tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64999504248238728092012-01-31T21:30:38.401+09:00"You should be like a frog always. That is true zazen." Shunryu Suzuki RoshiZafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.comBlogger631100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-21059643459966816362012-01-29T14:25:00.000+09:002012-01-29T14:25:58.180+09:00

After zazen every Sunday morning we go to the temple hondo to recite sutras. Each month has a new sutra from the Sotoshu standard sutra book. The Heart Sutra is the sutra we recite in January. After reciting the main sutra we also recite Fuekou (普回向), so I included it too. At the beginning you can hear some of the old folks taking a moment or two to get into time. It was 6am and just above

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-46701388636736442512012-01-26T14:48:00.002+09:002012-01-26T14:52:20.174+09:00

Empty your mind of thoughts, and that what you think you are will disappear. That what you really are will be all that remains.

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-1969836956177553662012-01-15T09:12:00.002+09:002012-01-15T12:20:15.181+09:00

When we sit in zazen we ignore the ramblings of our brain. You see, the brain produces thoughts like the arse produces farts. That's what what brains and arses do. They can't help it, so we shouldn't curse them for it. The skill of zazen, whether we are practicing on the zafu or going about our daily business, is to not get caught up in our brain farts. This is also true with regards to the

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-55964411650811257412012-01-05T12:26:00.001+09:002012-01-05T12:27:07.132+09:00

Here's a great report by the BBC on the merits of 'mindful meditation', or as we call it, zazen. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-16406814

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-71842190642355526412012-01-04T00:13:00.000+09:002012-01-04T00:13:02.762+09:00

If my understanding about zazen is right, then we are trying to kill ourselves on the cushion. Well, what I mean by ourselves is the intellectually manufactured self, the egoic self. If you think for a moment about the machinations of the egoic self when challenged in our daily lives, how hurt it becomes, how angry it can become when it's attacked or criticised, then surely it's easy to

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-64486087744874635382011-12-30T18:49:00.002+09:002011-12-30T18:49:26.808+09:00

Recent conversation I had with a waitress in a restaurant. "Excuse me, I ordered vegetable curry, but there's chicken in this." Waitress, "But there are vegetables in it too." You know, I'd prefer to ask for a vegetarian curry, but I'm scared they'll serve me a curried vegetarian.

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-35510804227286641512011-12-28T22:06:00.002+09:002011-12-29T11:55:07.636+09:00

“All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone”  ― Blaise Pascal 1623-62 Sometimes when I'm on the cushion, or thinking about getting on it, I think that maybe I should be doing something else more productive. But in the cold light of day, I know there's nothing more productive that zazen. That's some statement, eh? So what's behind it? What do I mean by

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-13166048814325730732011-12-23T20:00:00.001+09:002011-12-23T20:00:00.838+09:00

The holidays have started and I have as a goal, before returning to work, to learn The Heart Sutra in Japanese so that I can recite it along with the people in my zazen group at the temple. Once I learn it, I will get a mokyugo and floor bell and practice keeping time. I just need to find a sword with which to slay the beast of procrastination. It has its teeth permanently embedded in my arse.

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-70407335519635982602011-10-20T23:18:00.001+09:002012-01-29T14:48:15.261+09:00

I once heard an old Buddhist saying which goes like this: To be happy, find out what you should be doing, and do it. Today I realised that my life has been a history of not doing what I should have been doing, and the sorrow that has emanated from that.

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-80452942128123950892011-10-10T21:49:00.000+09:002011-10-10T21:51:25.337+09:00

Tonight while I was doing the dishes I was composing a poem in my head which I would post on Facebook. The poem was to be about mindfulness. It was to describe riding a bike at night and how I would be drawn into the experience because of its appealing nature, and how I would be like a bird flying, not thinking about past or future, but just being. Then, as I rinsed the last cup, I realised that

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-19713611620051046562010-10-23T17:21:00.001+09:002010-10-23T17:21:53.123+09:00

Well, I'm still struggling with this wall of noise between my ears. I know it shouldn't be a struggle, just a calm letting go, but I struggle with it. Sometimes I can sit so well, in utter silence of the mind, and then at other times it's as if there is a troop of chattering monkeys marauding around the inside of my head. My teacher said that the first step is to recognise the malaise of mind.

