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Archive for the ‘Metta Prayer’ Category

My Speech from the “17 Empty Chairs” prayer Vigil last night at UCC Ft. Ltd.

Posted in birth, bombing airplanes, BUddhism, campus unrest, cause and effect, Christianity, discrimination, diversity, education, extinct species, fears, happiness, hate speech, human race, love, Metta, Metta Prayer, oppression, planet earth, prayer, prison system in America, protesters, religion, self-help, sexual assault, sickness, Uncategorized, wisdom, Zen on February 26, 2018| Leave a Comment »

gold-face-buddha-with-three-pure-precepts-2

Photo by Mitch Doshin Cantor founder of the Southern Palm Zen Group

The power of peace is a deadly assault weapon it kills hatred, it kills fear, it kills amorous, it kills the feelings of not being good enough, not smart enough, not rich enough …the power of peace, love and compassion is more powerful than any hatred in the world it can break down any walls that anyone wants to build.

So if we really want to make a difference in this world let us join together in peace, love, and compassion.  Let us take our intelligence and drive and put it behind food, shelter, and electricity for those in Puerto Rico and around the world who are dying and suffering from natural disasters, wars, and starvation caused by global warming.

Let us put it behind creating a country where all people have the right to vote. Let us get rid of mass incarceration in America, mass discrimination in America, mass drug addiction in America and most of all mass hatred in America!

We can do it through the only way possible…through peace, love, and compassion. Inside each and every person is a little child crying and screaming for the love of their parents the feel of a hug and a kiss on the cheek. That’s all we really want in life.  We simply want someone to love us!

Can you be that love for someone today?

Metta (Loving-Kindness) Sutra
By Shakyamuni Buddha

May all beings be happy.
May they be joyous and live in safety.
All living beings, whether weak or strong, in high or middle, or low realms of existence, small or great, visible or invisible,
near or far, born or to be born,
May all beings be happy.
Let none deceive another nor despise any being in any state; let none
by anger or hatred wish harm to another. Even as a mother at the risk of her life watches over and protects her only child, so with a boundless mind should
one cherish all living things, suffusing love over the entire
world, above, below, and all around without limit;
so let each cultivate an infinite goodwill toward the whole
world.

‘The Southern Palm Zen Group (Boca Raton)

www.floridazen.com

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The Teachings of Yuanwu Part 15: The Secret Seal is Secret No More

Posted in animal rescue, attachment, birth, BUddhism, cause and effect, clinging, death, diversity, enlightenment, Ethics, fears, love, meditation, Metta Prayer, Mindfulness, prayer, religion, self-help, Shambhala, sickness, suffering, Uncategorized, wisdom, Zen, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on December 26, 2017| Leave a Comment »

Yuanwu starts out as most good Zen teachers do by saying, “Here at my place there is no Zen to explain and no Path to transmit.”  Then they go about quickly explaining the “nothing.”  In this section of his book he, of course, does exactly that!  How great that the ancestors worked so hard to keep us on our toes about “nothing.”bhante-gunaratana

Within each of us is the “fundamental matter that is inherent in everyone (page 67).”[1]  What we might call in Unity that divine spark or goodness within us, that oneness with all things big and small, animal, mineral, and vegetable!  And when we forget that we are a divine spark of all there is we can easily fall into those traps of greed, anger, jealousy, attachments, contrived actions, confusion, and false sentiments, so Yuanwu says!

Who wants to fall into all of those traps? Not me that’s for sure!  So, what can we do?  What does Yuanwu suggest?  “You do not exert any mental effort: you go along freely with the natural flow, without any grasping or rejecting.  This is the real esoteric seal (page 68).[2]

Finally, he writes, “Bearing this esoteric seal is like carrying a lamp hidden in the darkness as you roam through the world without longing or fear—it is all the realm of your own great liberation, continuing forever without interruption (page 68).”[3]  Just this!  We simply deal with whatever comes our way each and every moment in the most appropriate and helpful way we can. Shine your “light” onto the situation and all darkness must disappear. That’s the law.

You can turn up that light at any time by simply sitting and taking time each day to encounter that quiet place in body, mind, and spirit.  H. Emilie Cady in her Unity book, Lessons in Truth wrote: Every man must take time daily for quiet and meditation. In daily meditation lies the secret of power.  No one can grow in either spiritual knowledge or power without it…  No one would ever dream of becoming a master in music except by spending some time daily alone with music (page 7).[4]

Give yourself the present of being alone in the present moment as long and as often as you can.  The more you do that the brighter the hidden lamp in you will shine for all to see.  Be the light that lights up the room, the road, the town, and the world! Stop trying and simply be it! Simply Shine!

