"Facing our Demons" - Keizan Sensei

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Facing our demons

Feeling trapped or disappointed or unable to express ourselves as fully as we would wish are some of the reasons we first come into Zen practice. For many of us we then hope that we can put aside our feelings of isolation or limitation and quickly experience interconnectedness and wisdom. With one leap we will be free! We will throw off body and mind and self clinging. That this is generally not how it is, is one of the most difficult discoveries of our spiritual path. Inevitably the practice involves struggling with our grooved patterns and resistance to life over and over again. We discover then that the way forward to embracing our lives comes through facing our limitations and pain not from turning away from them. We may then find that there is really nothing but this unborn, undying ‘one’ just freely doing without obstruction. Not seeing this is called in our tradition ‘looking away.’

To see this requires steady and constant practice. In doing so your life may begin to vibrate in a new way and now the wish to practice arises naturally and without resistance. Stop and start (like throwing water into a simmering cauldron) very rarely works. If the present conditions of your life allow you to practice may I encourage you to do so. Time really does pass swiftly by and conditions can change in a flash.

Kind wishes,
Keizan Sensei

Gassho.

[Audio] Kiezan Sensei - Living the paradox

Fresh on Youtube today - a teisho by Kiezan Sensei from (I think) Weds 5th Feb.
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3 March closure

Just a quick note to say that the Northampton zen group won't be running on Monday 3 March.

I'll be in Liverpool that day - unfortunately I won't have a chance to catch up with the Sangha as there's no sitting on a Monday. A shame... However, should be an interesting (for me anyway!) trip nonetheless as I'll be giving a lecture to the final year Psychology students at the University of Liverpool on Buddhism and psychology.

Other than that date - and perhaps a week at Easter, will keep you posted - sitting continues each Monday. We've recently started looking at the writing of 9th century Master, Huangbo (Huang Po). Good stuff!

Late on Monday - sorry!

Apologies for a late arrival on Monday - nothing serious, just general 'life stuff' delayed my departure. Unfortunately, apparently this was a week when someone new arrived for the first time, or so one of the regular Music Club folk from downstairs let us know.

If that was you - sorry! I'm usually around by 6.45 or 6.50, and we did eventually get going last Monday, and of course sitting continues next week etc.

In other news - we've finally finished our examination of the Platform Sutra, which has taken us quite a while...! Next up, at Will's suggestion we start to look at some of the work of Huang Po (d.850CE), the influential Tang dynasty Chinese Zen Master. I'm not familiar with this material at all, so looking forward to getting stuck in.