Blog Posts
Prayers for One Towards Whom We Feel Anger and Outrage
At Bright Way, we’ve been discussing the Brahmaviharas lately, particularly goodwill (metta) and compassion (karuna). One of the main questions we’ve been addressing, naturally, is how to deal with anger and hatred – our own, as well as that of others. When someone is actively causing harm, what does it mean to feel goodwill and compassion for them? (I address that question in detail here.) Last Tuesday we did an exercise to explore what authentic goodwill might look like...
read moreZen Practice as Path – Six Tips
Our whole life, no matter what happens, can be ennobled by seeing it as path. Path implies movement, progress, change, development, growth, discovery, and purpose. We don't just turn 18, or 25, or 30 and then stop growing and learning. Thank goodness! Instead, there's no limit to how much more skillful, wise, compassionate, and authentic we can become, and we continue on that path of development - hopefully - for our entire lives.
read moreZen Is Not a Self-Improvement Project – Or Is It?
In Zen, self-improvement is not the main point. You still gotta keep working on it, but Zen’s main point is that you have access to ultimate peace and perfection just the way you are. Liberation isn’t dependent on the degree of your self-improvement.
read moreUselessly Doing Nothing: Zazen without Techniques
Last Tuesday we had a lively class discussion on zazen that went almost 30 minutes overtime! First, we read the “Nothing to attain, Nothing to enlighten” chapter from Rev. Issho Fujita’s book Polishing a Tile.(1) Then we debated whether zazen should involve any techniques at all. Based on Fujita’s teachings (which are based on Dogen’s, as well as those of many great Soto Zen masters), I proposed that true zazen, or shikantaza, is letting go of doing anything. No...
read moreOur Sangha’s Response to Suffering in the World
It’s tricky – we want our spiritual communities to be places of refuge from the over-stimulation and conflict in the world outside our temple walls. No one wants to come to practice at the Zen center only to participate in a political debate, or be told what they should be doing as a good Buddhist. And yet… if we don’t challenge our comfort levels as a Buddhist community in order to witness and respond to the often acute suffering in the world around us, especially of...
read moreTestimonials! Zazen Is Not (Just) Meditation Practice
Last Sunday, I asked Bright Way members in attendance at the Dharma Talk to write down why they love zazen - or at least why they continue doing it. These testimonials were anonymous - papers were folded and put in a basket, and then I read them out loud. You can find these inspiring and touching offerings below.
read moreBendowa: Zen Master Dogen on Why Zazen Is Such a Big Deal
In the 13th century, a Japanese Buddhist monk named Eihei Dogen traveled to China to search for the truth. He discovered a teacher there who emphasized zazen above all else, and in studying with him Dogen found the resolution to his personal koan. Dogen then traveled back to Japan to share what he had learned, and although he generally eschewed sectarianism, we call the school of Zen that descends from him “Soto.” Three years after his return from China, Dogen still hadn’t...
read moreCalling on the Power of Compassion
Many Buddhists throughout history have prayed to Kanzeon, the bodhisattva of compassion, for succor. That kind of prayer continues today. Kanzeon is also known as Avalokiteshvara, Kannon, and Guan Yin. Sometimes portrayed as male, sometimes as female, she’s hands-down the most popular of the Buddhist archetypal bodhisattvas. One of the standard Soto Zen daily chants is called the “Universal Gateway Chapter” (of the Lotus Sutra), which states: “If floating on a vast sea,...
read moreThe Sangha Jewel: Community as a Medicine for Modern Ills
Over the last year, the Bright Way Zen community, our Sangha jewel, has grown significantly. This growth has not just been in terms of numbers (we now have 50 members), it’s been in terms of maturity, commitment, investment, and strength. More and more people consider Bright Way Zen to be their community – a group of people with whom they find social connection and support, a sense of being seen and appreciated, and a feeling of being needed. Belonging to a community can sometimes...
read moreYou Don’t Need to Improve or Get Anything to Fulfill the Buddha Way
You don’t need to improve one iota, change anything about yourself, or obtain anything you don’t already have, in order to fulfill the Buddha Way and directly experience the ultimate goal of Zen.
read moreHow Important Is It to Study Buddhist Teachings?
Study isn't absolutely necessary, bit it's a powerful, traditional, and possibly indispensable practice tool – but not in the way many of us might think. Study in Zen or Buddhism isn’t about acquiring knowledge. We study in order to challenge the ideas we already have.
read moreYou Can’t Walk the Path Without Help from Your Friends
Did you know admirable friendship is considered essential to walking the Buddhist path? The Buddha said “With regard to external factors, I don’t envision any other single factor like admirable friendship as doing so much for a monk in training,”[i] and this certainly applies to lay practitioners as well. What’s an admirable friend? About this the Buddha said: “The friend who is a helpmate, the friend in happiness and woe, the friend who gives good counsel, the friend who sympathizes...
read moreEverything Is Okay: Finding Solace by Remembering a Larger Perspective
Spiritual teachings, including those found in Zen, basically assert the following: There is a sense in which everything is okay when life is viewed from a larger perspective. The key to maintaining happiness and peace in our lives is connecting with, or having faith in, the reality of this larger perspective.
read moreThe Buddha’s Five Things to Consider Before Speaking
The Buddha taught there were five things to consider before speaking.[v] Is what you’re about to say: Factual and true Helpful, or beneficial Spoken with kindness and good-will (that is, hoping for the best for all involved) Endearing (that is, spoken gently, in a way the other person can hear) Timely (occasionally something true, helpful, and kind will not be endearing, or easy for someone to hear, in which case we think carefully about when to say it) Will What We Say Be Helpful? In...
read moreRight Speech: Refraining from Lying, Divisive or Abusive Speech, and Idle Chatter
The Buddha gave quite a number of teachings on right speech over the course of his 45-year teaching career. Clearly, he taught that paying attention to how you express yourself verbally was considered an essential part of practice. Obviously, our speech has an effect on other people, and unless we’re selfish or deluded, we care about that. On the positive side, our speech can convey love, and it can support or guide others in their own spiritual journey. Alternatively, our speech may trigger...
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