For so many years this teaching of Awakening Faith in Mind has been an inspiration and pointer for me. Over time it’s been like someone sitting at my shoulder, nudging and pointing. So clear, so direct, so Zen. Most recently the resonance with Dzogchen teachings from this profound teaching has been very clear. The great […]
Awakening Faith in Mind – Seng-ts’an Read Post »
I love this quote by Shunryu Suzuki. It’s not about having special experience. No experience will ‘save you’ or give you eternal happiness. You cannot take refuge in particular experiences, however uplifting or extraordinary. Not satori, not insight, not enlightenment, not getting there. Zen is not some kind of excitement, but concentration on our usual
Nothing Special – Shunryu Suzuki Read Post »
How hard it can be to leave things are they are! How hard it can be to not try to do something in meditation, and to not try to have an object. How hard to not contaminate your meditation by trying to find something, to correct something, or to judge it as ‘good’ or ‘bad’.
Nothing to Meditate On Read Post »
Sometimes you make choices in life which seem as though they are going to have huge consequences. Sometimes it seems as though they are going to define the parameters of what will be possible and what will be for many years to come. From a conventional point of view, it seems obvious that if you
Where Does It Lead? 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
I will wait. Waiting in the face of the unpleasant, the difficult, the challenging. Waiting in the face of uncertainty, confusion and disorientation. Patience – bearing with that which is hard to bear. Allowing things to be, however they are. Not trying to grasp it and force it to be other. Allowing a young plant
Some reflections on Compassion, judging the correctness of actions, and Wisdom – in response to a discussion on a Buddhist list about a particular collective action that had taken place there. I’ve been reflecting quite a lot the last few days on these discussions on the list. Two themes which seem to have recurred in
Compassion, Judging and Wisdom Read Post »
Mahamudra meditation instruction is often presented in terms of two-fold advice – the common, and the uncommon. These could be said to be the general and the detailed or specific instructions. The common or general instructions seem intended to be the base or background upon which all the uncommon or detailed instructions build. For me
Reflections on Tilopa – Mahamudra Pith Instructions Read Post »
Response to a question on a List: How do you access your mind. Thoughts are like waves and the mind is like the ocean. How do you access the ocean? Looking at your question, I will respond in three parts: – How do you access your mind? – Thoughts are like waves and the mind
The Ocean and Waves of Mind Read Post »
