space and members. Early morning zazen especially hit.

Rinzai Zen teacher Jeff Shore has just published a new book, "Backwater Reeds: Zen Buddhist Dharma Talks for the 21st Century". You can find it (for $1) on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/BACKWATER-REEDS.../dp/B0DKDK78DN/

The book is largely based on the online Dharma talks that Jeff gave during the Covid pandemic, and it is structured so that it gives an overall view of the Zen path.

Hope folks here find this useful!

Guys, I feel a bit bad seeing Zen masters involved in scandals and abuses. I've recently started doing zazen again, and I really repudiate this kind of behavior, but I've noticed several stories about it in the zen community. How can I deal with this and continue practicing without feeling uncomfortable?

Note: I'm someone who suffered sexual abuse when I was younger, I've dealt with this trauma a lot, but I'm disgusted by this kind of attitude to the point of feeling dizzy.

"Once Upon a Time, there was a Chinese farmer who lost a horse. Ran away. And, all the neighbors came around that evening and said, that's too bad. And, he said, maybe.

The next day, the horse came back and brought seven wild horses with it. And, all the neighbors came around and said, Why, That's great, isn't it? And he said, maybe.

The next day, his son was attempting to tame one of these horses. He was riding it and was thrown and broke his leg. And, all the neighbors came around in the evening and said, well, that's too bad, isn't it? And, the farmer said, maybe.

The next day, the conscription officers came around, looking for people for the Army, and they rejected his son because he had a broken leg. And, all the neighbors came around the evening and said, isn't that wonderful? And, he said, maybe."

Conclusion: The whole process of nature is an integrated process of immense complexity and it is really impossible to tell whether anything that happens in it is good or bad because you never know what will be the consequences of a misfortune or you never know what will be the consequences of Good Fortune.

• As told by Alan Watts

https://youtu.be/sWd6fNVZ20o?si=Uy433I7TuzQybhDZ

Animated video.

Additional info given by a user: For folks who don't know, though often attributed to the Zen tradition, this parable comes from a 2nd century BCE proto-Daoist text called Huainanzi 淮南子. 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_old_man_lost_his_horse

I have two local sanghas near me that meet my needs.

The Buffalo Zen Dharma Community (it’s part of the Mountains and Rivers order and Zen Mountain Monastery) and the other is a Vietnamese sangha connected to the ISBBA.

I’m in Buffalo Ny and very new to Buddhism.

A basic Zen truth is that words are poor tools for conveying Zen truth. Nevertheless, they are the tools we have, and can be used with skill to convey some things.

Recently, question came up as to whether, in Just Sitting 'Shikantaza' Zazen, we sit "indifferent" to thoughts. I replied that, somehow, it is not "indifference" because that word seems to imply an uncaring, cold, numb and neutral ambivalence to the world. It is not that. The world, including all its chaos, is sacred. Thus a better expression may be that one "lets all be," untangled and allowing (and subtly celebrating) all things "as they are." We do not sit numb and neutral, but, in fact, with a quiet faith, deep in the bones, that there is something Good, Whole and Complete (capitalized) in this sitting of Zazen and all of life, holding all the good and bad, fixed or broken, fulfilling or disappointing, happy and sad, hard and easy things (small letters) of this world.

It is just the same as how, when we rise from the sitting cushion and get back to this messy life, we do not live "detached" or "disengaged" from life, but rather, "Non-attached" that is fully "Engaged" in life. The former is to somehow shut ourselves off, push away and lock the doors. The latter is a better way of encountering the world, namely, one can experience, to the marrow, what is happening in life right now ... even the hard, unwelcome and chaotic parts of life ... while somehow also bowing to it all, knowing the Simplicity, Clarity, Light and Stillness which shines through all changing scenes, even through the difficulties and chaos. One can savor life's emotions ... but not be entangled in the emotions, knowing balance rather than excess, avoiding to be a prisoner of the harmful passions of greed, anger, jealousy, excessive fears and the like.

Thus, we sit and live knowing the ultimate Connection rather than disconnection, Care and Caring in place of neglect, Warmth not coldness, Compassion that is not callousness, Meaning, Unity and Flowing which shines through a universe that can otherwise appear so frequently pointless, broken and harsh. Yes, we Zen folks may seem a little "strange" sometimes to others' eyes (maddeningly smiling, calm and tolerant when the crowd is raging, shaking and mad) but we are certainly not "estranged" from the world.

