Everyday, Miracles

I was talking with a an old friend the other day, who called me to let me know that he has been clean for about two weeks and going to Twelve Step meetings, experiencing some success. After talking with him a bit, I thought, "wow, there goes a miracle" in a kind of surface manner to myself. As I was moving through my day, the more and more I thought about it, the thought went past the surface and I more fully realized the impact of "wow, there goes a miracle." With his addiction there are the cravings, withdrawal, environmental stressors. On top of this, there is the fact that he recognized that he has a serious problem and needs to reach out for help to climb out of the deep hole that addiction creates. He talked about not just getting physically clean of the drugs but his need to make mental and spiritual change as well. That was really different for him as opposed to his past efforts.

There are everyday miracles that appear right in front of our face. We can often times miss them, because of the direction that our mind is leaning. It's an individual responsibility that we position our mind so that it can see past the immediate and into the deeper aspects of our life. Are we prepared for that challenge? Sometime yes. Sometimes no. I feel the important point is to make the effort. The more and more we do this, the more easily we will be able to see the miracles that are in front of our eyes.

May Your Life Go Well,

Jaye Morris, Curator
digitalZENDO

To Take Refuge

"To take refuge in Buddha means to are refuge in what you really are. What you really are is already attained, always, every moment. What you really are is Buddha. You don't have to work at what you are. Part of what you are is what you think you are, but what you think you are is not all of what you are. It is just an aspect of what you are."

Tenshin Reb Anderson, Roshi
Excerpt | Being Upright - Zen Meditation and the Bodhisattva Vows

Abiding Calmness

"What is meant by sitting in meditation and calmness? Meditation means to be free from all characteristics externally; calmness means to be unperturbed internally. If there are characteristics outside and the inner mind is not disturbed, One's original nature is naturally pure and calm."

Eno Daikan Zenji
Excerpt | The Platform Sutra

Embrace Your Self With Compassion

If we get down on ourselves and use the invisible baseball bat, how is it that we are improving upon our Zen practice? It can be interesting to observer how our mind can come up with things that under-cut our self-esteem, self-worth and self-value. Let's make an effort not to do that today. In showing love and compassion towards ourself, perhaps we are better able to support and be with others.

Namaste'

Jaye Morris Curator
digitalZENDO

What Will We Give?

I was talking with a friend last night about an event that they attended that was spiritual in nature. They told me how bad it was and that it basically stunk to high heavens and that it did not live up to their expectations. After listening for a while, I asked him what I thought was a valid question. I asked "what did you do to make the situation better?" There was a pause on the other end of the phone. Then he asked, "what do you mean?" I asked, "how did you reach out to people? What did you contribute and give to the situation? You've been around the organization for 16 or 17 years, that makes you a steward."

At that he said, "oh wow - I never thought of that. I was walking around with all these expectations, acting as though I was a king. I messed up by ignoring those that came before me and in doing so, I wasn't a very good steward at all." Then I told him, "but you did learn something important." He asked "what was that?" I responded, "you learned where you erred."

Many times we walk into a situation looking for what we can get. Maybe we could attempt something a little different and look for opportunities to give and make things better, not only for ourselves but the others around us. Imagine.

Jaye Morris, Curator
digitalZENDO

Thanksgiving Day

Happy Thanksgiving Day. It's a moment and opportunity to express and share in the notion of "community." Thanksgiving day reflects an important fact that we are all somehow (mysteriously) interconnected. What better way that to "break bread together," share stories and perhaps have a laugh together. Today is a rea opportunity to make some deposits in the emotional bank account of family and friends. Gotta go and help Deb cook the Turkey! Talk with you soon.


Namaste'

Jaye Morris, Curator
digitialZENDO

The One That You Are

"Have good trust in yourself -- not in the One that you think you should be, but in the One that you are."

Maezumi Zenji Dai Osho

Object of Faith

"Believing in Buddha as an object of faith actually means believing in your True Self. Faith means simply believing in your true self, your original nature: you are already Buddha!

Zen Master Seung Sahn
Excerpt | The Compass of Zen

Raising The Dead

I like to think that we have the ability to raise the dead. What I mean by this is that there are moments or instances when we or others appear alone, angry, frustrated, depressed or even confused. It's like feeling emotionally numb or dead. Those can be tough moments and we feel trapped in a quicksand that can consume our very life and sense of well being.

