Zen

TheLightWithin said:
What is it like?
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The ritual is bow entering the room where we gather, bow to the alter, and to the place where I will sit.... to me that is honoring the space that has been provided.

Then it is say a number of chants...to me all are acknowledgment ultimate reality here on earth in this life...to help reduce the suffering we incur by worrying about the inevitable

FIVE REMEMBRANCES
Upajjhatthana Sutta
I am of the nature to grow old.
There is no way to escape growing old.
I am of the nature to have ill-health.
There is no way to escape having ill-health.
I am of the nature to die.
There is no way to escape death.
All that is dear to me and everyone I love are of the nature to change.
There is no way to escape being separated from them.
My actions are my only true belongings.
I cannot escape the consequences of my actions.
My actions are the ground on which I stand.

The chants are like prayers, preparing a space in my mind.

15 to 20 minutes of seated silent meditation...

7-10 minutes of walking meditation.

The sensei leaves the room and prepares himself.

We sit again for another 20 minutes of meditation as one at a time folks leave to confer with sensei should they choose.

Post meditation he returns for a short talk, followed by short group discussion, we close with some chants, pick up our cushions and out to either leave or stay a bit for more casual discussion before we do.

I have been half a dozen times, the group has varied between 10-14 people, half a dozen core members.

I can rarely sit and meditate for 20 minutes without falling asleep so I find the group experience helpful, I find the talk, chants and discussion worthy of further consideration and contemplation.
 
Last night the normal sensei was not there snd there were only four people for sangha.

And I found out the two seated meditations are timed at 25 minutes each and the walking meditation is 12 min.

Another chant...

PRACTICE OF GRATITUDE
by Jack Kornfield
I offer my gratitude for the people, animals, plants, insects, creatures of the
sky and sea, air and water, fire and earth, and for all whose joyful exertion
blesses my life every day.
I offer my gratitude for the care and labor of a thousand generations of
elders and ancestors who came before me.
I offer my gratitude for the safety and well-being I have been given.
I offer my gratitude for the blessings of this earth I have been given.
I offer my gratitude for the family and friends I have been given.
I offer my gratitude for the community I have been given.
I offer my gratitude for the teachings and lessons I have been given.
I offer my gratitude for the life I have been given.
I offer my gratitude for the Sangha and for all sentient beings.
 
TheLightWithin said:
I like the idea of walking meditations
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I never got on with them. Once though I went on a residential workshop with a Taoist teacher. About half way through the week a walking meditation was scheduled and we were advised to avoid boots wear shoes with thin soles.
The walking was done in woodland but the focus was on perception of the landscape through the feet. It was difficult at first but eventually became an intense and rewarding experience.
 
rocala said:
we were advised to avoid boots wear shoes with thin soles.
The walking was done in woodland but the focus was on perception of the landscape through the feet
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This reminds me of the remarks in both Exodus 3:5 and Joshua 5:15 refer to removal of shoes due to being on holy ground.
 
On Mount Athos in Greece, one of the monks there put up a sign on the path from the landing stage (you get there by boat) to one of the monasteries: "Even the trees are holy". The point was that creation is holy, we are holy when we turn our minds to holy things. Holy doesn't begin when you get to the monastery door ...
 
And today I was reading about the Zen monk Ikkyu (1394-1481).

An 'interesting character', to say the least, enjoying the reputation of both heretic and saint in the Rinzai Zen tradition!

One day, aged 27, Ikkyū was meditating in a boat on Lake Biwa when the cawing of a crow sparked satori. When Ikkyū told Kasō (his master) of his experience, Kasō replied, "This is the enlightenment of a mere arhat, you're no master yet." Ikkyū responded, "Then I'm happy to be an arhat, I detest masters." Kasō then declared, "Ha! Now you really are a master."

+++

Despite his anti-establishment and anti-authoritarian attitudes, in 1474, the Emperor Go-Tuchimikado 'asked' to be abbot of the Daitoku-ji, one of the most influential temples in Kyoto, a tole he reluctantly accepted, making him the head of one of the most important Zen institutions in the realm. He worked hard to raise money for its rebuilding, and it became an influential centre for the aesthetic pursuits of 'Higashiyama Culture', notably the Wabi-cha, The Way of Tea.

