the art of peace

The Art of Peace is medicine for a sick world. There is evil and disorder in the world because people have forgotten that all things emanate from one source. Return to that source and leave behind all self-centered thoughts, petty desires, and anger. Those who are possessed by nothing possess everything.

"The Way of the Warrior has been misunderstood. It is not a means to kill and destroy others. Those who seek to compete and better one another are making a terrible mistake. To smash, injure, or destroy is the worst thing a human being can do. The real Way of a Warrior is to prevent such slaughter - it is the Art of Peace, the power of love." Morihei Ueshiba.

the end of suffering

May the sound of this bell penetrate deep into the cosmos
Even in the darkest spots living beings are able to hear it clearly
So that all suffering in them ceases, understanding comes to their heart
And they transcend the path of sorrow and death.

The universal dharma door is already open
The sound of the rising tide is heard clearly
The miracle happens
A beautiful child appears in the heart of the lotus flower
One single drop of this compassionate water is enough to bring back the refreshing spring to our mountains and rivers.

Listening to the bell I feel the afflictions in me begin to dissolve
My mind calm, my body relaxed
A smile is born on my lips
Following the sound of the bell, my breath brings me back to the safe island of mindfulness
In the garden of my heart, the flowers of peace bloom beautifully.

Zen - Movie about Dogen

 

Banmei Takahashi's "Zen"

based on the life of Japanese Zen Master Dogen
(19 January 1200 – 22 September 1253).

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道元禅師
• Dōgen Zenji (also Dōgen Kigen 道元希玄, or Eihei Dōgen 永平道元, or Koso Joyo Daishi) (19 January 1200 – 22 September 1253) was a Japanese Zen Buddhist teacher born in Kyōto, and the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen in Japan after travelling to China and training under the Chinese Caodong lineage there. Dōgen is known for his extensive writing including the Treasury of the Eye of the True Dharma or Shōbōgenzō, a collection of ninety-five fascicles concerning Buddhist practice and enlightenment.

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Zen (2009) Part 1

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Zen - Movie about Dogen - DharmaflixWiki

....Banmei Takahashi's "Zen" is that rare serious film about this form of Buddhism, which has had a huge cultural influence but is little understood — let alone practiced — by ordinary Japanese. Perhaps it's a sign that, after decades of a single-minded focus on materialism, the culture is returning to its spiritual roots; or that one Baby Boomer director (Takahashi is 60) is getting religious in his old age.

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Zen (2009) Part 2

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Zen Beginner: Zen Movie Review: Zen

...Despite some moments of CG silliness the movie does manage to provide good dramatic pacing considering the amount to time in the movie that's dedicated to Zazen (admittedly not the most compelling thing to watch), the major events of Dogen's life are all covered, up to his death. The movie portrays him dying in Zazen as the monks continue to sit the rest of the period out of dedication to his practice. This portrayal diverges from the historical account but it's emblematic of the way a Zen master is supposed to die: either standing or sitting in perfect samadhi.

Overall Zen is entertaining and contains enough of a historical outline of Dogen's life that it's a worthwhile movie. I give it four out of five enso's.

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see also

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whats more: The Ino's Blog: Study Hall - Shobogenzo

正法眼蔵
Shōbōgenzō

(lit. "Treasury of the True Dharma Eye") The term Shōbōgenzō has three main usages in Buddhism: (1) It can refer to the essence of the Buddha's realization and teaching, that is, to the Buddha Dharma itself, as viewed from the perspective of Mahayana Buddhism, (2) it is the title of a koan collection with commentaries by Dahui Zonggao, and (3) it is used in the title of two works by Dogen Kigen...

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If you do not realize the fruit at this moment, when will you realize it?

If you do not cut off delusion at this moment, when will you cut off delusion?

If you do not become a buddha at this moment, when will you?

If you do not sit as a buddha at this moment, when will you practice as an active buddha?

Diligently examine this in detail...

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whats more: Genjo Koan

Genjo Koan is perhaps the best known section of Eihei Dogen’s masterwork, Shobogenzo (Treasury of the True Dharma Eye).

"The depth of the drop is the height of the moon"

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Buddhist Peace Action | Socially Engaged Buddhism

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Buddhist Peace Fellowship

Socially engaged Buddhism is a dharma practice that flows from the understanding of the complete yet complicated interdependence of all life. It is the practice of the bodhisattva vow to save all beings. It is to know that the liberation of ourselves and the liberation of others are inseparable. It is to transform ourselves as we transform all our relationships and our larger society. It is work at times from the inside out and at times from the outside in, depending on the needs and conditions. It is is to see the world through the eye of the Dharma and to respond emphatically and actively with compassion.

