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Archive for the ‘Noble Eightfold Path’ Category

Part 8 The 7th Step: Do Your Daily Deed for Peace

Posted in BUddhism, cause and effect, enlightenment, Ethics, extinct species, fears, hate speech, human race, love, meditation, Metta, Metta Prayer, Mindfulness, Noble Eightfold Path, oppression, planet earth, prayer, prison system in America, religion, self-help, sickness, suffering, The Four NOble Truths, Uncategorized, wisdom, Zen, tagged , , , , , , , , on July 11, 2019| Leave a Comment »

PlanetHood book cover Ferencz and KeyesI am one of the luckiest people on the earth.  My neighbor is Benjamin B. Ferencz the last living prosecutor from the Nuremberg war crimes trials and I have a copy of a book that he co-authored with Ken Keys, Jr. the author of The Hundredth Monkey entitled PlanetHood The Key to Your Survival and Prosperity written in 1988.

They begin the 7th Step with these thoughts:

“We have seen that after the horrors of each world war, nations recognized—at least for a brief time—that change was necessary to create a peaceful world order. The truth is that our political leaders simply did not dare enough—or care enough.  We, the public, did not do enough. We all let each other down (page 127).”[1]

It has been 31 years and not a single thing has been done about wars on planet Earth.  Ben and Ken quote Robert Muller former U.N. Assistant Secretary-General and author of A Planet of Hope with these words.

“We need first and foremost a world democracy, a government of this planet for the people and by the people.  But the problem is so colossal and unprecedented that few political thinkers even dare to consider it.  They feel more at ease discussing the number and strength of missiles needed to protect specific national corrals. Since government and institutions are so slow and reluctant to do it, we must build the world community through individual commitment and action (page 127).” (Emphasis is mine.)

Zen and Peace!  If only more people could be involved in the principles and practices of sitting meditation, chanting, and living a life of peace, love, and compassion our wars would soon end, our jails would be empty, and our earth would be safe from global warming and its eventual demise.

They write, “Remember if the people lead the leaders will follow. Better active today than radioactive tomorrow (page 128).”[2] You would think that this book was written yesterday!  So, here is their suggestions today for us.

“We suggest that you pledge to yourself and the world to do a daily deed: a daily action that will make world peace one step closer when the law of force is replaced by the force of law. Such a Peace Patriot pledge need not be burdensome. Depending upon your time and money available, you can live out your pledge with integrity each day on either a maximum or a minimum basis—something in between.  For example, as a daily deed you could write a letter to a friend about U.N. reform. Or donate money to an organization working for planethood. (page 128).”

Now think of other ways you can help before our children and grandchildren don’t have a planet to live on.  Why do you thing Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Richard Branson are leading the commercial race to space?

Ron Epstein, lecturer for the Global Peace Studies Program in San Francisco State University wrote:

Buddhism teaches that whether we have global peace or global war is up to us at every moment.  The situation is not hopeless and out of our hands.  If we don’t do anything, who will? Peace or war is our decision.  The fundamental goal of Buddhism is peace, not only peace in this world but peace in all worlds. The Buddha taught that peaceful minds lead to peaceful speech and peaceful actions.” [3]

I hope you’ll join me and Ron and Ken and Ben before it’s too late…

 

[1] Ferencz, B. Keyes, K. (1988) PlanetHood The Key to Your Survival and Prosperity. Vision Books: Coos Bay, OR

[2] Ibid.

[3] http://online.sfsu.edu/rone/Buddhism/BUDDHIST%20IDEAS%20FOR%20ATTAINING%20WORLD%20PEACE.htm

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Bodhi Day Celebration is on it’s way!

Posted in BUddhism, enlightenment, meditation, Metta Prayer, Mindfulness, Noble Eightfold Path, self-help, suffering, The Four NOble Truths, Uncategorized, wisdom, Zen, tagged , , , , , on December 5, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Wondering what to do for Bodhi Day to commemorate the day of enlightenment for Shakyamuni Buddha?  Well I found this great information on a website called “do it yourself” and it includes lots of fun things to do beyond just meditating/sitting. Here is the link to this wonderful article https://www.doityourself.com/stry/bodhi-day

The Zen groups that I sit with do similar but different things.  In Boca Raton, Florida, the Southern Palm Zen Group website can be viewed at http://www.floridazen.com and email them at southernpalmzengroup@gmail.com to make a reservation to sit with them. They will be sitting on Saturday the 8th all day starting at 8 AM ET at the Unitarian Universalist Church on St. Andrews.  Please contact the Florida group to make a reservation and let them know you are coming so they can have a cushion or chair ready for you.