[1] Cleary J.C. and Cleary, T. (1994) Zen Letters Teachings of Yuanwu. Boston & London: Shambhala

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Cady, H. E. (1902 1st Printing) Lessons in Truth. Unity Village, MO: Unity House

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Lessons from the Ten Ox-herding Pictures of Zen…Part 10 Back to the Source

Posted in animal rescue, attachment, BUddhism, cause and effect, clinging, enlightenment, fears, happiness, love, meditation, Metta Prayer, Mindfulness, self-help, Uncategorized, wisdom, Zen, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 4, 2017| Leave a Comment »

Oxherding_pictures,_No._9Too many steps have been taken
returning to the root and the source.
Better to have been blind and deaf
from the beginning!
Dwelling in one’s true abode,
unconcerned with and without –
The river flows tranquilly on
and the flowers are red.
I have abandoned the whip and ropes

As the ninth picture shows, when self and reality (as constructs) are left behind, then things are revealed to be just what they are in themselves; streams meander on of themselves and red flowers naturally bloom red. In the ordinary events of life are found the most profound truths. Only by seeking the ox as a separate ultimate reality could the oxherd discover that there is no separate reality; that the ultimate is to be found in the ordinary.[1]

And so…why is it we are always looking for our good somewhere else, somewhere outside of ourselves, in our job, our family, our hobbies, our meditation, or our possessions?

“As Bodhidharma, the founder of Chinese Zen, said in the sixth century A.D., your true nature is always right ‘in front of you’—you yourself just do not see it (page110).”[2] Do we see that our true nature, our self, our ideas, thoughts, feelings, and love are not a separate reality they are the only reality available to us.  That the truth of life and its ultimate answer is simply in the words of Wu Li’s everyday way of living—Before enlightenment chop wood and carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood and carry water.

What more is there to life than to simply live it the best we can.  When you can take the time to help make life better for another, to make yourself more approachable to others, to make yourself more loving to all creatures large and small, and to make you kinder—these things ARE your true nature.  These are the things that life is made of.  Here you are able to “dwell in one’s true abode, unconcerned with and without.” Simply being—simply chopping wood and carrying water.

Simply doing the thing that appears to you in the moment: holding the door for someone with their arms full of packages, letting someone in front of you in a traffic jam, sharing your lunch with a stranger, or mowing the lawn for a sick or aged neighbor.  Living in the moment mindfully fully aware of the things that surround you with peace, love, and compassion is simply “chopping wood and carrying water.”  Expecting no reward simply Dwelling in one’s true abode, unconcerned with and without. Embrace the life as the picture displays—a simple tree beside a stream and a few rocks on which to sit as you bask in the simplicity of life.

Close your eyes—take a deep breath! Can’t you just feel the breeze and the spray of the water on your face?! Simply divine! “The ultimate has been found in the ordinary.”

[1] http://www.columbia.edu/cu/weai/exeas/resources/pdf/oxherding.pdf

2 Kennedy, R. (2004) Zen Gifts to Christians. NY: Continuum

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Lessons from the Ten Ox-herding Pictures of Zen…Part 5 Catching the Ox

Posted in attachment, birth, BUddhism, cause and effect, Christianity, clinging, death, discrimination, education, enlightenment, Ethics, fears, happiness, human race, illusions, love, meditation, Metta Prayer, oppression, prayer, religion, self-help, sickness, suffering, Uncategorized, wisdom, Zen, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 31, 2017| Leave a Comment »

I seizeOxherding_pictures,_No._4 him with a terrific struggle.
His great will and power
are inexhaustible.
He charges to the high plateau
far above the cloud-mists,
Or in an impenetrable ravine he stands.
I have abandoned the whip and ropes
 

The fourth picture shows that the oxherd has now caught hold of the ox, using the bridle of discipline to control it. This symbolizes the rigorous discipline required of the Zen practitioner. Although he now realizes that the power to transform his life lies within himself, in his Buddha-nature, all his previous conditionings are pulling and pushing him in different directions. Holding the rope tightly means that he must work hard to overcome his bad habits of the past that developed through the ignorance, hatred and craving that gave rise to all his afflictions.[1]

Abbot Zenkei Shibayama shares a Zen story in his book, A Flower Does Not Talk, that relates to Koeller’s thoughts on “working hard to overcome bad habits.”

