Step 4 – Catching the Ox The Seventh Dharma Realm I seize him with a terrific struggle. His great will and power are inexhaustible. He charges to the high plateau far above the cloud-mists, or in an impenetrable ravine he stands. Catching the Ox Mindfulness of the Body The seventh dharma realm is the dharma… Continue reading Mindfulness Of The Body Zen
Category: Mind/Body Connection
MBSR Demotes Buddhism #Zen
Buddhism is not involved in a rivalry with any religion. It is a religion, as Roshi Philip Kapleau explained, only to the extent that we have to have faith that the practices lead to increasing wholesomeness. That’s almost like saying doing push-ups is a religion. We have to have faith that our muscles will develop… Continue reading MBSR Demotes Buddhism #Zen
Zen: Life Is A Dream
Putoshan, a dreamy place indeed Dreams are so easy to leave. We just wake up when we’re rested. It seems quite automatic. If this life is but a dream, a bubble, a flash of lightning in a summer storm as the Buddha said at the conclusion of The Diamond Sutra, why don’t we just wake… Continue reading Zen: Life Is A Dream
Zen Practice And Indoor Pets
I attended a meditation retreat in the late 1980s in southern Missouri with about 500 people. It was by far the largest group I had ever sat with and the effect was palpable. There were times when everyone would go into a deep meditation at the same time; it could be felt. I recall an occasion when… Continue reading Zen Practice And Indoor Pets
Zen Mindfulness or Forgetfulness
What, really, is mindfulness? It is perhaps best understood by contrasting it with its opposite, which is forgetfulness. Most of us are robots, performing most of our daily activities while thinking about something else. We don’t need to pay attention to brushing our teeth, taking a shower, grocery shopping, because these chores are handled automatically. We can instead ponder what… Continue reading Zen Mindfulness or Forgetfulness
Prostrations As A Zen Practice
I don’t recall any Buddhist sutra or sutta that mentions prostrations as a Buddhist practice. I don’t know the history of how prostrations became a part of Buddhist practice. It may even come from the repulsive practice of bowing down to a king or some other authoritarian bully who commands it. But a voluntary prostration practice having nothing to do… Continue reading Prostrations As A Zen Practice
Zen Psychotherapy?
My unenlightened, judgmental mind tells me that Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction demotes Buddhism to just another stress-reduction program in competition with yoga classes, tai chi (taiji) exercises, and those twelve step programs. Ugh. However, if a person is under so much stress that they can’t practice, then MBSR is available for such persons and it is probably… Continue reading Zen Psychotherapy?