zen monk

baraka

Zen Things

Feed The Fire

A to Zen

Kālī

"There are many ways to calm a negative energy without suppressing or fighting it. You recognize it, you smile to it, and you invite something nicer to come up and replace it; you go somewhere in nature, or you do some walking meditation.” — Thich Nhat Hanh

meditation

baraka

moment of death

When the Angel of Death 

comes for you... 

smile at him.

presupposition

So true for me

Percepts

alphabet soup

there you are

Remember...


no matter where YOU go...


there YOU are.

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.

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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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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The Art Of War

All warfare is based on deception...Sun Tzu

The Art of War is an ancient Chinese military treatise that is attributed to Sun Tzu (also referred to as "Sunzi" and "Sun Wu"), a high ranking military general and strategist of the Kingdom of Wu who was active in the late-sixth century BC, during the late Spring and Autumn period. (Some scholars believe that the Art of War was not completed until the subsequent Warring States period.) Composed of 13 chapters, each of which is devoted to one aspect of warfare, it is said to be the definitive work on military strategies and tactics of its time, and is still read for its military insights.

The Art of War is one of the oldest and most successful books on military strategy in the world. It has been the most famous and influential of China's Seven Military Classics: "for the last two thousand years it remained the most important military treatise in Asia, where even the common people knew it by name." It has had an influence on Eastern military thinking, business tactics, and beyond.

Sun Tzu emphasized the importance of positioning in military strategy, and that the decision to position an army must be based on both objective conditions in the physical environment and the subjective beliefs of other, competitive actors in that environment. He thought that strategy was not planning in the sense of working through an established list, but rather that it requires quick and appropriate responses to changing conditions. Planning works in a controlled environment, but in a changing environment, competing plans collide, creating unexpected situations. (read more)

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 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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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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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.