Bodhisattva Manjusri once asked Zenzai Doji, “Bring me something that does not do any good.” Zenzai searched around, but wherever he went, everything he saw and touched was something that would do good.  He was unable to find anything that would not do any good.  Finally, he had to come back to Manjusri and report: “There is nothing that will not do good (page 190).”[2]

The conversation continued from there and Manjusri said:

“Bring me something, then, that will do good.”  Zenzai, without hesitation, plucked a blade of grass at his foot and presented it to Manjusri.  Manjusri took it up, and showing it to the congregation, said, “This single herb is both able to kill people and to give people life (page 190-191).”[3]

So, what does this have to do with you today, your life, your plans, your wishes and dreams? Everything!  For me when I look back upon my life I see that the challenges forced me to learn, to pray, to think, to discover, to step out of my fears and anxieties to move forward regardless of them. I was able to recognize that these challenges did NOT kill me but made me stronger, more resilient, more pliable and yes, more loving, caring, and compassionate.

Some might say I need to take off the “blinders” about the reality of life. Yes, war is hell and people living in war zones, in poverty, lack, limitation, and ill health need help from those of us who can help and are willing to help and have the resources to help. That does not remove our obligation to try to help minimize or eliminate the suffering of others. As Koeller said, “Holding the rope tightly means that he must work hard to overcome his bad habits of the past that developed through the ignorance, hatred and craving that gave rise to all his afflictions.”

So, let us as, students of Zen, work daily to take the discipline that we have learned in our Zen practice of sitting into the “real” world and help those who cannot, for whatever reason, help themselves.

Let me know how that goes!  Shokai

[1] Koeller, J.M. http://www.columbia.edu/cu/weai/exeas/resources/pdf/oxherding.pdf
[2] Shibayama, Z. (1970) A Flower Does Not Talk Zen Essays. Rutland, Vermont: Charles E. Tuttle Co.
[3] Ibid.

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One World Family Live Event March 26 3-6 PM ET

Posted in BUddhism, Business, Christianity, discrimination, diversity, education, enlightenment, Ethics, fears, happiness, hate speech, human race, love, meditation, Metta, Metta Prayer, Mindfulness, planet earth, prayer, religion, self-help, sickness, suffering, Uncategorized, wisdom, Zen, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on February 24, 2017| 1 Comment »

one-world-family-logo-jpg

One World Family is an Interfaith Prayer Gathering on March 26th from 3-6 PM at Holiday Park/War Memorial Auditorium, Fort Lauderdale, FL.  The event will feature only prayer and music as members of our community from across the religious spectrum come together to stand in unity and pray for our community, our nation, and our world.  This is a non-political gathering, free of sermons or political rhetoric.  The goal of this event is to show our neighbors and the world that we can come together as people of faith, regardless of how we express that faith and to pray as a community for the betterment of our society and our planet as a whole.  We believe that we all pray to our creator and, in the eyes of that creator, we are all sisters and brothers in this One World Family.

Represented are many faiths and groups: Christians of all denominations, Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus, secular humanists, pagans, native and indigenous communities, individuals and groups of all persuasions, no persuasions, and more!

If you don’t live in Florida in the tri-county area (Broward, Dade, and Palm Beach) I hope you will gather up a group of people where you are and be there with us in prayer and song on March 26 from 3-6 PM ET !  I’d love to see a 1 million person event around the world.

Can you help make my vision manifest?!  Thanks! I know we can do it with your help!  Please share this information with your social media family and friends and with your help we can make the million person mark!

See us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/events/230824907379644/?active_tab=about

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If you would like to help sponsor this event we would be very grateful for your help.  Our costs to hold the event are over $6,000 so even a small donation would help defray the cost!  Contact Jay Donnelly at 954-294-0332 or send your check to Rev. Patrick Rogers, One World Family C/O UCC, 2501 NE 30th St. Ft. Ltd, FL 33306. Thanks!

SPONSORSHIPS:

Individual: One Level available

Contributing Member (families and friends) $25 or any amount chosen by the contributor will have your name listed on our Web page as a sponsor, if desired.

Corporate: Two Levels available

  1. Gold Sponsorship: $500-$999 Logo on all printed media, Web site, and Facebook page, right to use our logo on corporate sponsor’s Web site and any media they generate.
  2. Platinum Sponsorship: $1000 or more will get your logo on all printed media, Web site, and Facebook page, right to use our logo on corporate sponsor’s Web site and any media they generate, name recognition in all press releases, banner provided by sponsor on display at the even near the state, promotional items to be distributed to attendees if desired.

