Do you belong? Do you ever question if you belong where you are? Do you question if you belong with certain groups – family, community, friends, work – of people that you are with? Do you question if you belong in certain physical locations? Do you question if you belong in certain asanas or meditationContinue reading “Belonging”
Author Archives: Daishin
Meeting A Buddha
“Only a Buddha can transmit to a Buddha.” – The Lotus Sutra When Bucknell friends of mine learned I had been practicing meditation with a Zen teacher in a monastery, some thought I had joined a cult, others thought that I was just weird. They distanced themselves from me in their own ways, and IContinue reading “Meeting A Buddha”
A Buddhist’s Response to Pope Francis’ Encyclical: Emotional involvement a necessary first step to finding solutions to climate change
Pope Francis’ encyclical on climate change is profound and inspiring to people of all faiths, and while I deeply respect his well informed and comprehensive vision and his inclusion of those who think and believe outside of the Catholic tradition, he nonetheless speaks as a Catholic. I’d like to present brief thoughts on the importanceContinue reading “A Buddhist’s Response to Pope Francis’ Encyclical: Emotional involvement a necessary first step to finding solutions to climate change”
A Dharma Doorway
Dharma gates are boundless, I vow to enter them. Children have been by far my best teachers. Jesus said that if we can learn to have the mind of a child, then we will enter the kingdom of heaven. The child’s mind is open, receptive, and sincerely curious about life. When sitting zazen, Dai-En Roshi wouldContinue reading “A Dharma Doorway”
Where is my mind?
In our culture there is a major split between mind and body. Generally speaking, the body gets treated one way and the mind another. We go to a gym to develop our body. We go to a classroom to develop our mind. The body is considered physical: muscle, bones, ligaments, organs. The mind is generallyContinue reading “Where is my mind?”
April 2015
Butterfly Wings “To be one with the myriad things is to realize no-barrier between self and other.” – Zen Master Dogen I was driving home on a very hot summer day from my first ever week-long sesshin intensive meditation retreat. I had just graduated from college and was preparing to go to Japan for aContinue reading “April 2015”
Isshin Denshin – “Mind to Mind Transmission”
“You can do anything you want in your life, but you have to know the price for it and be willing to pay it.” -Mrs. Featherston
Seeds and Dreams
“This is how to contemplate our conditioned existence in this fleeting world: Like a tiny drop of dew, or a bubble floating in a stream; Like a flash of lightning in a summer cloud, a flickering lamp, an illusion, a phantom, or a dream.” (Buddha) …unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth andContinue reading “Seeds and Dreams”
Picking Violets with Ryokan
Takuhatsu, or ritual begging, is an ancient and noble practice among Buddhist monks in Asia. In exchange for material goods, the monks offer spiritual teachings. From a Buddhist perspective, the material and spiritual worlds interpenetrate and enhance one another. We can’t live in either the material OR the spiritual world. We must constantly strive forContinue reading “Picking Violets with Ryokan”