The group I sit with in Pueblo, Colorado, will be doing a two part event.  Friday night starting at 6:30 PM till 9 PM MT and all day Saturday sitting from 8 AM til 5 PM MT at the Center for Inner Peace in Pueblo (www.wetmountainsangha.org).  Contact them for additional information or to make a reservation to join them via email wetmountainsangha1@gmail.com.

I hope that wherever you are you will set aside some time to meditate on this special weekend even if there is not a group to sit with near where you live.  The Buddha just sat beneath a tree and while doing so he came up with the “Nobel Eightfold Path” and our “Four Noble Truths.”  I can’t wait to hear from you about what you discovered on this wonderful day of quiet meditation.

Or check out this great website for a place to sit near you: https://findasit.com

In gassho, Shokai gassho

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Moon in a Dew Drop: Part 8 Serve the Public

Posted in animal rescue, attachment, BUddhism, cause and effect, happiness, Kazuaki Tanahashi, love, meditation, Noble Eightfold Path, prayer, self-help, suffering, Uncategorized, wisdom, Zen, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 20, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Thich Nhat HanhAs I continue to read this awesome book, I am awakened to the power of it right now today in my life.  Dogen quotes from the Regulations for Zen Monasteries about the rules and tips on how to serve the assembly.

He writes, “Just think about how best to serve the assembly, and do not worry about limitations.  If you have unlimited mind, you will have limitless happiness.” This is the way the abbot attentively serves the assembly (page 61).”

What a powerful idea: unlimited mind!

Dogen insists that we all have the all-encompassing “unlimited mind.” He encourages us to open up our minds to all the possibilities that are out there for us. All the challenges, joys, ideas and opportunities that are there for us to recognize and then act upon.  Even if the act is to do something rather simple like an email to an ill friend that might cheer them up or sharing a supportive word to a co-worker or bringing a hot meal over to a sick neighbor.

When I live this day with the idea that I have access to my unlimited mind and all the possibilities that come with it…Wow! When my only job is to be open to see those possibilities and then act on them—how hard is that? If I do it my life can abound with mystery and joy. All I have to do is acknowledge the incredibleness of the world and my all-encompassing unlimited mind and keep my eyes open to see it and hear it.

Just the other day I spoke with a man sitting at the table next to me in Starbucks. He was stuffing envelopes and he shared with me that he earns only 10 cents for each one he stuffs and that is how he gets to eat each day.  As I got ready to leave the universe reminded me of an affirmation that I had shared with my Unity students often: The right and perfect job with the right and perfect pay comes to me today!  So I wrote the affirmation on the back of my business card as I went to give it to him I heard that “unlimited mind” speak to me and I realized that he needed more than just an affirmation.  So I took some money out of my wallet and found a paper clip in my purse and attached the money.

I do not share this with you to brag but to show you how the right and perfect thing can show up in your life, my life, and the life of a perfect stranger.  It only happens when we are open to see the possibilities. Those possibilities are everywhere at all times when we understand that we have “the all-encompassing unlimited mind” at our disposal 24-7, 365 days a year, if only we would acknowledge that it exists in us!

Serve the public whenever and wherever you can, you’ll be glad you did!  Let me know where your all-encompassing unlimited mind takes you today!

