One Bright Pearl

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 [...]

Let people think whatever they may think. Let them even call you crazy. If you spend your whole life practicing in accordance with the Buddha-Way and refrain from what goes against the buddha-dharma, you needn’t worry about what people think of you. Tonsei, retreat from the world, means being free from the sentiments of worldly [...]

a life long mistake
begins to bloom
through no fault of my own
.

For just a moment
No one knew
Who was going beyond thought
.

“You must understand that we practice within delusions and attain realization before enlightenment.“  Dogen Zenji - Chapter 3: Gakudo Yojinshu

What does it mean to have a practice?
Practice is not done in isolation, and at the same time isolation is not what you think it is. The Buddha proclaimed, “I, alone, am the only one!”
What is [...]

not arriving, here and now
a crossroad
here and now, no direction found
this no direction is only a crossroad

in just this no direction
gaining is lost
a Way is found
as a crossroad, here and now

never arriving, never departing
is only a crossroad’s no direction
is only a Way’s pulling and turning of an old monk
is only this old monk returning home

The Samadhi of the Self accepting the Self as only the Self is known as Jijuyu Zanmai. Old Buddha Eihei presents this self fulfilling truth in his treatise Bendowa or Talk on Whole Hearted Practice of the Way. As an instruction for practice of the Way, it is supreme.
To actualize Jijuyu Zanmai, one must practice [...]

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

While listening to Shohaku Okumura share his understanding of Bussho 1, he states:
“The power that creates our suffering or samsara, and the power that allows us to practice and create nirvana is the same power…”
It is all our responsibility.
This realization has become koan for me. It has put me on the spot. I can’t [...]

During zazen this morning I had several great ideas for today’s post, and I can’t remember any of them.  Letting go of thinking doesn’t oppose great ideas. It just doesn’t cling to them. This not clinging isn’t aversion to thought. Thoughts come and go. Non clinging and non aversion do not originate from a position [...]