All donations will be tax deductible and you will receive a letter from our lead 501C3 for tax purposes. Make check payable to One World Family c/o United Church of Christ Fort Lauderdale. Mail to: One World Family C/O UCC, 2501 NE 30th Street, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33306.

All proceeds above what is needed for event costs will be donated to the ACLU.

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The Zen of Emerson Part 13…Life is a progress…not a station

Posted in BUddhism, cause and effect, happiness, love, Metta Prayer, Mindfulness, self-help, Uncategorized, wisdom, Zen, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 13, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Emerson: “Man’s life is a progress, and not a station (page 51).”[1]world-peace-2

Zen: Robert Aitken “It is the peace of the self forgotten, doing the work of the world (page 24).”[2]

Life is progress, life is doing, and life is simply putting one foot in front of the other to discover the greatness of who you are.  When you move through the day focused on just this moment in time you will find great joy!  If, however, you get stuck in the past ruminating over something that did not go your way it will be like being on a merry-go-round.  You may be moving but it is not progressing!  You are simply going round and round and where it stops no one knows.

Or maybe you find yourself looking down a train track thinking of the thoughts of the past and living those thoughts and fears over and over again? Have you been stuck at a station where only the # 5 comes all day every day! Or maybe you are looking in the other direction in expectation of the future when you can see yourself riding on that train moving quickly to the next station where your good is waiting.  Maybe that perfect mate or job or health is there? Seeing what needs to be done to help move your family, community, or country into a better more peace filled and loving place is moving toward progress.  That progress only arrives when we live fully and mindfully in the present moment.

Are you progressing in life toward opportunities that arrive for good to enter your life? When we forget the “self” (ego) we find the “real” self and are automatically led to do the work of the world.  And boy it needs a lot of work! The work of spreading loving kindness is in dire need of help.

There is an old saying, “If it is to be, it is up to me.”  I hope you’ll progress in life and not stand still doing the work that the world is in desperate need of in this moment and every moment to come.

To be happy in life we must have progress in all aspects of our lives…so let me know how it goes!

In gassho,

Shokai

 

[1] Dillaway, N. (1949) The Gospel of Emerson Wakefield MA: The Montrose Press

[2] Aitken, R. (1984) The Mind of Clover Essays in Zen Buddhist Ethics New York: North Point Press

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Meet Your Good Today…Part 6 Freedom

Posted in BUddhism, campus unrest, cause and effect, Christianity, clinging, discrimination, diversity, education, enlightenment, Ethics, fears, happiness, hate speech, human race, illusions, love, Metta Prayer, Mindfulness, old age, oppression, prison system in America, protesters, psychology, religion, self-help, sickness, suffering, Uncategorized, wisdom, Zen, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 4, 2016| Leave a Comment »

What does it mean to be free?  There will be different connotations if you live in the middle of a war zone in the Middle East, or in a job that you feel chained to that is joyless and boring, or if you are incarcerated in a prison “behind the fence” as we say.  Then there is the prison of our minds and emotions that keep us from being free of our thoughts of lack, limitation, and ill health.

As a college professor I have seen that fear in my students eyes when they enter my developmental English class and know that they will not be free to take the “for credit courses” and earn a degree in their favorite area of study if they don’t pass my class. And yet at some time during that semester I can see the light go on in their minds when they finally “get it.”  They are finally free of their negative thoughts and fears and able to move on with their education.

H. Emily Cady in her book Lessons in Truth wrote:

You may think that something stands between you and your heart’s desire, and so live with that desire unfulfilled, but it is not true.  This “thing” is a bugaboo under the bed that has no reality.  Deny it, deny it, and you will find yourself free, and you will realize that this seeming was all false.  Then you will see the good flowing into you, and you will see clearly that nothing can stand between you and your own [good/freedom].[1]

You will be free!

Nelson Mandela was incarcerated for 27 years and yet he was still able to be a powerful symbol of black resistance to apartheid. On February 11, 1990 he was released by President de Klerk and in 1991 he was elected president of the African National Congress. In 1993 Mandela and President de Klerk were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their work toward dismantling apartheid.

A similar story can be told in our country about Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, Susan Bright Eyes LaFlesche (Omaha Native American civil rights activist.) and R.C. Gorman painter, sculptor and Native American the first Native American to be internationally recognized as a major American artist.

R.C. Gorman Native American artist

Freedom: Nothing stood in the way of their “hearts desire.” Do not let anything stand in yours either. Freedom is not a place—it is a consciousness.

Be free to meet your good today!  Let me know how that goes!

In gassho,

Shokai

[1] Cady, H.E. (1903).  Lessons in Truth. Unity Village, MO: Unity House

 

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