Posted on Aug 28, 09 at 12:04 PM
The following verse comes from Dzogchen Master Tsoknyi Rinpoche’s beautiful and illuminating book Carefree Dignity: Discourses on Training in the Nature of Mind. Through straightforward language and down-to-earth examples he makes the freeing of our minds seem almost as easy as it really is.
Sometimes go outside and sit
In the evening at sunset,
When there’s a slight breeze that touches your body,
And makes the leaves and the trees move gently.
You’re not trying to do anything really.
You’re simply allowing yourself to be,
Very open from deep within,
Without holding onto anything whatsoever.
Don’t bring something back from the past, from a memory.
Don’t plan that something should happen.
Don’t hold onto anything in the present.
Nothing you perceive needs to be nailed down.
Simply let experience take place, very freely,
So that your empty, open heart
Is suffused with the tenderness of true compassion.
from: Carefree Dignity, 2004, p.160.
Every time I read this verse I feel like I am gently tumbling down a rabbit hole of unconditioned awareness. Just allowing myself to be in this moment, unencumbered by thoughts of past or future and open to all, just as it is.
Just Noticing •
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Posted on Aug 17, 09 at 01:51 PM
In last Sunday’s New York Times there was an article in the “Happy Days” blog section by a Zen practitioner that caught my eye. What really stood out for me was his portrayal of Zen practice. The experience was described as grueling and the practice as intense and relentless, not to mention that it requires long hours and can be physically and emotionally uncomfortable. Those were his words and only part of what he had to say. Typically I would let this go as another example of Macho Zen1. But as I thought about it, it occurred to me that for many people who are looking for a contemplative practice to help them deal more effectively with life’s issues, Zen is frequently the practice they have heard about. And essays like the foregoing don’t offer much insight, hope or encouragement.
For the various teachers and scholars I have learned from or whose work I have studied, grueling, intense and relentless struggle is antithetical to the various practices they teach. And personally, I deeply value the ideal that my practice should be consistent with the end point I am seeking. Even if what I am seeking, as some might point out, is something I already possess!
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Philosophy & Practice •
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Posted on Aug 12, 09 at 08:44 PM
These days, I tend to hold my thoughts pretty loosely and most of the time I don’t even take them very seriously. And if I am in the mood for a little humor I can just sit back and watch some of my thoughts float by. It’s like Comedy Central sometimes, each thought trying to be sillier, funnier and more outrageous than the one just before it. If my thoughts were “real” beings with personalities and ego’s they would likely be offended by my seeming disdain and lack of caring about them.
But every now and then, in the right circumstances, a thought will grab me, and try as I might it will take some effort to shake it loose. This past weekend, for example, Susan and I were going away for an overnight to be with some relatives. We are always careful to make certain our cat, Tiger, is not tucked away in one of his favorite hiding (i.e., napping) spots where he might be locked in by a closed door while we are away. So the search began, only a half dozen favorite spots and another dozen and a half if the first ones didn’t pan out. Zip, nothing, he was nowhere to be found. So, we do it again and still no sign of him. Now what.
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Living In The Moment •
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Posted on Aug 10, 09 at 08:17 PM
For this first blog post on my new website I want to pay a tribute to Stephen Batchelor who was first to offer me a way to appreciate the deep value in Buddhist teachings through his 1997 book Buddhism without Beliefs: A Contemporary Guide to Awakening. This book helped me immediately by providing an understanding of Buddhism, unencumbered by the religious beliefs that so often seemed to conceal the underlying truths. In addition, Stephen presented his material in a way that allowed the reader to easily grasp its profundity as well as its simple practicality.
Although I am most grateful for the door that was opened for me, it is the practicality that continues to live with me. Stephen frequently referenced the pragmatic analogy of holding things lightly and loosening our figurative grip on ourselves and our lives. In his chapter on compassion, for example, he says, “Through both disciplined meditation and ongoing reflective inquiry, we can loosen the grip in which habitual perceptions of self and others hold us.” I use this idea frequently because it applies so well to many of the ways in which we tend to struggle with life and cause ourselves and others to suffer.
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Philosophy & Practice •
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