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Paying Attention No Matter What
When the ability to be fully present in our life eludes us, it is usually because we cannot possibly believe the mundane or frustrating experience in front of us merits our attention. This bowl of...
View ArticleThe Courage to Face Our Shit
Every time we sit down in meditation we are challenged to face our shit. What is really going on in our body-mind? What ideas are we stubbornly holding onto? What are we afraid of? What would we rather...
View ArticleStep One – Commit to Stillness, Don’t React
Click here to read this post on Patheos.com The post Step One – Commit to Stillness, Don’t React appeared first on Bright Way Zen.
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The Experience of Less-Self
Excerpted with permission from Idiot’s Guides: Zen Living by Domyo Burk — As I mentioned earlier, you can’t recognize when you are living without the filter of your self-concept. The moment you think,...
View ArticleRenewal in the Stillness and Silence of Meditation
It can be helpful to think of meditation as renewal time for our body-minds. The space of meditation, at least Zen meditation, involves a realignment of the self with the universe. Getting caught up in...
View ArticleTwo Sides of Practice Part 1: Samadhi Power and Karma Relationship – Definitions
Buddhist practice can be seen as consisting of two parts, and both are essential. The first part is cultivating “samadhi power,” or our ability to perceive – or be awake to – the absolute aspect of...
View ArticleTwo Sides of Practice Part 2: When We Neglect Karma Relationship
Two Sides of Practice, but Only One Reality I’ve heard people say karma relationship work is about the “relative world,” while samadhi power is about the absolute. There’s some truth in this statement,...
View ArticleTwo Sides of Practice Part 3: When We Neglect Samadhi Power, and How the Two...
When We Neglect Samadhi Power What about neglecting samadhi power, and overemphasizing karma relationship? This is when we try to get free from our suffering, be a good and wholesome person, have...
View ArticleBendowa: Zen Master Dogen on Why Zazen Is Such a Big Deal
In the 13th century, a Japanese Buddhist monk named Eihei Dogen traveled to China to search for the truth. He discovered a teacher there who emphasized zazen above all else, and in studying with him...
View ArticleTestimonials! Zazen Is Not (Just) Meditation Practice
Last Sunday, I asked Bright Way members in attendance at the Dharma Talk to write down why they love zazen – or at least why they continue doing it. These testimonials were anonymous – papers were...
View ArticleUselessly Doing Nothing: Zazen without Techniques
Last Tuesday we had a lively class discussion on zazen that went almost 30 minutes overtime! First, we read the “Nothing to attain, Nothing to enlighten” chapter from Rev. Issho Fujita’s book Polishing...
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