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-38914287412912916952010-08-25T12:49:00.002+09:002010-08-25T12:51:59.921+09:00

I finally got to visit Gudo Wafu Nishijima Roshi in recent days. An amazing man for his 90 years. He asked me to wait at a train station near his home in Tokyo and said he would come to meet me and bring me to his apartment. I was shocked when I saw him, tiny and bent double on his walking stick. I thought he'd be more spritely, given that he was happy to come to meet me. We greeted each other

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-27873093076689986562010-07-09T12:43:00.000+09:002010-07-09T12:43:23.188+09:00

I had a fortuitous and totally unexpected phone conversation with Nishijima-san, the Tokyo-based Soto monk and founder of Dogen Sangha. During our conversation I told him that I can't find a teacher and he offered to teach me and has invited me to Tokyo to meet him and "study Buddhism together". I have accepted his offer and I will make arrangements to go as see him hopefully some time this month.

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-30338214841225128372010-05-29T22:31:00.005+09:002010-05-31T08:38:29.902+09:00

I went to Eiheiji Nagoya Betsuin (永平寺名古屋別院) today in the hope that I could join their zazenkai, but I got the timing wrong, again, and there was no sitting. However, the monk at my usual temple told me that the zendo at Eiheiji Nagoya Betsuin is always open, so I asked if I could sit alone, but the monk I spoke to told me that I couldn't use the zendo and offered to let me sit in the hatto, the

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-17955086474159353232010-05-14T17:32:00.002+09:002010-05-14T19:06:25.029+09:00

I finally managed to get into the university zendo by myself today after my class finished. Now that I've done it, it seems that it won't be a problem to go every week. I brought my phone in to use as a timer, and I used it to take the photos, so they're not the best quality, but you'll get an idea of what the place looks like. What's really cool about it is that it's quite far from any roads, so

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-31985981208167196612010-05-12T19:30:00.002+09:002010-05-12T19:40:51.011+09:00

There is a zazenkai open to the public on the second Tuesday of every month at the Soto Zen university I teach at, and I went there yesterday. It was the second time I've been, the first time being well over a year ago, maybe two. I should point out that I don't teach in the Zen faculty, but in the English language faculty. It is a standard university, with history, maths, computer and language

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-26555756450123399012010-05-10T19:37:00.000+09:002010-05-10T19:37:49.450+09:00

This is the definition of Zen offered by the Aichi Gakuin University's Institute of Zen Studies in their introductory pamphlet. I liked it so much that I immediately thought of posting it here. It is as follows: 'Our daily life is under the complete influence of thoughts, ideas and conceptions, which are nothing but the outcome of the self-consciousness caused by various desires. The real

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-28807177335641912502010-05-05T19:35:00.001+09:002010-05-05T21:26:49.420+09:00

There's a Sotoshu university not too far from my house, just on the outskirts of Nagoya, and I've been lucky enough to secure a class there.　I'll be teaching every Friday morning and then I'll be free for the rest of the day, which means I can make use of the zendo. If you follow the above link you'll see that there's in Institute of Zen Studies at the university. So far I've not met anyone

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-81304441823390695802010-05-01T18:49:00.000+09:002010-05-01T18:49:40.340+09:00

I was hoping to join the Dogen Sangha retreat in Shizouka this weekend but life has conspired to keep me away from it. That's OK though, I'll be spending the time with my wife and kids, including a 7 hour return trip on Sunday, so it'll be a retreat in itself. If I can keep calm for the whole time I'll be proclaiming my achievement of Buddhahood to the world.

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-49086606604405626992010-03-08T14:11:00.001+09:002010-03-08T14:11:56.200+09:00

It's easier to sit for forty minutes during the weekly zazenkais than while sitting by myself in the zendo. There is peer pressure in the zazenkais. I don't want to move and disturb the others. Nor do I want to seem weak, troublesome, not a good practitioner. When sitting alone it is easier to fidget, sniff freely or even lift one buttock off the zafu to fart. However, it's also easier to get

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-77665396287866467762010-03-03T22:27:00.001+09:002010-03-03T22:27:27.523+09:00

Or so the saying goes. Right now, I'm feeling pretty shabby. I've a cold which I caught sitting in the zendo this last couple of mornings, and I'm tired, so much so that I'll be in bed in a few minutes, by 10:30pm.  I'll be at the zendo again in the morning, but dressed a bit warmer. We'd a couple of nice warm days recently so I wore my samue, but the last couple of days saw colder mornings.