Zen folks may avoid hate, but we need not run from love and relationships, even with their bitter-sweet ups and downs. Savor and embrace the people in your life, love and cherish them, but do not cling. When people are present in your life, experience and enjoy that fact. However, when times of sadness, separation or grief at loss come, experience that. If they hurt you, if it cannot be fixed, move on. But we should avoid to fall into excess here too, and not wallow in our longing, sadness, regrets and broken hearts.

In times of crying, just cry; in moments to smile, just smile. Through both smiles and tears, know too the Heart which Cannot Be Broken, the Wholeness and Peace which holds all the small, sharp and round, bloody and broken pieces of this life.

Thus, Zazen is sitting "Letting Be" rather than sitting "indifferent," let alone "pushing away" and resisting.

All is as it is.

https://preview.redd.it/vt2wr9m0iwwd1.jpg?width=818&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f0fd26711d186ee70d74a851a9d35e1bfbf34c28

Are there any Discord servers that are exclusively focused on Zen? Do you have any good communities you might recommend?

I try to meditate or do mindfull stretching and i keep getting like a panicky feeling my head. I also get muscle twitches and muscle stings and mu sleep doesnt really feel refreshing. I dont know why because i try to do as little as possible like 8 mins a day and also do restdays otherwise i cant sleep but it seems any kind of meditation makes me feel worse. Do i do something wrong this has been going on for a month and doesnt get better. Should i stop

Hello friends

I used to listen to an audiobook of 101 zen koans that was on youtube. Sometimes i would get in the habit of listening to it daily. The narrator did such a fine job and had a voice and temperament that resonated with me.

A few months ago i tried to listen to it again but it has been taken down from youtube. I don't know the name of the Narrator. There is another version posted on several youtube accounts with a different narrator named, Peter Coyote. He has a good voice but is rather monotone when reading the words spoken by the characters.

I miss the other version and would be very grateful to find a copy of the recording. As far as i know, this was the only recording of it on youtube for years until the Peter Coyote version.

Does anyone know what I am talking about and have any clues to help me find it?

This is an excerpt from "On Zen Practice: Body, Breath and Mind", which is a collection of essays on various topics regarding Zen Buddhist practice. I mean, the hint is in the title. This particular excerpt is by Hakuun Yasutani.

EDIT: Jundo makes a suggestion in the comments that Yasutani's views on shikantaza were somewhat out of step with most Soto teachers' views.

If we were to distinguish the various kinds of Zen practice, we would find two major types: koan Zen and shikantaza. The Rinzai and Obaku Schools emphasise koan study; the Soto School emphasises shikantaza. But even when koan study is stressed, shikantaza is not abandoned. All the great masters of these three schools emphasise the importance of shikantaza; and conversely, the finest masters in all schools use koans freely.

Dogen Zenji, who brought Soto Zen to Japan, was instrumental in bringing his first disciple, Ejo Zenji, to enlightenment by giving him the koan, "One thread going through many holes." Since then, many masters of the Soto School have guided their students with koans. Let us examine both koan study and shikantaza in some detail.

Koans

When you study koans, you should not study by yourself; you may fall into traps or go in the wrong direction. You must work under the right teacher. Even if you read a great deal, it is wise to keep in mind that books without a teacher are inadequate guides.

Koans reveal the very essence of the Buddha Way, uninterruptedly transmitted to us from the time of Shakyamuni Buddha. After the Sixth Ancestor, Huineng, and especially in the Sung dynasty and the following years, koan Zen became very popular in China, as it was later in Japan.

The word "koan" originally referred to a public document of great authority issued by the government, and even in present-day usage the word retains its original implication of authority and rightness. It is by means of the koan that we examine the most fundamental and important questions of life and death.

Many koans consist of dialogues between Zen masters and their students, others are taken from important passages of Buddhist scripture. Among the koans of dialogue, there are some in which the student questions the master in order to clarify his own understanding; in others, we see that although the student has experienced enlightenment, his vision is not yet clear. So in order to further clarify and deepen his vision, the student visits various masters.

