Sometimes I shock my students and the other people who come to my Zen center by suggesting our spiritual practice doesn’t change us or make us happy. People usually argue with me, which is a good sign, I guess. It means meditation and Zen practice is doing them some good. I certainly don’t deny that’s possible. What strikes me as less than useful is our tendency, especially as we get older, to have an increasing level of investment in having things... Read more
Today I am giving a short talk at a nearby Zen center as a visiting teacher. I asked ahead of time what they wanted me to talk about and one of the suggestions was “How to Realize Your Own Buddha Nature.” Oh heck. The Buddhist concept of buddha nature is a doozy. “Buddha” means awakened, and in Buddhism it is a central teaching that all beings have buddha nature whether they realize it or not. The father of Soto Zen Buddhism, Dogen, turned... Read more
A friend recently sent me a link to an interesting Youtube video featuring a short interview with Thich Nhat Hanh. In it, Canadian environmentalists David Suzuki and Jim Hoggan discuss the ecological emergency we are facing on this planet, and the problem of public apathy about or denial of climate change. Thich Nhat Hanh listens carefully and then responds, “You have to accept that this civilization can be destroyed. Not by something outside, but by ourselves. In fact, many civilizations have been destroyed in the past.”... Read more
I teach 8-10 new people to “do” Zen meditation every month. At times I feel kind of radical, but more and more I just want to tell them to sit still and do nothing at all. After 20 years of Zen practice, 14 years as Zen priest, and 5 years as a Zen teacher, I am becoming deeply convinced that the transformative and healing power of meditation has little to do with what we consciously do. Basically, just deliberately put yourself in... Read more
I have no children of my own, so any descendants of my sister will be my closest relatives in the distant future. My nephew and niece are 10 and 12 years old right now; if they have children about age 30, my grandnieces or grandnephews will be born around 2035; if they in turn have children at about age 30, my great-grandniece – who I am calling Emily because I’ve always liked the name – will be born around 2065 and come... Read more
When I contemplate the GOOD of my religion, I immediately start to think about some kind of grand scale. Like, what good does Zen Buddhism do the United States? What good is my religion to the people who don't practice it? What kind of positive impact does it have on poverty, injustice, and climate change? When I think like this I get confused pretty fast, because I really don't know. Read more
There are two kinds of expectations. One is a belief that something is likely to happen. The other is belief that something should happen: Someone should be able to achieve something or act in a particular way, or circumstances should unfold in a particular way. This second kind of expectation is what we’re referring to when we say we have high expectations for someone, or for the world. It’s usually meant to be a compliment. For example, I cherish an expectation that people... Read more
Yesterday I was walking my dogs in the sunshine. When I turned my mind to climate change I felt… well… remarkably untroubled. The temperature was perfect, about 65 degrees. There was a slight breeze that made the daffodils and camellias wave gently back and forth. All was right with the world, at least here. Runaway global warming, massive storms, droughts, widespread extinctions, political unrest, and the other ills that climate change is likely to bring? Well, there’s always something. We’ll deal... Read more
Yesterday I attended a rally in downtown Portland against fast-tracking the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal. I went by myself and incognito (that is, no one could tell I was a Buddhist, let alone a Zen priest). That was fine, but I did find myself wishing a had bunch of Buddhist buddies with me, and that we could march together behind a banner saying “Buddhists for Climate Justice” or something like that. The rally was organized by the Oregon AFL-CIO,... Read more
At my Zen Center last Sunday we read and discussed a beautiful teaching from Kyogen Carlson, one of my Zen teachers. It was from the chapter “Dharma Realm” in a little booklet Kyogen wrote called Zen Roots. I called this excerpt “Kyogen Carlson on the Cosmic Buddha.” We lost Kyogen suddenly last September to a heart attack, and rediscovering this teaching from him made me miss him terribly. It isn’t so much that I miss him personally, in the sense of regular... Read more
My Journey of Conscience
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