Ikkyū declared "I have never given inka to anyone." Inka is a formal, written statement acknowledging the enlightenment of a disciple by their master. When Kasō presented him with his inka, Ikkyu tossed it aside and walked away. His disciples picked it up and returned it later. He tore it up. They reconstructed it, and glued the pieces together. He burned it.

"So if after I'm gone," he declared, "someone comes claiming to have my inka, you should report him to the authorities and prosecute for criminal misconduct."

Shortly before he died, he told his disciples, "After my death some of you will seclude yourselves in the forests and mountains to meditate, while others may drink saké and enjoy the company of women. Both kinds of Zen are fine, but if some become professional clerics, babbling about 'Zen as the way,' they are my enemies."
 
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Thomas said:
On Mount Athos in Greece, one of the monks there put up a sign on the path from the landing stage (you get there by boat) to one of the monasteries: "Even the trees are holy". The point was that creation is holy, we are holy when we turn our minds to holy things. Holy doesn't begin when you get to the monastery door ...
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Be still and know that I am G!d.

When we realize all are divine...all is Divine.
 
wil said:
Be still and know that I am G!d.
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Do you remember how back in January 2022 I pointed out that your use, in a post, of this line from Psalm 46 was based on a great sounding, but inadequate translation of the line? Do you recall how almost almost two years later, in December 2023, when you used the same translation as the title of a thread I reminded you of my earlier response?

Just wondering.
 
RabbiO said:
Do you remember how back in January 2022 I pointed out that your use, in a post, of this line from Psalm 46 was based on a great sounding, but inadequate translation of the line? Do you recall how almost almost two years later, in December 2023, when you used the same translation as the title of a thread I reminded you of my earlier response?

Just wondering.
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Sort of? Care to tell me how many publishers of Christian Bibles you have written to and asked for corrections? Or maybe biblegateway has upgraded based on your recomendations... Or is it only me that you track your admonishments?

Does it upset you that we have differing beliefs on this internet interfaith forum?

I feel singled out, appreciate your concern....but as I am G!d...be still, you are not my real mom.

Back to your regular programming.
 
@wil -

If you truly, honestly, actually believe that for some reason I have singled you out, chosen you to be a target….
If you truly, honestly, actually believe that I have no concept about interactions on an interfaith forum….

Well then, I will do my best to stay out of your way. I will do my best to avoid interacting with you.
 
Lol, I truly believe i read your post...which definitely singled me out, and my percieved wrongs on three occasions we seemed to be either fresh in your mind or so important you spent time researching to validate and emphasize your public shaming of me.

Hell brother, if it benefits you in any way, spiritually or physically please continue...
 
wil said:
Sort of? Care to tell me how many publishers of Christian Bibles you have written to and asked for corrections? Or maybe biblegateway has upgraded based on your recomendations... Or is it only me that you track your admonishments?

Does it upset you that we have differing beliefs on this internet interfaith forum?

I feel singled out, appreciate your concern....but as I am G!d...be still, you are not my real mom.

Back to your regular programming.
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wil said:
Lol, I truly believe i read your post...which definitely singled me out, and my percieved wrongs on three occasions we seemed to be either fresh in your mind or so important you spent time researching to validate and emphasize your public shaming of me.

Hell brother, if it benefits you in any way, spiritually or physically please continue...
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@RabbiO is not disputing the translation or implying the need to correct English language Bibles. He is saying that the meaning of the passage “Be still and know that I am God” to Hebrew scholars of the Torah was directed at Israel’s enemies (at the time) not to attack Israel, because Israel was under God’s protection, and attacking would lead to furious reprisal and defeat.

It is not the not the same as the New Age ‘Zen’ take to still the mind and just know that God is there.

The latter may seem to be a reasonable take on the sentence, translated into English, but it is not the one that Hebrew scholars of the Torah have always understood.
 
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