At night, deep in the mountains I sit in zazen. The affairs of men never reach me here. In the stillness I sit on a cushion across from the empty window. The incense has been swallowed up by the endless night; My robe has become a garment of white dew. Unable to sleep, I walk […]
Reflections on Ryokan – At Night, Deep in the Mountains Read Post »
It seems that for many people the word ‘Faith’ is problematic. Formany people, the reason why is become of the negative connotationsthat they have with that term. For some, that is based on badexperiences they had with previous religious affiliations, or contactwith those of other religions. For some, it is because they wish thisreligion of
Faith and Emptiness Read Post »
There is this profound play between application of effort, and letting go. Sometimes, and in some ways, one has to galvanise ones energy, enlist ones desire, focus aspiration, and strive for the goal. Whether that is in terms of life overall, or a particular moment within it, there is the need to make an effort.
Effort and Letting Go Read Post »
How dreamlike is this life …. Bringing experiences to mind from the past – they are like shimmering dreams, with a life of their own, never quite the same, and seemingly not like the experience in the present which seemed to inspire them. And that experience in the present, which had previously seemed so solid
Clarity and Emptiness Read Post »
Inhabiting the ‘world’ of Vajrayana in my practice, it seems that the symbolism of events is very much transforming my sense of ‘sacred’ and ‘profane’. As appearances arise, they seem to naturally take on or perhaps, reflect characteristics of the Vajrayana symbolism of my Sadhana and practice. So when the wind blows during my Sadhana,
Vajrayana and the sacred and profane Read Post »
How often it is that our response to our own suffering is to grasp at the very things which bring about our suffering! We seem to have a wrong ‘gameplan’ – one which says that having or grasping this or that experience will make things ‘right’, and not having or pushing away something will lessen
The Response to Suffering Read Post »
Understanding the teachings on the illusory nature of the Subject Object distinction used to be rather theoretical for me. Yes, I heard the words, I understood the theory, and it made sense. But, when the chips were down, when suffering arrived, this understanding was nowhere to be seen. In recent years with the blessing of
Subject Object Projections Read Post »
This last few days I’ve been reading blogs from soldiers fighting in Iraq. I’ve also been reading the comments on those blogs, and some related materials from people around the world. The recurring theme throughout those comments has been how polarised people seem to be in their views. They are either ‘for’ or ‘against’ the
Always Taking Sides Read Post »
How tempting it is for the mind to grasp onto what is directly perceived, and to ossify it into necessarily rigid and falsifying concepts. The raft of skilful use of conceptual understanding is a tricky one to ride, and one which seems to hold much potential for misuse. The Buddha described the Dharma as being
We experience endlessly, and on top of the flow of seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, tasting, and thinking we project and add a fictional ‘experiencer’, a one, a self who is doing this experiencing. And yet, there isn’t anyone there to do this. so who or what is experiencing the experiences? ….. the experience itself is
The Experience is the Experiencer Read Post »
