Saturday, October 3, 2020

October 3, 2020

 South China Morning Post:  Article by Randy Komisar

1. Meditation is more than a means to an end, it is an end in itself.  It has a rich lineage from its inception in India to its migration to Chinese Chan and Japanese Zen. And while it has been recently touted as a panacea for the anxious ills of our hectic lives, it is not prescription.  It is a way seeing the world and oneself that enriches our brief time on this earth. You can take confidence in the power of meditation as realized by many generations of practitioners and teachers.

 2. Meditation may bring with it calm and wellbeing, but it is not a tool for hacking performance or solving mental health issues.  It is a way of digging deeply into the human experience and our sense of self to understand more clearly our connected existence. Non-separation is the Buddhist term. In a meditation practice you can develop the skillful means for navigating the challenges of life.  Accept that meditation is a means, not an end.

 3. Meditation is not a relaxation technique.  It is not an excuse for a nap.  It is a practice that requires quiet effort to peel away the layers of self importance and callousness that pervade our daily existence. It is a process of stripping away, not adding more.  It creates a hole in the pail so the stagnant water can run out and leave us with room to bring in fresh awareness and wisdom. Be prepared to do the work of penetrating the self, not just closing your eyes. 

 4. Meditation starts with a clearing of the mind.  The Budhhist concept of emptiness is generally misunderstood. Emptiness is not nihilism, it is an openness to seeing beyond the life our mind has constructed and view the world as it is.  The inner chatter we all hear when the distractions cease is a challenge in the beginning.  The silence can be deafening. But the sense of truth and connectedness that fills the void is enriching.

Photo contributed by Marya Shahinian

(To be continued tomorrow...)

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Our ZHS on-line schedule

  • Mondays: 7-8:30pm - zazen, short service, lecture/discussion
  • Tuesdays-Fridays: 5:30-6:10pm - zazen, offering of merit/bows
  • M-F: 7-7:30am - zazen
  • Saturdays: 8:00-10:15am - zazen, short service, tea, discussion/study
  • For more information:  www.zenheartsangha.org) 
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Special bows for today: 
  • Please offer bows for dharma brother, David Shaw, who suffered a stroke on 9/30/20
  • Please offer bows for all those families who have lost their lives or their homes in the recent fires in Oregon, California, and Washington
  • Please continue to offer bows of well-being for:   
    • Charles Kennicott Leech, Nancy's father who is in the hospita
    • Chief Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg who died 9/18/2020
    • Takiko Kawakami, Fumiko Arao's mother who died 9/2/2020
    • Phyllis Merrill, Misha's mother, who is dying
    • Rev. Les Kaye, Misha’s Zen teacher, who is recovering at home undergoing chemotherapy
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Wonderful links shared by sangha members and friends:
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