In yet another kind of koan, monks and priests who have already experienced enlightenment further train themselves by engaging a number of masters in Dharma combat. A koan is not an explanation or illustration of a thought or an idea. If you regard a koan in this way, it is not koan practice and you miss the point. Koans deal with the essence of the Dharma, with the fact that all beings are Buddha. This fact is the ground of our being. We use koans as expedient means to perceive and demonstrate our buddhahood.

Shikantaza

Shikantaza should be personally and individually taught to you by a qualified teacher. While practising shikantaza by yourself based only on what you've read is less harmful than unsupervised koan study, proper instructions are very rare.

The Fukanzazengi by Dogen Zenji is good instruction, but is very difficult to understand. It is especially hard to comprehend how to work with the mind, and how the practice relates to enlightenment. I will briefly explain how to practise shikantaza.

Generally speaking, zazen can be described in three phases: first, adjusting the body, second the breathing, and third the mind. The first and second are the same in both koan Zen and shikantaza. However, the third, adjusting the mind, is done very differently in the two practices.

To do shikantaza, one must have a firm faith in the fact that all beings are fundamentally buddhas. Dogen Zenji says in the ninth chapter of Precautions on Learning the Way:

You should practice along with the Way. Those who believe in the Buddha Way must believe in the fact that their own self is in the midst of the Way from the beginning, so that there is no confusion, no delusion, no distorted viewpoint, no increase or decrease, and no errors. To have such faith and to understand such a way and practise in accordance with it, is the very fundamental aspect of the learning of the Way. You try to cut off the root of consciousness by sitting. Eight, even nine out of ten will be able to see the Way – have kensho – suddenly.

This is the key to practising shikantaza. But this does not at all mean that one must believe that one's small-minded, self-centred life is Buddha's life – on the contrary! Cast all sorts of self-centredness away and make yourself as a clean sheet of paper; sit, just firmly sit.

Sit unconditionally, knowing that sitting itself is the actualisation of buddhahood – this is the foundation of shikantaza. If one's faith in that fact is shaky, one's shikantaza is also shaky.

In doing shikantaza you must maintain mental alertness, which is of particular importance to beginners. Even those who have been practising ten years could still be called beginners! Often due to weak concentration, one becomes self-conscious or falls into a sort of trance or ecstatic state of mind. Such practice might be useful to relax yourself, but it will never lead to enlightenment and is not the practice of the Buddha Way.

When you thoroughly practise shikantaza you will sweat – even in the winter. Such intensely heightened alertness of mind cannot be maintained for long periods of time. You might think that you can maintain it for longer, but this state will naturally loosen. So sit half an hour to an hour, then stand up and do a period of kinhin, walking meditation.

During kinhin, relax the mind a little. Refresh yourself. Then sit down and continue shikantaza.

To do shikantaza, do not let your mind wander. Do not even contemplate enlightenment or becoming Buddha. As soon as such thoughts arise, you have stopped doing shikantaza. Dogen says very clearly: "Do not attempt to become Buddha."

Sit with such intensely heightened concentration, patience and alertness, that if someone were to touch you while you were sitting, there would be an electric spark! Sitting thus, you return naturally to the original Buddha, the very nature of your being.

Then, almost anything can plunge you into the sudden realisation that all beings are originally buddhas and all existence is perfect from the beginning.

Experiencing this is called enlightenment. Personally experiencing this is as vivid as an explosion; regardless of how well you know the theory of explosions, only an actual explosion will do anything. In the same manner, no matter how well you know about enlightenment, until you actually experience it, you will not be intimately aware of yourself as Buddha.

In short, shikantaza is the actual practice of buddhahood itself from the beginning – and, in diligently practising shikantaza, when the time comes, one will realise that very fact.

However, to practise in this manner can require a long time to attain enlightenment, and such practice should never be discontinued until one fully realises enlightenment. Even after attaining great enlightenment and even if one becomes a roshi, one must continue to do shikantaza forever, simply because shikantaza is the actualisation of enlightenment itself.

In general, the situation is that I can count my breaths without losing count, but at the same time my mind is busy with some abstract thoughts, memories and plans. Is this normal?

This didn't happen before, I would get confused and it would bring my concentration back to the process, but now it has become much "more difficult". It's a really strange phenomenon, because on the one hand I see all sorts of "cartoons" of the mind and to some extent I get immersed in the plot, but at the same time I count my inhalations and exhalations without losing my concentration for an hour or two...

