Improvement or “transformation” modes of practice have their merit and may be viable for us in some ways and at some times. I genuinely respect these approaches. However, Soto Zen meditation is different from other schools of Buddhism, Hinduism and secular meditation in an important respect.
Tag Archives: Yoga
“Improving” Zazen with Yoga
Sometimes people make the mistake of thinking meditation is going to do something for them, make them calmer or happier. There has been loads of research on how meditation does that. But without adequate preparation it really just gets us in touch with our own misery. This is why I suggest asking not what your meditation practice can do for you, but what you can do for your meditation practice.
What is real Yoga?
People were suffering long ago. People are suffering today. Old age is suffering. Sickness, the loss of loved ones, our own impending death – these all point us to question what our life is about. While we can look for philosophical or religious answers to the deep questions of “why am I breathing?”, yoga imploresContinue reading “What is real Yoga?”
Yoga of the Mind: A Key to unlocking the grip of prejudice
A prejudice mind is one that is experiencing fluctuations. It is the opposite of steady. When our mind is not steady, we know we are not seeing reality as it is. But this insight into our fluctuating mind only comes if we have a practice well established. Otherwise, we filter what we perceive through our confused senses as reality. We think what we are seeing is real, when in fact we are mistaking a distortion for reality.
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?”
