One Bright Pearl

Don’t believe anything. Tonight, at least, I don’t believe what I think. Even this, “Don’t believe it”, needs to be ignored. If I am thinking it, it is not It. I am completely worn out and cannot find anything that is me that I can hang on to.
Probably doesn’t make any sense at all and [...]

there’s a lonesome aching in my heart
that never goes away
tears fall
the sky
grey

Here is the Truth - at this moment I do not know what I am doing with my life. Sure, I can say, “Well, you’re typing a blog post concerning what you know.” Or, I could say, “You have been studying and practicing Dogen Zen with a living Master, Shohaku Okumura Roshi.” Or, I could [...]

Hey June!  

Dogen instructed,1
Students of the Way, do not worry about food and clothing. Just maintain the Buddha’s precepts and do not engage in worldly affairs. The Buddha said to use abandoned rags for clothing and beg for food. In what age will these two things ever be exhausted? Do not forget the swiftness of impermanence nor [...]

Needing nothing
Rain falls
Pitter-patter, pitter-patter
Grey clouds fill the empty sky

Wind roars through the cracked window. Brisk cold air sharpens the senses. At seventy miles an hour, the highway greets this old monk with horizon upon horizon. One line, then another, trace away into the distance. Glancing behind, through a rearview mirror, the withered trees march backwards. Hands firmly grip the steering wheel, holding steady. [...]

While meeting an Old Buddha, a question was posed thus, “Sri Ramana Maharshi states - That which is not found in deep dreamless sleep is not real. What practice is available to realize this within your school?”
Old Buddha Gentei responded, “”When you are driving your car, how do you manifest your Buddha nature?”
Exactly! Ineffability expresses [...]

It has been an interesting journey this year. I have separated from my wife, had an emotional/psychological breakdown, lived and practiced at Sanshinji Zen Community, kicked methadone, traveled all over the country, laid off from my job, worked for the Obama Campaign, and lived homeless for the last six months. And despite being homeless, reduced [...]

Something is happening here. It feels as if a new opening is taking over my life. I cannot see the future and the past isn’t important. The process of moment to moment exploration of this life as it manifests as a singular field of action is creating some kind of change I cannot put into [...]