Be your own master

Dogen zenji says: "Think of not-thinking,
How do you think of not-thinking? Be before thinking. These are the basics of Zazen."

This means: No opposites. Zen is not a matter of thinking or of shutting out thought but of being Before Thinking. Before Thinking means to be prior to experiences in the same way that a mirror is always prior to what it shows even at the moment of showing it. We cannot be anything that we are aware of. We are always the context of whatever content arises. When we release all of our states and our avoidance and identification then we are always right there at the very moment that the  world arises, right at this pointless point. Bring together every aspect of mind, everything hidden and everything obvious, and allow each to resolve itself into the knowing of it. This is zazen, the shikan-taza of all awakened ones."  Anzan Hoshin in The Straight Path, pg. 128.

"We begin with open Awareness, we add a contraction, a holding on, and then with this pattern of contraction we build ourselves and we build the world. Basically then, self-image has only one moving part: contracting, grasping, holding on. And because self-image is always trying to hold on, there is always a sense of anxiety, because everything is always getting out of hand. Nothing can truly be held, thoughts and feelings rise and fall, sounds come and go, marriages break up, people are born and people die, civilizations rise and fall. You feel good. You feel bad.

And because you are living out a presumption of separation, every area of your life is fragmented and then hastily glued together to create a sense of continuity. One is continually trying to defend this ghost-like "I". Someone says something and one takes it as an attack and all one's defences come to bear. Someone looks at you in the wrong way, someone does not fulfil your expectations, someone expects too much of you and on and on and on"...
Anzan Hoshin in The Straight Path, pg. 122.

What's an alternative. "Be your own master. Stay in Pure Awareness. Can't maintain it? Diligently practice your Silent Illumination or your Huatou method"... Master William Tsao in a Chan teaching moment.

1. http://chancommunity.ca/home.php

2. How to chan meditate:

http://chancenter.org/cmc/chan-practice/how-to-meditate/

3. Master Sheng Yen in Facebook

4. The Western Chan Fellowship at http://www.westernchanfellowship.org/

Call Adrian at 250 898 8201,

email adrian2@shaw.ca

Please notify me if you wish to be removed from the email list.

...and a three hour retreat this coming sunday 1 to 4 p.m.

"Life and death are of supreme importance. Time swiftly passes by and opportunity is lost. Each of us should strive to awaken. Awaken. Take heed, do not squander your life."

Dogen(1200-1253)issued his clarion call to revitalize Japanese Buddhism upon his return to Japan from China. He showed no interest in compromising or simplifying the practice that had been handed down by monks of Zen monastic communities for centuries in China and finally transmitted to him by the Chinese Caodong master Rujing. Dogen's community grew to be the Soto School in Japan.

"Dogen's writings are always grounded in practical methodology: how to concentrate body and mind, how to understand and follow monastic rules, how to view various aspects of life and regulate daily conduct. He repeatedly emphasizes the interpenetration of practice and enlightenment. Practice here means ongoing daily activity centered in zazen. Enlightenment is actualization of buddha nature through practice."

...from Moon in a Dewdrop: writings of zen master Dogen, pg. 18.

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We will be meeting this Thursday and there will be a three hour retreat this coming Sunday 1 p.m. at Adrian's. RSVP please. 

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Also check out:
Master Cheng Yen in Facebook;
http://chancommunitycanada.wordpress.com/
and the Western Chan Fellowship at http://www.westernchanfellowship.org/

Call Adrian at 250 898 8201,
email adriansymonds@telus.net
Please notify me if you wish to be removed from the email list.

Cave of Tigers

Announcement: William Tsao, Accredited by Sheng Yen to teach Chan, will be in Courtenay September 10th, 11th, and 12th for a three day workshop at the Hermitage on Denman Island. More information to come.

And from Cave of Tigers: The living Zen practice of Dharma Combat, John Daido Loori on Cause and Effect…


“Teacher: When you realize responsibility for causality, you make yourself free. Prior to that time, it will seem like anything could be causing an event or creating a situation. But when you realize that you are responsible for the situations and the conditions of your life, it empowers you to do something about them. If you think that somebody else made you angry, it’s their fault and the way you solve the problem is to say, “Please stop making me angry,” or, “You made me angry; do something about it or else.” But, in reality, nobody can make you angry. It’s you who makes you angry. Once you clearly realize that, you can do something about it.

Student: So, we bring it upon ourselves.

Teacher: Exactly. Dogen said, “If you’re the effect, you must also be the cause.”

Student: Thank you for your answer.

Teacher: May your life go well.”

“While the self ultimately needs to be dissolved, in the meantime, we need this self to help us reach selflessness. To think of being selfless from the very beginning, without having gone through the path of practice, is called ‘wild fox Chan’. Just as a baby must crawl before it can walk, you must begin with your ordinary self before finding self-nature. From there you proceed by stages of practice to wisdom. Therefore, you should understand why we must start the practice with our ordinary, selfish self. It is not to be despised; it is your vehicle to selflessness.”…..from Getting the Buddha Mind by Chan Master Sheng Yen
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