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The Secret to a More Fulfilling Life! Part 3 Living your life like Avalokiteshvara the Bodhisattva of Great Compassion

Posted in birth, BUddhism, cause and effect, chant, Christianity, discrimination, diversity, education, enlightenment, Ethics, fears, happiness, hate speech, human race, illusion, Kazuaki Tanahashi, love, meditation, Metta Prayer, Mindfulness, Noble Eightfold Path, old age, oppression, planet earth, prayer, religion, self-help, sickness, suffering, The Four NOble Truths, The Heart Sutra, Uncategorized, wisdom, Zen, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 5, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Avalokiteshvara is known as the person “Who hears the outcries of the World.” There are so many on this earth today who are crying out for help in war zones, from hurricane devastation, earth quakes, in draughts, and famines, through poverty, and more.

avalokitesvara B&W Foundations of BuddhismShe represents the feminine energy of the world as the “holy spirit” represents the feminine energy in the Christian triad of the “father, son, and the holy spirit.”  She represents the fundamental aspect of Buddhahood: Great compassion.  In China she is named Kuan-yin, in Japan Kannon (or Kanzeon or Kwannon), and in Tibet Chenresi. In some cultures, Avalokiteshvara is a man not a woman so which ever pronoun you prefer to use for Avalokiteshvara is perfectly divine!

As you see in the picture she is depicted with many arms. In other pictures she also has many heads. I know that some of you can relate to her very well. You see her reflection in you. Every time you encourage a child or an elderly person to go beyond their struggles and challenges you are Avalokiteshvara in action.  Every time you drop off food at the foodbank, or volunteer with a non-profit organization, or mow the lawn of a disabled vet Avalokiteshvara is moving through you as you.  I know sometimes you feel like you could use those extra arms and at least one extra head if you had access to them.  But I always say, “Fake it till you make it.”

Joan Halifax and Kazuaki Tanahashi translated the Sutra “Great Compassionate Heart Dharani” in the most beautiful way (pages 138-39).[1]  Below is a list of things for you to think about or meditate on. Are these actions appearing in your life on a regular basis?  If not, why not? How can you make these actions more alive and present in your life each and every day? If yes, think about a few examples of who, how, and when they appeared.

  • Embodies great compassion
  • Protects all those who are fearful
  • Grants all wishes
  • Overcomes obstacles
  • Purifies delusion
  • Represents shining wisdom
  • Transcends the world
  • Removes the harm of greed, hatred, and delusion
  • Removes all defilements.
  • Brings joy to others
  • Succeeds greatly in life and love

Make this your project for the year and let me know how it goes!

[1] Tanahashi, K. (2015) Zen Chants Thirty-Five Essential Texts with Commentary. Shambhala: Boston and London

Picture: Avalokitesvara B&W Foundations of Buddhism

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The Zen of Emerson Part 19…We Can Only See What We Are

Posted in attachment, birth, BUddhism, cause and effect, Christianity, clinging, diversity, education, fears, happiness, illusion, love, Noble Eightfold Path, psychology, self-help, sickness, suffering, Uncategorized, wisdom, Zen, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on December 20, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Emerson: We can only see what we are…(page51)[1]

Zen Gautama Buddha: We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts we make the world.Zen Eight Fold Path

This may be the best thing you’ve read all year and I hope that it will help you in 2017: What you think is the master of your life.  If you think thoughts of peace, love, health, and prosperity you will attain just that.  If you think thoughts of fear, anger, illness, and hate that is what you will manifest in your life.

It is time that we get over blaming our parents, our upbringing, our teachers, our genes, and life for the situation we are in today.  Yes, they affected us in a myriad of ways but as adults it is our opportunity to forgive and forget.  To create a new life that is filled with goodness and love.  To create the life that we want to live instead of letting others or the past have power over us!

I read an article many years ago in a Unity publication about a woman who had a terrible childhood and so her adult life was filled with lack and limitation in all areas.  Then one day she decided to recreate her life and she began slowly by remembering one good thing that happened to her as a child.  She focused on an aunt who was kind and loving and shared that goodness with her. From there she discovered other memories that had been hidden and blocked by her anger and hatred.  She began focusing on them and little by little her life turned around.  She became a loving and compassionate person with success in all areas of her life.

She began to really be what she was born to be a happy, healthy, loving person regardless of her past circumstances.  She began to succeed in all areas of her life and it was filled with peace, love, prosperity, and happiness.  Life is like the script of a Broadway play.  Some scenes are dramatic and scary others are filled with music, dance, and love.  What is your script reading like today?  Will you create a new script for 2017?  Or will you keep playing the same drama over and over? How about writing a musical filled with fun and laughter and love?