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-54094770780473242772010-02-28T09:42:00.002+09:002010-03-01T09:16:52.960+09:00

It was Sunday zanzenkai this morning and the heavens had opened on us overnight. At 5:30am I woke up, 30 minutes overslept, with only 25 minutes to get to the bell and drum to signal the start of the sitting. Because I'm sitting at the temple every morning now my samue was laid out in the spare room in my house, so getting dressed took just a minute. A quick bowl of cereal, a check of the

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-81513782036438403212010-02-27T10:03:00.001+09:002010-02-27T10:45:22.136+09:00

I slept in this morning after going to bed too late last night after having a row with my wife for hogging the PC for most of yesterday. I was angry and rude to her last night and she didn't deserve it because she was right. My anger came about because I was caught lying. I was supposed to be doing research, not browsing aimlessly through the long list of Bookmarks on my browser. When she needed

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-30384787579897636062010-02-26T11:00:00.001+09:002010-02-26T11:01:21.445+09:00

I went to the temple 6:30am today to sit. It has been a grey, wet morning throughout, but the winter temperatures have left us and it's lovely and mild. I usually wear track bottoms and a top in winter, with several layers underneath to keep the cold from penetrating through to my skin, which it always manages to do, but from today I have started wearing my samue again, loose and light, very easy

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-91946844334863167872010-02-25T23:04:00.000+09:002010-02-25T23:04:17.807+09:00

The university holidays are very generous for me. I have two months off, so I'll be going to the zendo every morning for the next few weeks. I'll be alone, but that's fine by me. Sitting in the house in the morning is not an option given how frantic it is with the kids getting up. I'm off to bed now to get a good sleep before this new routine kicks off.

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-59207483720395350092010-01-10T09:00:00.004+09:002010-01-10T10:03:21.958+09:00

It's cold here and the Sunday morning zazenkais are becoming a test of physical endurance again. When we arrive at dawn at the temple everyone removes their socks, so everything is done barefooted. Thankfully this year there hasn't been snow, but it has been bitterly cold at 5:30am. I had a good sitting this morning. For fourty minutes I drifted in and out of imagined senarios, egoic dreams

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-68694871155813694132009-12-31T13:34:00.002+09:002010-01-10T09:02:14.162+09:00

So I got all geared up this morning to go get petrol in the motorbike as it was low for a couple of days. It's takes some time getting ready to ride in the winter, with several layers being put on, gloves, scarf tucked up under the helmet, big socks, boots etc.  I kissed my wife and kids goodbye, left the house, got to the bike, had forgotten my keys, went back into the house, got the keys,

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-20962477592398676502009-12-30T08:35:00.007+09:002009-12-31T12:41:35.725+09:00

The thought of not being a 'perfect' Zen practitioner used to drive me nuts. I wanted to be a fully fledged monk, maybe even with my own temple in Japan. The robes, the knowledge, lifestyle and all of that were important to me, but now they're not. They're not because I have a better understanding, and that's infinately more important than all of those things I just listed. This understanding is

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-31795207781765386142009-12-22T21:30:00.004+09:002009-12-22T21:44:42.546+09:00

So I went back on the caffeine. I'm not annoyed at myself and I don't think it's as bad as thought it was to drink caffeine and to practice. My initial motivation to stop drinking caffeine was that it stimulated my mind too much and my thinking became even more frantic than usual. However, I've gained a certain insight from direct experience which has lifted me above this misunderstanding.I have

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-28257246103012375692009-12-20T11:20:00.003+09:002009-12-20T11:29:45.566+09:00

I was driving home from work yesterday when I stopped at a set of traffic lights. A small Nissan car pulled up beside me driven by a young man. I noticed that the steering wheel had a pink cover on with red hearts dotted all over it. Immediately I scoffed at his crassness, his pathetic lack of taste. But then, as quickly as I had had that thought, I realised just how miserable my ego is that it

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-80015904203916586892009-12-15T22:50:00.005+09:002010-01-01T18:14:31.107+09:00

Some time before I found zazen I realised that my thinking was too frantic to be healthy. I was in my car for the daily commute to work and by habit had turned on the CD player to listen to some music as I drove. However, I never did actually listen to that music, not beyond the first few bars. At this particular moment in the car I realised that I was just creating noise in my head and that

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-16043717037847443382009-12-11T20:47:00.002+09:002009-12-11T20:56:12.929+09:00

I drifted quite a bit for a month or so. Barely sat at all and even missed my Sunday zazenkai a couple of times. Well, three times, but only one was because I just didn't want to go. The others were due to work commitments. I haven't touched this blog for weeks. I just lost myself in the noise of my mind, or, more like, let go and allowed myself to be deafened by it.These last few days I've been

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-44228322945341006622009-11-03T11:47:00.004+09:002009-11-03T11:58:34.542+09:00

This is a great documentary from Empty Mind Films. I'm sure you can work out what it's about, but it also gives a pretty good insight into life in Eiheiji and Sojiji temples, the two main Soto Zen temples in Japan. It's well worth a watch and you might be able to find it in full on the internet.