When those moments occur, if we share compassion, hope, life purpose, kindness or friendship, as well as acting in trust and do other things which so positive support, it's then that we are breathing life into the dead. I find this applies not only to others, but ourselves as well. By these or other similar acts, we can influence people out of those dim places and bring them out of their emotional coma. I believe that those on the path do that for each other, if for no other reason than there is nothing else that we could do, when confronted with a situation like that.

Conversely I have noticed that I have to be careful not to speak or act in ways that I am influencing people (including myself) into that emotional coma. Sometimes I catch myself saying some unsupportive things to myself or others. Here's a few examples. "That was dumb. There's no way that you can get that done. I failed at that before and I probably won't be able to succeed this time either. I'm so angry with myself, I deserve to fail." For some reason those negative messages come easy, for many of us. Probably because they come from a place where our mind is somehow divided. For this reason I've been making an effort not to speak negativity into myself or others. This has become an interesting aspect of my Zen practice.

Lets Take Good Care of Each Other,

Jaye Morris, Curator
digitalZENDO

Small can be really big

I was thinking this morning on the story of Buddha holding up a single flower. In doing so the gesture expressed all Dharma. My mind then reflected on Gutei Zenji and how he would hold up a single finger, and so as Buddha expressed all Buddha Dharma that he did too. Something so small reflecting something so big, even more profound as Einstein's E=MC2. Beautiful.

Later this morning, i was helping my daughter clean up her room. Just by the small act of vacuuming the floor, the entire room looked and felt different, to me. I asked my daughter if she noticed the Zen teaching. She replied, "the floor is clear?" I said, "yeah, isn't it nice." Internally the sentence "things are not as they appear, nor are they otherwise," from the Lankavatara sutra appeared in my mind.

Yes, the floor is clear and perhaps the rest of the universe as well." To me it was like her room decided to hold up a single finger and I recognized the unfortunate problem for myself is that at this time I can only understand perhaps only 1/1000th of what the room is really saying. I'm still just hitting around the edges. Perhaps by my "small" day to day efforts, eventually I may understand not just the room but Gutei's finger and maybe even Shakyamuni Buddha's holding up a single flower. Small really is very big and the big things are often very small.

Happy Sunday,

Jaye Morris, Curator
digitalZENDO

Live It!

"Be single-minded. Be purposeful. Be focused. Know who you are and what you truly want. Be conscious. Be aware. Formulate your purpose into words. Etch it on your heart. Repeat it in your mind. And above all, live it and live it and live it."

Hugh Prather
Excerpt | 365 Thoughts

Sticking With This Moment

Often, I have a lot of things that require my attention and time. I've gotten into the habit of "multi-tasking," in the hopes that I can get more done and be "efficient." Last night, I was hanging out with my oldest daughter, playing Guitar Hero III (great tunes on that one). Instead of mentally multi-tasking, I decided not to leave the moment with her. We played and laughed and there was nothing outside of that space. Later that night I had an opportunity to to spend time with my younger daughter. She just wanted to lay in my lap and watch TV. Sometimes she would just reach out, rub my face or head and just start laughing. Eventually Deb came in and we just spent time and again I decided to stay in the moment and leave all the other stuff out "there" somewhere.

What I learned by this experience is that there is a clear difference sometimes in being efficient and being effective. Effective in this sense is defined as being emotionally available. To stay with our moments and allow the distractions and background noise to pass like a cloud against the clear sky creates a window of opportunity. The opportunity to be genuinely intimate with others and ourselves. No gaps. No Separation. By doing this on a regular basis, how clear or happy could our moments be?

Happiness,

Jaye Morris, Curator
digialZENDO

Our Life is not a Test

"Stop acting as if life is a rehearsal. Live this day as if it were your last. The past is over and gone. The future is not guaranteed."

Wayne Dyer, PhD.

Without Struggle

When I am facing challenges in my life that are particularly difficult or not going very well, it's easy to get lost in a forrest of frustration, anxiety and discouragement. This is the nature of being deluded, I suppose. But then there is a line that can pull me back, that came from a sitting when I was younger.

Though the wind, rain and clouds may come,
no where does the sun fail to shine,
In his great Universe.

And when I think on those words, I remember that what ever struggle that I am facing, there is something beyond it that is "not-struggle." There is a clarity free of fear, anger, frustration and delusion." But the reality is that I have to step into that place and moment, so that I can be free.

