Here’s an interesting article (thanks to Barry for pointing it out) about Zen and psychotherapy – a Zen teacher in an existential crisis who turns to psychotherapy. I see it as a pointer to the importance of the reconstructive aspect in this work. I just edited a piece by Katagiri Roshi to that end and will post it soon – after another go through. The brave openheartedness presented in the article is moving and underlines the importance of seeing through... Read more

Above is Yugeji practitioner Shodo and dog Bodhi. Which is the original face? What is intimate knowing? More on that in a moment. First an observsation. In studying the Genjokoan again, what’s striking me now is how D-z really isn’t presenting an argument. Instead of Nagarjuna’s logic (not A, not B, not both, not neither) or Diamond Sutra logic (A is not A therefore A is A) what we have here is a series of declarative sentences expressing the enlightened... Read more

The photo is another from Glynn at Empty Hand – thanks – I think I’ve got how to load these figured out now. Like I said in an earlier post, clearly signing and handing out books makes me very happy. Anyway, we had our training group Genjokoan study last night. I’ll be posting later about Genjokoan but for now here’s a little excerpt from Trungpa’s Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism about relationships within the dharma community that came up during our... Read more

Something came up in my life recently that seemed important and that required a decision one way of the other. At first I just couldn’t see which way to go. Katagiri Roshi used to encourage us if at all possible to wait three days before any major decision. So I waited and talked with those close to me and mulled it over. After three days, I still was unclear so I delayed the decision until near the last minute. Meanwhile, I reflected... Read more

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The above photo (thanks to Barbara for suggestions and Buddhafrog for fixing this!) just in from one of the good folks at Empty Hand. Clearly, signing books just makes me so happy. Susan Jion Postal is the other priest in the photo. The fruit of her many years of steady Zen work is palpable in her community. She’s a hidden jewel in the rough Zen world. And speaking of the whirl, I’m back at it today after a weekend sesshin.... Read more

We’ll be in sesshin, gathering the heart, this weekend at Wild Fox Zen Transforming Through Play, beginning tonight with the Last Quarter Moon Precept Ceremony through Sunday at noon. 32 years of sesshin gazing at walls like this one and I still love it. We follow a simple style of sesshin with thirteen 40-minute sittings, 30-minutes of cleaning, and services before each meal. We use oryoki and sit at the dining room table. I haven’t been giving talks lately but... Read more

I’ve continued to enjoy browsing for perspectives on the path of the bird. William Powell in The Record of Tung-shan (whom I have as “Dungshan” below) notes that the bird path is a frequent metaphor in Buddhist literature from the Dhammapada to the various Perfection of Wisdom Sutras. Here’s Dhammpada, Verse 7:“For one who has completed the journey, for one who is sorrowless, for one who from everything is wholly free, for one who has destroyed all Ties, the fever... Read more

Here’s something I discovered while poking around for Dungshan’s teaching on the path of the bird. It brings together some of the themes I’ve been rolling out (or rolling around in, depending on your point of view) here recently, including not-doing, the bird thing, “thrusting ourselves through everything as empty,” and extending our hands to serve. It’s from a talk by Shigetsu Ein, a Soto Zen master of the 18th century, presenting Dungshan’s Three Paths – the path of the... Read more

Our investigating-zazen-and-life-as-kappatsupatsu (an onomatopoeia for the leaping of the carp as it climbs upstream) focus is on buddhas not knowing that they’re buddhas – not only through the head but also exploring tracelessness through the body. Thus the image of the path of the fish and bird. The other day, I suggested the following reflection: When you practice the path of the bird, what traces are left? Ideas about this might immediately come to mind. You might say, “Well, there... Read more