- Donald Rothberg and Hozan Alan Senauke, Turning Wheel Magazine/Summer-Fall - 2008

Wholehearted Connection

Buddhist Peace Fellowship is a community of primarily dharma practitioners established to support socially engaged efforts of visionaries of compassionate social justice and dharma-based organizations for social change.

Mutual Liberation

Buddhist Peace Fellowship is a leader in socially engaged Buddhism, cultivating peace through sharing with others decades of experience, providing donors who value peacemaking to other organizations, and educating the public with dharma-centered views of social justice. We are here to assist in implementing projects that work toward ending suffering in the world.

A Voice for Change

Buddhist Peace Fellowship makes an effort to speak without anger and opposition for those who have been silenced by war, poverty, environmental disaster, genocide, and youth whose lives have been impacted by violence.

CYMD 2008 was organized by the Buddhist Peace Fellowship of Tampa Bay. Each year we bring together the various traditions of Buddhists from around Tampa Bay to share their insights, teachings, and practices with the general public.

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Thich Nhat Hanh: What Is Engaged Buddhism?

see also - whats more: Ram Dass interviews Thicht Nhat Hanh (1995)

One of the best known and most respected Zen masters in the world today, poet, and peace and human rights activist, Thich Nhat Hanh has led an extraordinary life. Born in central Vietnam in 1926 he joined the monkshood at the age of sixteen. The Vietnam War confronted the monasteries with the question of whether to adhere to the contemplative life and remain meditating in the monasteries, or to help the villagers suffering under bombings and other devastation of the war. Nhat Hanh was one of those who chose to do both, helping to found the 'engaged Buddhism' movement. His life has since been dedicated to the work of inner transformation for the benefit of individuals and society.

• Buddhist Peace Fellowship

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The Zen Peacemakers

A Force for Socially Engaged Buddhism

Inspiring | Teaching | Doing

"When you realize the wholeness and interdependence of life, you have to take care of everyone, and to do that, you have to work with every ingredient of life."

Zen Master Bernie Glassman, Founder

In 1967, Bernie began his Zen studies with Hakuyu Taizan Maezumi Roshi, Founder of the Zen Center of Los Angeles. He became a Zen teacher--Sensei Glassman--in 1976. In 1980 he founded his own Zen Community of New York in the Bronx, New York. He started the Greyston Bakery, at first staffed by Zen students, as a livelihood for the Community, and then made it a vehicle for social enterprise in Yonkers, 3 miles north (see below). In 1995 Bernie Glassman received inka, or the final seal of approval, from his teacher and became known as Roshi Bernie. During that year and in 1996 he served as Spiritual Head of the White Plum Lineage, comprising hundreds of Zen groups and centers in the US, Latin America and Europe, as well as the first President of the Soto Zen Buddhist Association of America. His Dharma Family includes dharma teachers, zen priests, zen preceptors, zen entrepreneurs, Christian clergy, Rabbis, Sufi Sheiks and multi-faith peacemakers.

The mission of the Zen Peacemakers is to alleviate suffering by:

• developing holistic social service projects that help individuals, families
and communities;
• promoting and supporting Socially Engaged Buddhism throughout the West; and
• inspiring and training a new generation in this way of service as Zen practice.

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About Zen Peacemakers blog

Discussions on articles from Bearing Witness, the free monthly online newsletter of Western Socially Engaged Buddhism
Commentary on Socially Engaged Buddhism
Writings of Zen Peacemakers founder Bernie Glassman, including previously unreleased material
Up-to-date news from the Zen Peacemakers Mother House in Montague, MA including:

Montague Farm Zen House
Zen House Residence Program
Montague Farm Zendo and Shared Stewardship Circle
First major Symposium for Western Socially Engaged Buddhism

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• The Zen Peacemakers

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Genjo Koan

first verse -

"As all things are buddha-dharma, there is delusion and realization, practice, and birth and death, and there are buddhas and sentient beings.

As the myriad things are without an abiding self, there is no delusion, no realization, no buddha, no sentient being, no birth and death.