Initially, I immediately started practicing shikantaza, and there are no problems with it, everything is as it should be. But not long ago, I felt that I lacked concentration and attention, and then I decided to go back to counting breaths. And then I discovered this phenomenon.

Basically after discovering this I started just breathing and following it and that gave me the level of difficulty I needed. But still I wonder if anyone else has had the same experience and how common is it in Zen practice?

I've been meditating on and off for the past ten years or so, but that includes a 4 year break where I didn't sit at all and with varying consistency before then. So the cumulative time that I've been meditating for is probably ~3-4 years.

Anyway, I started sitting again maybe 5 months ago doing breath counting and have been taking it pretty seriously. I sit 1-2 hours a day on average, plus have been doing several weekend retreats, a week long sesshin, and self-directed home retreats where I'll sit for 4 hours a day on workdays, or longer if I have the day off.

But I feel like my concentration is getting worse. I used to have no problem getting to ten without getting distracted. Recently I feel like I can't get past 2 or 3. I asked a teacher about this and he said to just let the thoughts pass when they come up, but I guess I still worry I may be doing something wrong.

What's weird is I feel like my meditation is deepening in some aspects. I get much calmer, the floor sometimes changes colors, it's much easier to not move and it feels like I'm somewhat detached from my body, or like a heavy blanket is wrapped around my body, holding it down. On the other hand, mentally it feels like a very hazy, muddy state where thoughts distract me from the breath very easily. It feels like the equanimity is there, but the concentration is not.

I know it's said that sometimes beginners will feel like their concentration is getting worse because they start out with such little concentration that they're not even aware of how distracted they are, then once their concentration improves they realize how distracted they are and think their concentration is getting worse. But I thought I was past that point since I meditated for years in the past.

Has anyone else experienced their concentration getting worse like this? Is it normal?

A few months ago, I stopped practicing shikantaza to focus on shamatha and vipassana, hoping to gain more sensory clarity and concentration, thinking it might speed up progress toward enlightenment. It worked really well at first, but lately, I've found it’s been making me more anxious and caught up in thoughts. Now, looking back at my time doing shikantaza, I realize it worked much better for me and was far more peaceful. I was more inclined to let go of thoughts, than to be disturbed by them. Do you think some people are just more wired for shikantaza, especially if practices like vipassana seem to make them more restless or unsettled?

I have been reading a book about a modern Japanese Soto Zen Master who is excellent in arousing in students a profound experience of "mindfulness" and "being in the moment," doing "one thing at one time" without other thought or concern for past and future. One secret he has is to have all the students do every action extra-slowly, to really look at the thing they are seeing as they take their time, and to always keep their mind on their breath. He does so at multi-day retreats at his temple. I am not sure if the Master can induce such experiences in every student who practices at his temple, but he has in at least some, a few of whom together wrote a diary recounting these experiences. Truly, such profound Samadhi concentration, and dropping of thought, is an excellent and vital aspect of our practice sometimes. Our "little self," and all its mental tangles, frictions, judgements and longings, drops away as one devotes one's attention fully to just the moment in front of one. Excellent. In my students too, I hope that sittings of Zazen, undertaking 'Samu' work, Chanting or Bowing or any moment can be so sometimes, for such is a profound and penetrating lesson in "dropping bodymind."

But I am not going to link to the Japanese Master's book, because I am also going to be a little critical. The students in the book recount such deep mindfulness as arising in 'Sesshin' retreat environments, during which they sit Zazen and engage in temple work tasks for days at a time removed from their worldly lives. However, the Master encourages them to stay such way ALL the time, even after they leave the temple, in their ordinary jobs and relationships with their families. This is where the book is very interesting, because the diaries are very honest about the disaster that happens to several of the students where they suddenly are tying to be "mindful" and "do one thing at one time" in jobs (such as accountant, school teacher) that require frequent "multi-tasking." They try day after day to be free of thoughts and judgements in various worldly tasks that require thought and judgement, and to remain non-attached and in unbroken "Zen mind" all the time (really, all the time) when dealing with the wife and kids (who now find their spouse or father suddenly very detached and strangely numb, too focused on maintaining such mind, almost leading to divorce in one case.) It seems to have driven one of the fellows almost to a nervous breakdown. They cannot always slow down, look intently at everything, always focus just on the breath while being out in the world. They return to the temple, and Sesshin, to try to get better at being mindful, feeling that the problem was just their weakness of mind and poor ability as Zen students and that they have somehow failed. I feel that this is an example of trying to be TOO mindful!

