A day of Silence at O-An Zendo

On Sunday Linda and I had the rare opportunity to spend an extended period of time sitting in silence at O-AN Zendo in the Julian Woods community north of State College. We had six sessions of sitting separated by walking meditation. I was fortunate to be able to complete the sittings with little difficulty. This allowed me to maintain an active state of awareness without thinking or dwelling on my uncomfortable physical state as I often do. I was able to go deep and penetrate some layers of ego that I hadn't dealt with previously causing me to let go with some uncontrolled emotion when we each had a chance to share our experience around the table where Barbara served some great chocolate tofu pie. It had been a number of years since I experienced this kind of emotional cleansing. Not long ago I was thinking that I must have uncovered all of the past hurts and guilt that flow out at these times, but there it was. This extended sitting took me deeper into that place where we hide things that we don't want to deal with. For me it's like digging up artifacts. I'm never quite sure what I uncovered. I know that it is not necessarily related directly to what I am talking about at the time so it will take some time and some contemplation to understand the mystery. Even then it may not be comprehensible in the language of ordinary mind. It may just come as a direct experience of the moon's reflection in the water.

Barbara pointed to the moon for us with contemporary fingers. She used the lyrics from "Let it Be" by the Beattles:

"When I find myself in times of trouble
Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom
Let it be"

We suffer needlessly because we feel that we have to fix things. We want to fix our own problems and the problems of our friends and others. We want to fix the world. Fixing things is fine and even good but we need to do what we can without attachment and "Let it Be". But we become obsessed with things. We dwell on things and nurture fear and anxiety. We need to learn to "Let it be". This was a beautiful Dharma lesson.

After our final sitting I was surprised by the chant:

Row, row, row your boat
gently down the stream
Merily, merrily, merrily, merrily
Life is but a dream.

I had never thought about all of the Buddhist symbolism in this round that I learned in elementary school. What a beautiful surprise.

We finished with a beautiful bowing ceremony. Each of us had the opportunity to bow to all of the other participants.

My gratitude to Barbara and all who were present.

With Loving Kindness,

Robert

We are all in this together

Please see my post on the Lotus Light Community blog.

With Loving Kindness,

Robert

Meditation - February 3, 2008

Inviting the Bell
May the sound of this bell penetrate deeply
into the cosmos.
In even the darkest places may living beings
hear it clearly,
so their suffering will cease,
understanding arise in their hearts,
and they can transcend the path of
anxiety and sorrow.

Reading
From Faith in Mind - by the third Patriarch Master Seng Ts'an - translated by Sheng Yen - Published by Shambhala
No need to seek the real
Just extinguish your views
Do not abide in dualistic views
Take care not to seek after them
As soon as there is right and wrong
The mind is scattered and lost
Two comes from one,
yet do not keep the one
When one mind does not arise
Myriad dharmas are without defect.

Guided Meditation - by Robert

Breathing in I am grateful for the fresh air
Breathing out I smile to my breathing

Breathing in I am grateful for the fresh water
Breathing out I smile to drinking water

Breathing in I am grateful for friends
Breathing out I smile to my friends

Breathing in I am aware of Joy
Breathing out I experience Joyfulness

Breathing in I am aware of happiness
Breathing out I experience happiness

Breathing in I am aware of Joyfulness
Breathing out may my friends experience joyfulness

Breathing in I am aware of happiness
Breathing out may my friends experience happiness

Breathing in I am aware of Joyfulness
Breathing out may all beings experience joyfulness

Breathing in I am aware of happiness
Breathing out may all beings experience happiness

Reading
from "The Mind King" - by Master Fu. Translated by Master Sheng Yen
Published by Shambhala Publications, Inc.
("The Mind King" is one poem in the book: The Poetry of Enlightenment).
This poem of Master Fu describes pure mind; The mind after enlightenment. It also tells us that we always possess pure mind but we don't live in the state of pure mind because of our thoughts and vexations. Here is a stanza from the poem:

"When you realize original mind,
The mind sees Buddha.
This mind is Buddha;
This Buddha is mind".

Silent Meditation
We had 10 minutes of silent meditation


Reading
from Zen and the Art of Happiness - by Chris Prentiss
Published by Power Press
Adapting to Change - pg. 87
The author tells how he bought a new car and had it parked in the alley. He came out just in time to see it get scratched by an old VW. The driver got out and was very distraught and obviously had no money to pay for the damage. The author told him that it was perfect. Now he will not worry about his new car being scratched. The driver was so happy he danced in the alley and the author gave him a contact with a friend where he got a job. He later came back to pay for the damage but the author refused it saying that he liked the scratch and that it reminded him that the universe is perfect. The story is very moving the way that it is presented int he book.

Silent Meditation
We had 10 minutes of silent meditation

Open discussion


With Loving Kindness,

Robert