The buddha way is, basically, leaping clear of the many and the one; thus there are birth and death, delusion and realization, sentient beings and buddhas.

Yet in attachment blossoms fall, and in aversion weeds spread."

• whats more: Genjo Koan

"The depth of the drop is the height of the moon"

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Genjo Koan is perhaps the best known section of Eihei Dogen’s masterwork, Shobogenzo (Treasury of the True Dharma Eye).

道元禅師
• Dōgen Zenji (also Dōgen Kigen 道元希玄, or Eihei Dōgen 永平道元, or Koso Joyo Daishi) (19 January 1200 – 22 September 1253) was a Japanese Zen Buddhist teacher born in Kyōto, and the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen in Japan after travelling to China and training under the Chinese Caodong lineage there. Dōgen is known for his extensive writing including the Treasury of the Eye of the True Dharma or Shōbōgenzō, a collection of ninety-five fascicles concerning Buddhist practice and enlightenment.

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links / see also

• whats more: Genjo Koan

• whats more: The Ino's Blog: Study Hall - Shobogenzo

"(lit. 'Treasury of the True Dharma Eye') The term Shōbōgenzō has three main usages in Buddhism: (1) It can refer to the essence of the Buddha's realization and teaching, that is, to the Buddha Dharma itself, as viewed from the perspective of Mahayana Buddhism, (2) it is the title of a koan collection with commentaries by Dahui Zonggao, and (3) it is used in the title of two works by Dogen Kigen..."

• Dogen Zengi at Sotoshu
• Shōbōgenzō (@Wikipedia)
• Shobogenzo links (@"Hey Bro! Can You Spare Some Change?") (top of right column)
• whats more: buddha art
• whats more: diamond sutra art
• whats more: dharma wheel art
• whats more: ...about Zen & Buddhism
• whats more: The Ino's Blog: Counting To Nine | Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind

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Dalai Lama - Kalachakra Preliminary Teachings

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Dalai Lama audio and video | The Office of His Holiness The Dalai Lama: "Kalachakra Preliminary Teachings"




Day one of His Holiness the Dalai Lama's three day teaching on Gyalsey Thokme Sangpo's "37 Practices of A Boddhisattva (laklen sodunma)" and Kamalashila's "Stages of Meditation - Middle Volume (gomrim barpa)" given on July 9-11, 2011, that were preliminary teachings to the Kalachakra Empowerment. (www.dalailama.com)

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Kalachakra

कालचक्र

Kalachakra (Sanskrit: कालचक्र; IAST: Kālacakra) is a Sanskrit term used in Tantric Buddhism that literally means "time-wheel" or "time-cycles." The spelling Kalacakra is also correct.

Kalachakra refers both to a Tantric deity (Tib. yidam) of Vajrayana Buddhism and to the philosophies and meditation practices contained within the Kalachakra Tantra and its many commentaries. The Kalachakra Tantra is more properly called the Kalachakra Laghutantra, and is said to be an abridged form of an original text, the Kalachakra Mulatantra which is no longer extant. Some Buddhist masters assert that Kalachakra is the most advanced form of Vajrayana practice; it certainly is one of the most complex systems within tantric Buddhism.

The Kalachakra tradition revolves around the concept of time (kāla) and cycles (chakra): from the cycles of the planets, to the cycles of human breathing, it teaches the practice of working with the most subtle energies within one's body on the path to enlightenment.

The Kalachakra deity represents a Buddha and thus omniscience. Since Kalachakra is time and everything is under the influence of time, Kalachakra knows all. Whereas Kalachakri or Kalichakra, his spiritual consort and complement, is aware of everything that is timeless, untimebound or out of the realm of time. In Yab-yum, they are temporality and atemporality conjoined. Similarly, the wheel is without beginning or end.

more at Wikipedia

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Bhumisparsha Mudrā

Bhumisparsha Mudrā | photo of statue, June 23, 2011

Siddhartha resisted every temptation Mara could devise. The lord of desire had one final test. He demanded to know who would testify that Siddhartha was worthy of attaining ultimate wisdom. And his demon army rose up to support him. Siddhartha said nothing. He reached down and touched the ground, and the earth shuddered. Mara’s demons fled.

earth touching
This gesture calls upon the earth to witness Shakyamuni Buddha's enlightenment at Bodh Gaya. The right hand reaches toward the ground, palm inward.