You are what you think the Buddha said. He also said our thoughts make the world.  Let’s create a world, from today forward, that is filled with peace, love, and compassion for self and all others!  Do not be like the blind leading the blind—be like the knowing leading the knowing!  Follow The Eightfold Path above and watch what happens!

See what you truly are—a perfectly divine, loving, healthy, prosperous you!

In gassho,

Shokai

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

 

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The Great Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra Part V (Excerpt from The Great Paramita Heart Sutra Workbook)

Posted in attachment, birth, BUddhism, clinging, death, enlightenment, fears, love, meditation, Mindfulness, Noble Eightfold Path, old age, Sekki Harada, sickness, suffering, The Four NOble Truths, The Four Sufferings, The Heart Sutra, Unfathomable Depths Drawing Wisdom for Today from a Classical Zen Poem, wisdom, tagged , , , , on January 21, 2015| 2 Comments »

No old age and death, no cessation of old age and death; No suffering, no cause or end to suffering: No path, no wisdom and no gain.

These verses from the “Heart Sutra” remind us of The Four Sufferings in Buddhism:
1. Birth
2. Old age
3. Sickness
4. Death
When we think on these things we suffer. We all want to live a long life and be happy, healthy, and rich! But ruminating over it will not change the situation one bit. We are all born, hopefully we will reach old age, hopefully it will not be filled with sickness, and ultimately it will end in death. So why worry, be happy. Happiness may just be the antidote to that sickness and suffering.

But no matter how we try there will be times when suffering will enter our lives. Some of our family members and friends will die before we do and that will be sad and we will feel pain and suffering. But for some death may be the only escape from the physical and/or mental suffering that a person experiences. For those dying of a very painful disease they might even feel relieved that the pain and suffering will end upon their death. Thus we can live a life empty of futility knowing that there is each and both: “No old age and death, no cessation of old age and death; no suffering, no cause or end to suffering.”
The Four Noble Truths were expounded by the Buddha in his first teaching immediately after his enlightenment. He is to have said this about the “extinction of suffering:”

But what, O monks, is the noble truth of the path leading to the extinction of suffering? It is the Noble Eightfold Path that leads to the extinction of suffering, namely: perfect view, perfect thought, perfect speech, perfect action, perfect livelihood, perfect effort, perfect concentration (page 72).

The origin of suffering has been and will always be desire. If we desire things material, physical, relationships, or to undo the death of a loved one—we will suffer. If we cling to our desires that clinging adds to our pain and suffering. Remember the line is “No suffering, no cause or end to suffering.” In life we will have times of complete joy and accomplishment and times when we do not. Remember these words were spoken by someone who had already attained liberation. I don’t know about you but I have not yet done so. Maybe you have not either. So don’t beat yourself up simply do the best you can, in the moment, with what you have, where you are, and then move forward toward peace, love, and compassion for yourself and all others.

So dealing with our suffering can be a challenge, but not a mountain too high to climb if we follow the Noble Eightfold Path. Let’s live our life each day the best we can, by helping others and working for the good of all concerned. Let’s take one thing at a time. Using mindfulness and love—without clinging to anything—will help us deal with our suffering.

The next line says, “No path, no wisdom and no gain.”

Sekkei Harada writes about this idea in his book Unfathomable Depths, Drawing Wisdom for Today from a Classical Zen Poem (2014).

We also mustn’t be stuck between understanding and not understanding forever. That happens when we cannot transcend and get hung up on something because of it. . . .You have to transcend both what you understand and what you do not understand, and beyond that even transcend what you have transcended (page 175).

No path, no wisdom and no gain!

Things to focus on this week:
1. I will begin each day by sitting in quiet meditation to transcend the four sufferings if even for only a few minutes.
2. I will remind myself that doing this can help free me from suffering.
3. I release my attachment today and every day from my limited thoughts and fears.
4. Lastly, I will keep a journal of the opportunities that have been presented to me so I can keep track of my progress and my opportunities for growth.

In gassho, Shokai

ingassho

[ ] The Shambhala Dictionary of Buddhism and Zen (1991) Shambhala Dragon Editions: Boston, MA

[2] Harada, S. (2014) Unfathomable Depths, Drawing Wisdom for Today from a Classical Zen Poem. Wisdom Publications: Somerville, MA

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