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-50515375964642500402009-11-02T20:46:00.007+09:002009-11-05T22:46:27.748+09:00

After eating we went back to our bedroom, drank tea and waited for the monks to return to take us to evening service. Again, I sat alone. As a matter of fact, no-one really spoke to each other at all, apart from a few mild greetings, a gassho at the tea urn, a nod when sitting down close to another. There were no chairs in the room so we had to sit on the floor. It was clear that people were

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-86780663681914840642009-09-29T21:32:00.006+09:002009-11-02T23:35:56.621+09:00

After finding new zafu and placing them on the tan where we sat, we were given a few minutes break to go into our rooms and drink some tea. Soon afterwards, a young monk came and told us to return to the zendo for the evening meal. I knew that eating in monasteries (oryoki) is not a straightforward affair, but I was unaware of just how complicated it actually is. Nishida-san and a host of young

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-33648108170471382632009-09-23T20:18:00.004+09:002009-11-02T23:36:27.670+09:00

Soon we were taken around and told the rules, manners and how tos of the toilet, washing area, zendo and hallway. In Soto Zen monasteries everyday tasks and choirs are considered sacred. Each time we passed the zendo we were to bow in gassho. We were to walk everywhere in shashu and greet everyone with gassho as we passed them or met them. Outside the toilet and senmenjo we were to bow in gassho

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-72793176894109237252009-09-11T21:11:00.009+09:002009-11-02T23:36:55.413+09:00

The sesshin in Eiheiji finished on Sunday, and my legs are still buggered. I meant to post a little earlier, but I kind of slumped this week after coming home. Certainly, Monday and Tuesday were recovery time, catching up on sleep and getting my body clock back on normal time. The rest of the week was a bit of a meander to be honest with not a lot constructive done. Anyroads, here's the

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-30230351297678334142009-09-01T12:16:00.003+09:002009-09-01T12:28:53.870+09:00

My sesshin is Eiheiji starts this week. I'll arrive there on Thursday morning and leave on Sunday morning. I have to say that I'm a little apprehensive as it looks like it will be a real test of endurance. I'm excited nonetheless. I don't have to bring much, just some clothes and washing stuff and a little money. Apparently I can rent the necessary robes there. I'd rather not use robes, just my

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-20040024065235056112009-08-26T10:21:00.002+09:002009-08-26T10:35:01.431+09:00

I was watching The Two Towers again last night for the first time in a couple of years. This scene passed me by the last time, but this time I couldn't help but notice the comparison of Gollum's predictament with my own, a clearer seeing awareness drowning under a deluded ego. Gollum's struggle in this scene is great, as his original self, Smeagal, struggles against and decisively uproots

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-5190639664952940592009-08-13T19:13:00.003+09:002009-08-13T19:22:22.869+09:00

I was on the loo earlier, listening to the thunder and the rain outside, when I heard a very faint, rythmic sound which sounded very like chanting to the beat of a mokyugo. Just a minute later the rain faded away and for sure I could hear someone chanting The Heart Sutra and hitting on a mukugyo.Then it dawned on me that it's the Obon festival here in Japan when families remember their past

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-135220439551555032009-08-12T20:26:00.006+09:002009-08-12T21:25:07.307+09:00

I was driving the car today with the family in tow, kids loud, 36 degrees and sweltering humidity, money tight and work needing done on the house and all was not well to be honest. I was under pressure for sure. At that point I thought of my practice and all that I have learned of late regarding attachment and the worry and anxiety that can result from it. Owning a house and having a family

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-68912486354773659452009-08-09T15:53:00.003+09:002009-08-09T16:02:07.157+09:00

Here is a great zazen intro video from a bunch of lovely folks called YogaGarden who have a shed load of stuff on YouTube. Some of you might find it of some value. I certainly did.

