Mastering the Art of Living

"A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between his work and his play; his labor and his leisure; his mind and his body; his education and his recreation. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence through whatever he is doing, and leaves others to determine whether he is working or playing. To himself, he always appears to be doing both."

Francoise Rene Auguste Chateaubriand
(Special thanks to Ron for his contribution)

Sho Gyo Mu Jo

"Truly, the greatest gift you have to give is that of your own self-transformation."

Lao Tzu

Dream

"All composite things are like a dream,
A phantasm, a bubble and a shadow -
Are like a dewdrop and a flash of lightning;
They are thus to be regarded."

Trans. Eido Shimano Roshi
Excerpt | The Diamond Sutra

Being The Change We'd Like to See

“Be the change that you would like to see in the world.” So said one of the Arkansas Nine. These where a group of young black people who took a stance against “separate but equal” to united and equal. What a powerful gesture. It’s interesting that in many ways that we are still working through this evolution.

On another front, it’s amazing to see the Buddhist monks in Burma are leading marches for dialog with the military. This is a courageous act on their part as they are seeking to create or point to a window of opportunity where change can occur.

Between the Burmese monks, the Arkansas nine and all people engaging in peaceful action to bring about some sort of positive communication and change, there is a link. What could their linkage? From one vantage point, it seems like they are being the change which they would like to see in the world. Instead of sitting on the sidelines, they are engaging in their practice. I’d like to think that there are a million instances of this happening on a daily basis, that made it into the universe, but just never made it to film. That’s not the important part. What truly matters is when we seize a moment and act out on our value system in selfless motivation.

Jaye Morris, Curator
digitalZENDO

Sorry About That

Sorry that I didn't make a post today. As it turns out, I'm sending this message from my iphone since I'm in the hospital. I hope to be back and posting in a day or two. Until then Namaste'

// Jaye Morris, Curator
// digitalzendo

Listening to Our Mistakes

"I sometimes react to making a mistake as if I have betrayed myself. My fear of making a mistake seems to be based on the hidden assumption that I am potentially perfect and that if I can just be very careful I will not fall from heaven. But a 'mistake' is a declaration of the way I am, a jolt to the way I intend, a reminder I am not dealing with the facts. When I have listened to my mistakes I have grown."

Hugh Prather
Excerpt | Notes to Myself

Listening to Our Mistakes

"I sometimes react to making a mistake as if I have betrayed myself. My fear of making a mistake seems to be based on the hidden assumption that I am potentially perfect and that if I can just be very careful I will not fall from heaven. But a 'mistake' is a declaration of the way I am, a jolt to the way I intend, a reminder I am not dealing with the facts. When I have listened to my mistakes I have grown."

Hugh Prather
Excerpt | Notes to Myself

A Change in Direction

"From the moment we cease trying to swim upstream and begin to flow with the current, something changes within us."

Arthur Sokoloff

Our Challenges

I used to have this general thought, "Why do problems have to come up in my life. I'm a good person it just doesn't seem fair." I used to make the assumption that to exist without problems indicated a "perfect" or "great" life.

The actual truth is that what determines the quality of our lives is how we face our problems and challenges day to day. What is our motivation when the tight spots and moments appear. One of my friends once told me that, "adversity is the rungs that we climb as we move towards spiritual improvement." Back then it didn't make too much sense, though it sounded cool. Now my understanding of that expression says that it makes perfect sense.

May Your Life Go Well,

Jaye Morris, Curator
digitalZENDO

It's Not About Theory

"Zen is not interested in theories about enlightenment, it wants the real thing. So it shouts, and buffets, and reprimands, without ill-will entering, in the slightest. All it wants to do is force the student to crash the word-barrier. Minds must be sprung from their verbal bonds into a new mode of apprehending."

Huston Smith
Excerpt | The World's Religions"

Practicing Right Speech

"When you do not practice kind speech, your vision is limited. Then even when others are practicing kind speech, you may have difficulty noticing and appreciating their efforts. On the other hand, when you begin to practice in this way, you will see kind speech everywhere. By practicing kind speech, your vision is transformed."

Tenshin Reb Anderson, Roshi
Excerpt | Being upright

Beyond the Myths

"The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie -- deliberate, contrived and dishonest, but the myth, persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic. Belief in myths allows the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought."

John F. Kennedy

TIme for a Change

"True compassion is more than throwing a coin to a beggar. It demands of our humanity that if we live in a society that produces beggars, we are morally commanded to restructure that society."

Martin Luther King, jr.

What is Wrong With People?

