Finding Authenticity

Over the course of my life there have been times when I have not lived an authentic life. I chose instead to try to be who others wanted me to be or thought I should be and I became caught up in a distorted life instead of an authentic one. What authenticity means is living with one's self and others in such a way that you remain exactly who you are and true to what you hold most dear. To live otherwise, as I have done, is to live in a near constant state of dissatisfaction and fear. With dissatisfaction and fear there is suffering. And, the suffering we experience when living at odds with what is authentically us spills over onto those around usy making their lives ones of dissatisfaction and fear as well.  That is not how we are taught by the Buddha to live. Stephen Batchelor puts it this way, "the turning point from inauthenticity to authenticity is comprised of an experiential recognition and acceptance of the fundamental character of our being which we have been previously evading and distorting".  Our challenge is to face that authenticity and find the courage to live it moment to moment, day to day, year to year. It is part of our path and commitment to work for the cessation of suffering.

Revisiting Ignorance

Ignorance is a word we Buddhists throw around a lot. I find myself repeating this word maybe a little too often and without enough thought before I do. Today I stepped back and tried to remind myself of what it means in our way of looking at the world. I re-read a few thing and came upon this from Stephen Batchelor that is a concise way of reminding me what ignorance really means: it is a distorted mode of conception---apprehension of what is impermanent as permanent, the apprehension of what is unsatisfactory to be satisfactory, the apprehension of what is without self-identity to have a self-identity.  In other words, ignorance is seeing things that aren't really there.  So when we speak of ignorance we are speaking of a view of the world that can only lead to dissatisfaction and suffering. Ignorance is a warped perspective and a warped perspective leads to misery. The truth lies elsewhere.  It lies in the wisdom of understanding that things can only be the way they are and not as we would have them be. Once we can comprehend this and take things just the way they are, then we have taken up The Way and are on the path to an end to ignorance and suffering.

Heart Touch

One of the challenges we face each day is being and living from our heart space.  It isn't always easy to rest there or to awaken to each moment from the deepest part of our compassion and patience.  Throughout the day there are moments where our egos speak louder than our hearts and we listen to the one and offer excuses to the other.  Something I have been trying recently is to place my hand on my heart in those moments of challenge.  When I feel my heart beating I focus on the beats and visualize them as one beat for patience and one beat for compassion.  It's not always easy, but it is a small thing I try to do throughout the day.  It is a physical act that puts me in touch with the immaterial part of me that includes patience, compassion, and quiet.  For me, when I can hold that place, I know that I am still on The Path and still working to heal both myself and those around me.  Try this "heart touch" through out your day and see what arises for you.

The Thing in the Way

I read this today and found that it says something we should all be mindful of as we struggle with our practice and how our practice becomes action. It is this: we tend to make the thing in the way the way. I know that there are times when I do. I wonder what each day would be like if all of us just kept this simple phrase with us, tucked inside our minds, as a companion who does nothing more than ask us throughout the day, "what's in the way; are you making that the way right now"?  Don't look for the answer; the question is all.

Muddy Water Zen Dharma talk

I hope that anyone who stumbles on this blog will go to the link to the Muddy Water Zen blog (link included here) and listen to the Feb 6 Dharma talk entitled "2 Letters 3 Questions" a wonderful talk by Bup Chon Sunim

On the Road

Sorry there haven't been any posts, but my dog and I are driving from Michigan to San Diego California. It's not the first time we have done this drive and each time I am struck by the diversity and the sameness of our country. I say diversity and sameness because what I see is a lesson in non-duality which is essential to living our zen practice. So many different faces, accents, views, yet we are all the same if you strip those identities away. How vast is this land, yet how small some of the villages I pass. Some are no more than a couple of run down houses. And, in those houses, whether in the small village or sprawling city, the people face the same issues, share the same fears, share pain and joy.  A vast land with myriad small teachings.

Easing some Suffering

Yesterday I had the opportunity to ease someone's suffering a little. I knew what I had to do and I was surprised how easy it came once I let go of expecting anything in return. The Buddha teaches that dana, or the paramita of generosity, can only be effective if we give without any condition or expectation. That is not always an easy thing to do. If we really take a close look we can usually find that some quid pro quo is lurking around somewhere. But, if we can give of ourselves freely and without condition or expectation what we have to offer can be accepted just as freely and unconditionally. The result is an easing of the unsatisfactoriness of life for not just the recipient of our help, but our own experience of the suffering of life as well.  Nothing earns merit and can bring us closer to breaking the cycle of samsara than easing the suffering of another selflessly.  It is at the heart of our practice.