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-65525194249980554752009-08-09T09:13:00.005+09:002009-08-09T21:21:38.452+09:00

After some waiting, chin rubbing and a possible let-down, I heard today that I can attend a sesshin in Eiheiji temple, the head temple of the Soto Zen school. I visited there before as a tourist and it's a very beautiful place. I was able to see the training monks, albeit from a distance, going about some of their daily chores. There is a big visitors centre which holds retreats two or three

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-49155657522400416192009-08-08T20:41:00.005+09:002009-08-08T20:48:40.620+09:00

I was taught this little verse by an English anarchist about 18 years ago, standing side-by-side at a tulip bulb factory conveyor belt in Holland as thousands of bulbs shimmied past us while we selected the rotten ones for the trash. It always pops into my head now and again, but now I've come to see its deep truth shining through the lilting lyric.There is a rule that man's a fool,He wants it

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-37772882149653576542009-08-02T07:59:00.003+09:002009-08-02T08:12:56.531+09:00

Went to the temple this morning for zazen and when I turned up, I was the only one there. At first I thought it wasn't on and that I'd not understood the previous week, but after a few minutes someone else turned up who I hadn't seen there for months. So he and I were waiting with about 10 minutes to start when he put on robes which I thought were very strange for a zendo, the lower robes of a

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-64520540208925894682009-07-23T19:48:00.005+09:002009-07-23T21:51:12.632+09:00

I spent the day with a colleague who did me a major service. He is very egotistical. Everyone around him is at fault in one way or another. Nothing that anyone has ever done comes up to his standards. He spent today selecting various other colleagues (none of whom were there) and subjecting them to vitriol and character assassination, and when he wasn't doing that he was telling me about his many

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-15314328838410755972009-07-23T10:39:00.004+09:002009-07-23T10:56:02.705+09:00

Today I need to weed my moss garden. In summer new weeds appear daily it seems. At times I feel that I'm wasting my time as no sooner do I weed, new weeds start growing again. One time this thought came to me, but I remembered Dogen's advice about just doing something and finding the universe in it.Weeding seems like such a boring job, but when I am in practice, rather than utter delusion, being

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-29546797948244841212009-07-22T10:08:00.002+09:002009-07-22T11:17:50.425+09:00

Sooooo, I'm trying to sedate my sex drive. Or just ignore it. For years I have known it to be a cross between a tickle and an annoyance. Certainly, whilst I've had a lot of fun with sex, a fair amount of the wreckage surrounding me has been generated by inappropriate sex. I haven't taken the precepts, but I can see the inherent value of the one covering the dirty deed.I'm not going to be celebate

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-69884379129580761812009-07-09T22:20:00.004+09:002009-07-09T22:54:02.517+09:00

By far the most important thing that has happened to me since I started sitting and trying to live life mindfully, is that I don't have to listen to my nonsense as much. Of course, I lapse into the old ways of thinking, the sham fights with people in work and elsewhere, the grandiose imaginings, and the lamenting and cursing of my past. But not as much as before, when almost all of my thinking

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-114883504976350482009-07-08T08:57:00.003+09:002009-07-08T09:48:41.178+09:00

As I wrote in a previous post I found a zendo at a Soto Zen university which is 30 minutes by car from my house. I've only lived in this town for a couple of years, so I'm still getting to know the area. The university was established by Soto Zen practitioners and has a Faculty of Zen Studies. Here's a link to their website, which has an excellent instruction on how to do zazen.http://

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-36055279780117046232009-07-07T20:31:00.003+09:002009-07-07T20:47:23.713+09:00

Last night I watched Zen, the new Japanese movie about Dogen Zenji's life and work.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIsUy99yU6EIt has recently been released on DVD with English subtitles. The movie itself is quite good, despite some pretty ham acting and woeful special effects, especially the depiction of Dogen's enlightment when he shoots straight into the heavens on a computer generated lotus

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-23972443216587906122009-07-03T20:06:00.004+09:002009-07-03T22:46:03.424+09:00

I've spent the last week and a half slacking big time on sitting and generally staying present. I've not touched this blog despite spending dozens of hours in front of the computer, choosing instead to aimlessly browse and squander time playing on-line games, an escape route from reality on which I have spent far too many hours. I've been drowning in my past and fantasising about a glorious

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-65476110038394705802009-06-08T22:54:00.002+09:002009-06-08T22:58:10.768+09:00