मुद्रा
A mudrā (Sanskrit: मुद्रा "seal", "mark", or "gesture") is a symbolic or ritual gesture in Hinduism and Buddhism. While some mudrās involve the entire body, most are performed with the hands and fingers. A mudrā is a spiritual gesture and an energetic seal of authenticity employed in the iconography and spiritual practice of Indian religions and traditions of Dharma and Taoism.

TheBuddhaPBS's Channel - THE BUDDHA: Enlightenment, part 3

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whats more: Bhumisparsha Mudrā | Young Urban Zen | Dalai Lama | Science meets Buddhism

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happy birthday :)

jedi

"fear is the path to the dark side...


fear leads to anger...


anger leads to hate...


hate leads to suffering...


i sense much fear in you..."


...yoda...

Thicht Nhat Hanh interview with Ram Dass

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YouTube - ‪RamDassChannel's Channel‬‏:


Ram Dass interviews Thicht Nhat Hanh at the State of the World forum, September 1995

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whats more: Ram Dass interviews Thicht Nhat Hanh (1995)

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the buddha

The Ino's Blog: Counting To Nine | Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind

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whats more: The Ino's Blog: Counting To Nine | Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind

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you are already Buddha yourself
  ~ Shunryu Suzuki Roshi

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The Ino's Blog: Counting To Nine
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Counting To Nine

I bought myself another copy of Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind, and I was looking for the explanation of why we do nine prostrations at the beginning of morning service instead of three, which I have heard here many times over the years: Suzuki Roshi thought American students were more stubborn than Japanese and needed more help in letting go of the ego.

Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind is a book of teachings by the late Shunryu Suzuki, a compilation of talks given to his satellite Zen center in Los Altos, California. Published in 1970 by Weatherhill, the book is not academic. These are frank and direct transcriptions of Suzukis' talks recorded by his student Marian Derby. Trudy Dixon and Richard Baker—Baker was Suzuki's successor—edited the talks by choosing those most relevant, arranging them into chapters. According to some, it has become a spiritual classic, helping readers to steer clear from the trappings of intellectualism. PDF

In the book we read,
'After zazen we bow to the floor nine times. By bowing, we are giving up ourselves. To give up ourselves means to give up our dualistic ideas. So there is no difference between zazen practice and bowing. Usually to bow means to pay our respects to something which is more worthy of respect than ourselves. But when you bow to Buddha you should have no idea of Buddha, you just become one with Buddha, you are already Buddha yourself.'
- These last two sentences are ones I should probably memorise, as I often find myself answering a question around this from new students or visiting high school kids - if there is no god in Buddhism, why are you bowing, who are you bowing to?"   ~ more

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Shunryu Suzuki (鈴木 俊隆 Suzuki Shunryū, dharma name Shōgaku Shunryū 祥岳俊隆) (May 18, 1904 – December 4, 1971) was a Sōtō Zen roshi (Zen Master) who popularized Zen Buddhism in the United States, particularly around San Francisco. Born in the Kanagawa Prefecture of Japan, Suzuki was occasionally mistaken for the Zen scholar D.T. Suzuki, to which Shunryu would reply, "No, he's the big Suzuki, I'm the little Suzuki."

more @Wikipedia

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Suzuki Roshi dot org (suzukiroshi.org)

•   Suzuki Roshi Dharma Talks

•   Suzuki Roshi Verbatim transcripts

Shunryu Suzuki Roshi on YouTube

•   "Zen Mind Beginners Mind"

San Francisco Zen Center

The purpose of San Francisco Zen Center is to make accessible and embody the wisdom and compassion of the Buddha as expressed in the Soto Zen tradition established by Dogen Zenji in 13th-century Japan and conveyed to us by Suzuki Roshi and other Buddhist teachers. Our practice flows from the insight that all beings are Buddha, and that sitting in meditation is itself the realization of Buddha nature, or enlightenment.

•   Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind

~ by Shunryu Suzuki Roshi

• Shunryu Suzuki-roshi, a Japanese Zen priest belonging to the Soto lineage, came to San Francisco in 1959 at the age of fifty-four. Already a respected Zen master in Japan, he was impressed by the seriousness and quality of "beginner's mind" among Americans he met who were interested in Zen and decided to settle here. As more and more people of non-Japanese background joined him in meditation, Zen Center came into being and he was its first abbot. Under his tutelage, Zen Center grew into City Center, Green Gulch Farm and Tassajara Zen Mountain Center. He was undoubtedly one of the most influential Zen teachers of his time.