I blame the teacher, and an overly idealized and romantic, life-depriving view of Zen practice which wrongly emphasizes our needing to be in "Zen Mind," Samadhi and states of being "mindful" all the time ... timeless 24/7/365. I feel that such a view is not only not necessary, it misses one of the great lessons of the Soto Zen path.

Better, there are times to be "mindful" and in profound concentration, doing one thing in the moment ... and there are times just to be multi-tasking, thinking and judging, killing time, being silly or lazy, being a worker, a spouse and father, dealing with life's big and little problems and frictions, being ordinary and human.

However, even while "being ordinary and human," up to one's neck in the muck, one can also be free.

It is a little tricky to explain but is something like sometimes "multi-tasking" and being bound by the clock, while also having a subtle presence in one's heart of the timeless, the "nothing in need of attaining" of Zazen ... all at once, as if not two. One can know both at once, as if experiencing life simultaneously with goals and absolutely no goals at once, in the same instant. Sometimes the "one thing to do" is just this mess in front of us. When needing to "Multi-task" and madly rush with deadlines pending ... JUST MULTI-TASK AND MADLY RUSH as the "one things" to do in that moment.

Also, we have times of need to think through things, are confused or torn on choices sometimes, have opinions, ordinary likes and dislikes, feel very human frictions, fears and disappointments sometimes when life demands. We might be a spouse and parent, with all the joys and troubles that sometimes involves.

However, while doing so, also know the "dropping of all opinions, likes and dislikes" deep in the bones, the Clarity which illuminates all choices and confusion, even as one has opinions, aversions and attractions. One can know both ways of encountering life in the same instant. Hold those opinions and preferences lightly, do not cling, even as one has them. Likewise, sometimes feel perfectly normal frictions, fears and disappointments when life gets hard and scary sometimes, but also simultaneously know the other "faceless face" of Buddhist wisdom where there are no "two" to conflict, no need to fear, something which cannot be lost. Laugh and smile, cry and embrace tenderly those one loves ... even as one also knows a certain stillness and quiet in one's heart, free of clinging. Then there may be big problems in life to deal with, but all no problem too.

One can be Buddha and an "ordinary Joe" all at once, timelessly in any moment, rather than trying artificially to be "All Buddha All the Time." One can then live, fully engaged in this life, experiencing a life in this world ... but not trapped by the world. One is then "All Buddha in All of Life."

There is no need to "be in the moment every moment." That is a wonderful practice SOMETIMES, when, for example, we just drink tea when drinking tea, just see the flower when seeing the flowing, just sweep when sweeping. A removed temple life and "sesshin" can be such a retreat from life.

However, more powerful for life in the world is to "just let every moment be that moment," and accept it all. Sometimes drink tea while surfing online and thinking about your taxes and news of the election, worried about your sick kid. This is to be a modern human being. However, even as you do so, keep your heart simple, your thoughts and emotions untangled. As you do so, sense in your bones the Illumination ... beyond all divisions, choices, frictions, losses or gains, comings and goings ... which shines timelessly through this world even while we are up to our necks in it.

"Mind Full" or "mindful"? Sometimes more one, sometimes the other. But it need not be either/or.

One can learn the shining Illumination of being both at once!
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BOTH AT ONCE, AS ONE.

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What would make a good small gift for an ordained priest living at a monastery?

I'm thinking something handmade, useful, potentially edible, or something that could be easily returned to the earth.

Zen Buddhist practice has clearly brought more joy and peace into my life. I can feel myself opening up more and having deeper gratitude and willingness to meet my life. This is a positive thing. This practice is clearly a wonderful way of being.

Despite this I am somehow still resistant to wanting to do this everyday. I am pushing myself in my practice and I can feel its effects. It’s just bizarre that this doesn’t make me automatically want to go all in.

The brain is a funny thing.

I just want to clear the air on the hang up on pushing one’s self.

I am simply participating in Ango. I am not over exerting myself or striving for unrealistic expectations or ideals.