Tomorrow I'll visit a new zazenkai on my way back from work. There is a Soto Zen university not too far from my house, but I've yet to be able to go there. Tomorrow, I'll finish teaching at a university at 4:10pm and the Soto university is en route to my home and around 30 minutes from by workplace. The zazenkai starts at 5pm. I'm hoping that I can build relationships with the people there and

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-27524207423554310932009-06-07T12:35:00.003+09:002009-06-07T13:59:26.304+09:00

There were very few at this morning's zazenkai, only five including the monk. Still and with all, we had enough to fulfil the drum and gong duties and afterwards we had a good chat and looked at the monk's photos of his pilgrimages to India, Tibet and Nepal to the various Buddhist centres.It was particularly pleasant in the zendo with fewer people there. We all sat spaced around the place so I'd

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-45103457235902738092009-06-06T18:56:00.005+09:002009-06-06T20:03:51.516+09:00

So it's zazenkai in the morning. There's a pretty decent Soto Zen temple close to my house which has been holding a Sunday morning sitting for many a year. No-one there speaks much English and my Japanese is weak, but we manage all the same. I can get basic instruction, but getting into the nitty-gritty of Buddhism is beyond our ability to communicate just yet.I'll get up at around 5am, have some

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-13590401156482820502009-06-06T10:27:00.002+09:002009-06-06T10:30:22.837+09:00

I'm being challenged this week for sure. First I had an attack of the piles, then dental pain, then I stopped the caffeine, which is still beating on me, and yesterday I knocked my back out. How do I rise above this I wonder? The tendency is to escape from the now given how bloody uncomfortable it is, but mindfulness is where I'm supposed to be going. Now I see just how far on this journey I have

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-68848701268705954922009-06-04T19:04:00.002+09:002009-06-04T19:12:36.338+09:00

This is the third time I've been here and I don't seem to have learned. I've stopped using caffeine accept to stop the headaches and I tried to sit last night and lasted just a few minutes before throwing in the towel. I'd one today before my last class (I teach university) as I didn't want to inflict my headache and irritiability on my students, but that's the only one I've had today. Now I'm

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-47164081011529190372009-06-02T10:01:00.003+09:002009-06-02T10:04:57.493+09:00

Before I started meditating I stopped using caffeine for two periods of over a year each. Now I'm back at it again and I'm wondering if it is effecting my ability to settle my mind during sitting and during my day generally. Certainly, I drink too much, but I find moderation very hard. I'm thinking about packing it in again.

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-89462369726500722992009-06-01T23:26:00.002+09:002009-06-01T23:33:17.444+09:00

Found this on YouTube. It's not too bad, giving a fair account of the life and ideas of Shakyamuni Buddha. Not too sure about the silly hair-do though. Watch out for the mysteriously appearing bun on the crown of his head immediately after his enlightment.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2NLQGrbf5U

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-2320217733984739152009-06-01T15:15:00.000+09:002009-06-01T16:56:42.466+09:00

I've been considering taking the precepts in Japan, but I haven't decided whether I should or not, nor do I know how to go about it. I have to be careful with myself. My ego draws lovely mental pictures of me with my head shaven, in full robes, looking the part, and people looking at me and saying, "Ooooh, aaaaah, a westerner monk, wow!" and I would feel all important whilst I hurtle in the

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-42626840880026260562009-06-01T08:01:00.000+09:002009-06-01T08:08:51.060+09:00

I reckon I should find a teacher, but I don't want anyone whacking me on the side of the head with a fan. The monk at the temple I sit in zazen at says that I'm doing well enough with my reading. His English is virtually non-existant as is my Japanese, so he can't be it just yet I think. One of the other sitters translates for us, but his English is not great either. The monk said, "Suzuki-san

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-72567229782766307282009-05-31T22:16:00.000+09:002009-06-01T16:55:44.277+09:00

I have no position on life after death and I struggle with the idea of reincarnation, but I heard a phrase recently which I have to say I like and it goes like this, "Death is not the opposite of life, it is the opposite of birth."

Zafu Frog, Japanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15629703674363715508noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6499950424823872809.post-87958785221685996502009-05-31T21:35:00.000+09:002009-05-31T21:59:52.148+09:00

I go to a zazenkai in a local temple every Sunday. For some time I've struck the drum and bell to mark the start of the sitting and a thick, rectagular, wooden gong called a mopan to signal the end.This week I was asked to strike another gong, only this one is made of metal and it doesn't chime very well. It's called an umpan, which is Japanese for cloud gong. I'm the only non-Japanese at the

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