"In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's there are few."

So begins this most beloved of all American Zen books. Seldom has such a small handful of words provided a teaching as rich as has this famous opening line of Shunryu Suzuki's classic. In a single stroke, the simple sentence cuts through the pervasive tendency students have of getting so close to Zen as to completely miss what it's all about. An instant teaching on the first page. And that's just the beginning. In the thirty years since its original publication, Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind has become one of the great modern Zen classics, much beloved, much re-read, and much recommended as the best first book to read on Zen. Suzuki Roshi presents the basics—from the details of posture and breathing in zazen to the perception of nonduality—in a way that is not only remarkably clear, but that also resonates with the joy of insight from the first to the last page. It's a book to come back to time and time again as an inspiration to practice.

Purchase Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind from Zen Center's on-line bookstore.

•   The Ino's Blog

SOTOZEN-NET official site (english)

•   A Message from the Head Priest

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ZEN playlist @ rc's youtube channel

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TAG THIS PHOTO

ha ha - tag! - you are Buddha!

tag on facebook | buddha artwork by rc

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see also:

Master of the Shakuhachi & about Zen & Buddhism

Dharma Wheel & About Dharma

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any day

Any day above ground...

is a good day.

(chinese fortune cookie)

Thích Quảng Đức

Thích Quảng Đức (1897 – 11 June 1963) was a Vietnamese Mahayana Buddhist monk who burned himself to death at a busy Saigon road intersection on 11 June 1963. Thích Quảng Đức was protesting against the persecution of Buddhists by South Vietnam's Ngô Đình Diệm administration.

Photos of his self-immolation were circulated widely across the world and brought attention to the policies of the Diệm regime. Malcolm Browne won a Pulitzer Prize for his iconic photo of the monk's death, as did David Halberstam for his written account.

After his death, his body was re-cremated, but his heart remained intact. This was interpreted as a symbol of compassion and led Buddhists to revere him as a bodhisattva, heightening the impact of his death on the public psyche. (read more) (mooncake)

what are you doing ?

Thích Quảng Đức

water is wet

How will I know...



the truth from the lies?...



you ask yourself...



All I can tell you is...



that rocks are hard...



and water is wet.

perfect

Everything is...


as it should be...


everything is...


perfect*




(*falling is easy)

all life is precious

you are a human - being

No Mind

A Samurai’s Creed
Anonymous, Circa 1300


I have no parents;

I make the heaven and earth my mother and father.

I have no home;

I make awareness my dwelling.

I have no life and death;

I make the tides of breathing my life and death.

I have no divine power;

I make honesty my divine power.

I have no means;

I make understanding my means.

I have no magic secrets;

I make character my magic secret.

I have no body;

I make endurance my body.

I have no eyes;

I make the flash of lightning my eyes.

I have no ears;

I make sensibility my ears.

I have no limbs;

I make promptness my limbs.

I have no strategy;

I make “unshadowed by thought” my strategy

I have no designs;

I make “seizing opportunity by the forelock” my design.

I have no miracles;

I make right action my miracle.

I have no principles;

I make adaptability to all circumstances my principles.

I have no tactics;

I make emptiness and fullness my tactics.

I have no talents;

I make ready wit my talent.

I have no friends;

I make my mind my friend.

I have no enemy;

I make carelessness my enemy.

I have no armor;

I make benevolence and righteousness my armor.

I have no castle;

I make immovable mind my castle.

I have no sword;

I make absence of self my sword.

.....

compassion

"Everything is burning.

What is burning?

The eyes are burning.

Everything seen by the eyes is burning.

The ears are burning.

What is burning?

Everything heard by the ears is burning.

The nose is burning.

Smells are ablaze.

The tongue is burning.

Tastes are ablaze.

The body is burning.

The mind is burning."

Buddha


D. Max Moerman, scholar: "We’re on fire; we may not know it but we’re on fire and we have to put that fire out. We’re burning with desire, we’re burning with craving. Everything about us is out of control."

W.S. Merwin, poet: "The Buddha goes on to talk about the three poisons: greed, and anger, and ignorance, and how the three poisons are what is making the fire, and the way out of doing this is not to deny the three poisons, but to recognize that if you turn them around, you come to their opposites."

Instead of greed, you have generosity; instead of anger, you have compassion; and instead of ignorance, you have wisdom.

(read more)