An African American Woman, was kidnapped, sexually assaulted, multiple stab wounds and other lacerations, part of her hair ripped out and psychologically assaulted in many ways, by a group of 6 males and females in West Virginia. Click here to read the story.

What is wrong with people? Though the potential "hate crime" charges where placed aside for different charges which are "stiffer," this is nothing but hate and insanity. I am stunned by this sort of behavior and it causes me to question what in our culture breeds such things where not one but six people think up and commit such an atrocity. We need some serious work in our so-called "culture."

Actualizing This!

"Zen is not a religion based on faith; nor is it some sort of speculative philosophy. It is the actualization of the unselfish life."

Nyogen Senzaki Zenji Dai Osho
Excerpt | Namu Dai Bosa - A Transmission of Zen Buddhism to America

September 11 | A 2007 Reflection

It's September 11th and I'm thinking about what does it mean. Given the current state of the war and how the Bush administration has managed to conflate 9/11 with the Iraq war, I feel a little odd about it all. For me Iraq has changed the feeling around 9/11 for me. It's difficult to explain how, but I feel like the tragedy has been used like marketing to justify all sorts of things that don't necessarily fit together. On top of all that, Bin-Laden is still out there somewhere and it's like there is no emphasis on bringing the real master-mind of this horror to justice. I find that kind of odd. No-one really seems to talk about that. This issue is like looking through a pair of blurry glasses or dense fog. There's not a lot of definition and many things are unrecognizable to us, including certain aspects of American culture.

By our nations actions and response, I wonder if we have given the surviving family, significant others and friends any sense of comfort or embrace. They still must carry a deep sense of sorrow. I have a lot of questions and thoughts about it that I'm not sure if it's really okay to speak, because others might be offended.

May all beings be happy. May all beings be free.

Namaste'

Jaye Morris, Curator
digitalZENDO

Where Do You Live?

"People do not generally live in their actions, in the present moment. They live in the past or the future. Though they seem to be doing something now, here, they live somewhere else in their thoughts, in imaginary problems and worries, usually in the memories of the past or in the desires and speculations about the future. Therefore they do not live in, nor do they enjoy, what they do at the moment, with the work at hand, and naturally they cannot give themselves fully to what they appear to be doing."

Walpola Rahula
Excerpt | What the Buddha Taught

Process of Becominig

"What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday, and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow: Our life is the creation of our mind."

Shakyamuni Buddha

Compassion in Action

"In order to practice The Way of Compassion, one must practice the way of compassion."

Siddhartha Gautama Buddha

And the Answer is 42

Such is the mighty answer and key to the universe, if you believe "Hitch-hikers Guide to the Galaxy." On the other hand it is another birthday which brings me to the age of forty-two. This naturally flows to my thought for the day.

"Am I accomplishing the things that I really want?" The answer is a mixed bag. In terms of my family, friends and career, yes. This yes comes with the caviate that I am always looking for opportunities to improve and connect better with others and myself. Experience says that comes with working on ourselves. On that basis, that is the best gift that I could give myself and others.

It's on that basis that I will continue on the Eightfold-path of Upright Understanding, Upright Thought, Upright Speech, Upright Action, Upright Livelihood, Upright Effort, Upright Mindfulness, and Upright Concentration. There is still some much work to do. Especially in coming to learn how to evolve with and live each of these principles.

Happiness,

Jaye Morris, Curator
digitalZENDO

In the Midst of Change

"Right understanding is seeing life as it is. In the midst of change, where is there a place to stand firm? Where is there anything to have and hold? To know that happiness cannot come from anything outside, and that all things that come into being have to pass away: this is right understanding, the beginning of wisdom."

Trans. By Eknath Easwaran
Excerpt | The Dhammapada

Do Not Repel The Way

"The True Man of ancient times knew nothing of loving life, knew nothing of hating death. He emerged without delight; he went back in without a fuss. He came briskly, he went briskly, and that was all. He didn't forget where he began; he didn't try to find out where he would end. He received something and took pleasure in it; he forgot about it and handed it back again. This is what I call not using the mind to repel the Way. This is what I call the True Man."

Chuang-Tzu

Anywhere But Here

"People do not generally live in their actions, in the present moment. They live in the past or the future. Though they seem to be doing something now, here, they live somewhere else in their thoughts, in imaginary problems and worries, usually in the memories of the past or in the desires and speculations about the future. Therefore they do not live in, nor do they enjoy, what they do at the moment, with the work at hand, and naturally they cannot give themselves fully to what they appear to be doing."

Walpola Rahula
Excerpt | What the Buddha Taught