Gassho,

Jaye Morris, Curator
digitalZENDO

Can you express Mu?

Recently I caught a teisho (place where the truth is) by Ganjo Marinello Osho from Choboji on "Joshu's Say's Mu." Wow, wow, wow. No matter what adjectives that I use to describe its impact on me, they would fall short by an incalculable distance. This is a must listen. Though it's 23 minutes 57 seconds long, my guess is that it will leave a deep and lasting impression on you.

If you are interested in listening to it, download it from the iTunes "Podcasting" section. Please keep in mind that to enjoy Podcasts, you don't really need an iPod. At a minimum, you just need iTunes and a set of speakers (though I must admit, being able to move around with your content is a very nice thing to have in your pocket).

Enjoy,

Jaye Morris, Curator
digitalZENDO

Influencing our Life

"Our future may lie beyond our vision, but it is not completely beyond our control. It is the shaping impulse of America that neither fate nor nature nor the irresistible tides of history, but the work of our own hands, *mattached to reason* and *principle*, that will determine our destiny. There is pride in that, even arrogance, but there is also experience and truth. In any event, it is the only way we can live."

Robert F. Kennedy
Excerpt | Speech made to youths in South Africa, 1966

I Got Your Message

Mahatma Ghandi once said, "My life is my message." If we are regularly gossiping about people, that's our message. If we are just sitting around all the time watching TV, that's our message. If we are speaking or acting in anger that's our message. If we are acting in caring and loving ways towards ourselves and others, that's our message. If we practice Zazen, that's our message, and on and on it goes.

In every moment of every day, whether we like it or not, we are transmitting a message. Sometimes it's healthy. Other times it's not. But the important thing to remember is that it *IS* our message and no one else's. It can be very useful to consider what we are living and projecting, as we navigate through our day.

Namaste'

Jaye Morris, Curator
digitalZENDO

Beyond the Blame Game

I've been having a tough couple of days and feeling a little (or a lot) bummed out. This morning I was reading and came across this passage and the words where direct enough to shift my mind out of the fog that it has been in.

“All blame is a waste of time. No matter how much fault you find with another, and regardless of how much you blame him, it will not change you. The only thing blame does is to keep the focus off you when you are looking for external reasons to explain your unhappiness or frustration. You may succeed in making another feel guilty about something by blaming him, but you won't succeed in changing whatever it is about you that is making you unhappy.”

Wayne W. Dyer PhD.

In This Very Moment

Instead of looking back over our shoulder at our past or projecting our mind into the future and fantasizing about what might be, there is another alternative. The alternate choice is to stretch our entire being and consciousness into this very moment. To be very present and to have no gaps, no separation, filling the present as we fill a container with water. In doing this, it very well might change the quality of how we experience our life.

May Your Life Go Well,

Jaye Morris, Curator
digitalZENDO

The Mind that Ceases to be Deluded

With a wish to free all beings
I shall always go for refuge
to the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha,
until I reach full enlightenment.

Enthused by wisdom and compassion,
today in the Buddhas' presence
I generate the Mind for Full Awakening
for the benefit of all sentient beings.

As long as space remains,
as long as sentient beings remain,
may I too remain
and dispel the miseries of the world.

H.H. The Dali Lama

Purify Your Heart

When I was living at Dai Bosatsu Zendo, Eido Roshi would sometimes say, "Purify your heart." Other times he would say, "Purify your being." How do we do this? What does this really mean? Practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, every moment of every day and we will eventually find out.

Instead of talking about our beliefs, it's about how do we live up to them. Another time as we sat in the Dharma Hall, Eido Roshi stated, "If you cannot enter the village with helping hands, I say stop practicing Zen all-together, because you are wasting your time." If all being is fundamentally Buddha (awakened), there can be no gaps, no separation. Why hold back and try to keep it for ourselves? Purify your heart, breath after breath.

Gassho,

Jaye Morris, Curator
digitalZENDO

The Power of Thought

"All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think we become."

Siddhartha Gautama Buddha

Upside-down

"Because of our upside-down views, we look at trivial matters and believe they are essential, and we look at essential matters and think they are trivial. This is completely upside-down. So we must try to make that upside-down view right-side-up. Only then, as the Heart Sutra says, will we discover Nirvana. And Nirvana is nowhere else but in this inhalation; in this exhalation."

Eido Shimano Roshi