And here's a Dogen quote to keep you going...
The real way circulates everywhere;
How could it require
Practice or enlightenment?
The essential teaching is fully available;
How could effort be necessary?
Furthermore, the entire mirror is
Free of dust; why take steps to polish it?
Nothing is separate from this
Very place; why journey away?
- Fukanzazengi
Back to regular hours on Monday 14 July.
So for a number of reasons, it looks as though it is going to be impossible to hold our regularly scheduled sessions for the next two weeks; I.e. Mon 30th June and 7th July.
So: a sudden summer break! We will be back into the swing of things on Mon 14th July -- same time, same place. And given that the Music Appreciation lot are of until September, we should have some opportunities to conduct a service or two.
_/|\_
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
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!