From what I’ve gathered jt is important to stretch oneself slightly outside our comfort zone to allow growth, but not so far as to burnout or hurt ourselves. Though I am pushing myself I am doing so fairly gently and compassionately.

I just wanted to clarify this detail 🙏🏻

I wanted to make a new post to announce since this year February a new opportunity to train in traditional Rinzai Zen practice, koan curriculum, and Rinzai Zen energy and breath work practices has presented itself in the Mt. Baldy Zen Center, which is only 40 miles away from Pasadena.

Kiryūken Shyōkyū Minakawa Rōshi has now committed to coming to Mt Baldy Zen Center to conduct sesshin training at least 3 times a year for the next several years, and he gives Teisho once a day and Sanzen twice a day for the practitioners during the retreat.

Minakawa Rōshi is abbot of Zuiryū-ji as well as recently founded Sapporo Zen Center in Hokkaido, Japan. Minakawa Rōshi is one of very few Rinzai Rōshis in Japan who gives Dokusan daily to lay practioners, and has experience training lay students in koan curriculum for more than a decade.

He is one of the rare experts in Japan who train lay students in koan practice, and the sesshins in Mt Baldy are open to practitioners whether they have decades of experience or are complete beginners. He conducts sanzen in a direct but informal way, giving plenty of time to explain the practice, allowing students to ask questions to clarify the practice, in order to ensure everyone can build up a strong foundation for further study. It is not rare for him to give 20 minutes or more to do sanzen with just one student, to properly transmit the practice.

He will come to US one more time this year in December to conduct a seven day Rohatsu sesshin, if anyone is interested in more information, and for exact dates and registration please contact Rinzai-ji Zen Center Los Angeles.

Do you also do Judo? Do you consider it a form of moving meditation? How do you incorporate it into your practice? Or do you feel like it's unrelated? I know Alan Watts was all about it.

I want to share some gratitude for my practice. I'm not always great at it, but it's a beacon of light for me. Something to strive towards.

I've been thankfully consistent in meditating every day and the eightfold path is something I consider during my waking hours. It's a guideline that I am so thankful for.

If I never get anything else from my meditation, I wouldn't care. The feeling that I have after my time on the cushion is enough. 🙏❤️

My wife is about to give birth next week. We have two other kids. I became interested in Buddhism a few years ago and have been slowly learning about Zen Buddhism.

I recently got thinking: Considering that Zen Buddhism considers our perception of our ego as separate from the universe as wrong, is there a Zen-positive way of bringing up children? From infancy to older kids. I have heard that the way that a child perceived the universe and oneself as united while in womb and right after birth is actually the "correct" way, and later it gets disrupted, leading to ignorant view. Is there a way to preserve that sense of oneness?

Wondering if there are books or articles or other media addressing this and in general talking about "Zen-friendly" way of child upbringing.

I sit for at least an hour every day, some days for two (in two, one hour periods).

After a period, my vision is markedly worse than before, sometimes for hours, and my normal glasses don't help.

I'm 36, and have had a very mild nearsightedness my whole life. But lately I worry it's getting worse, and somehow because of sitting.

I don't stare, I just rest my eyes on a point in space.

Anyone else experience something similar? Any eye exercises you do?

My Zen teacher asked me yesterday, "What is dharma?”

Of course, I know the answer to this. But I hesitated to respond because I also know that nothing in Zen is straightforward—or perhaps Zen is so straightforward that words are still not accurate enough to convey its truths.

There’s also a lot going on in my mind right now. A lot of hurt, shame, and blame have surfaced in the past few months, making them hard to ignore. This manifests in various ways at work and in my personal life. Without going into details, let’s just say I feel overwhelming love at times and, at others, a burning hate.

Sometimes these emotions overtake my meditation. But I go back to Mu. Just Mu. What is Mu?

Without words, without excuses, without getting lost in stories, I return to Mu. Things keep happening, and sometimes I feel like I’m being swept away. Resolutions come. Events peak. Amidst all of this, I can see the part of me that resists, even though there’s nothing I can do.

I told my teacher that despite the overwhelming emotions, I will try my best to let the dharma express itself in my life. And, of course, she knows better—"It’s always expressing in your life."

I guess I was probably too distracted to notice.

Are there zen temples in which people integrate often with not only people who live in the temple? How common it's in different countries