To follow the pain

[Hans]

Hello,




thank you for letting me express myself.


May all find peace, no matter when, no matter where. Svaha!


Gassho,

Hans Chudo Mongen

[Shugen]

Thank you Hans. You've given much to consider in my practice.

Gassho


Shugen

[Mp]

Thank you Hans ... I enjoyed that.

Gassho
Michael

[Jinyo]

Hi Hans - I think you've expressed in a nutshell what practice is aimed towards.

Zen has nothing to offer our natural states of altruism/care - this is what comes easy. Changing what we kick/rail against - whether by inward thought or outward action seems to be the point.

In any situation, when the anger transforms, the empathy increases, the flexibility loosens - we have a real sense of change.

Action can bring about mental change, mental change can bring about action. The focus of this is pain - the suffering within ourselves reflecting the suffering of the world. This is all one.

And this is not only Zen. The I and Thou of Martin Buber, the quest toward actualizing unconditional love within the trials of life laid out by Christ, the faith demanded by Levinas that requires us to believe that love without reward is valuable.


A light to guide us comes from so many sources of experience and knowledge.


Perhaps the faith required here - at Tree Leaf - is that the light of Zen also shines brightly.


Gassho


Willow

[Heisoku]

Yeah some of the stuff that pops up is a surprise but I always remember what Buddha said,' The past is a memory, the future is unknown, now is the knowing.' This helps get me through memories and thoughts that have created their own cycles. Thank you Hans for bringing this up, this is the work place of zazen.

[Nindo]

Thank you Hans, well said.

[Yugen]

Hans,
Your talk touches something deep and raw in my practice. I am on the edge of something; whether it is realization of all my projections of the world around me; my complacency, the narrative of my life I have created - my practice is very unsettling right now -it is not the reassuring presence of calmness or haven I have sought - it is the nakedness of uncertainty of what lies ahead; the unfamiliarity of myself - Am I ready to leave the comfort of my emotional surroundings, do I have a choice? I will listen to your talk again... thank you and a deep bow

Yugen

[richss]

Thanks for sharing these thoughts with us.


Gassho,

Richard

[Nenka]

Pow!!

Thanks for this, Hans. It's a keeper.

Gassho

Jen

[Myozan Kodo]

Hans,
Thank you for your teaching. Much to sit with.
Gassho
Myozan

[Kyonin]

Dear Mongen,

You hit the spot in a lot of levels on this deluded mind. Yes, our practice is to be about action, not just reading or sharing nice images on Facebook.

And facing our inner dragons to set us free.

Thank you,

Kyonin

[Onken]

Beautiful!

[Kaishin]

Thank you, Hans. Much to digest.

_/\_

[glow]

Thank you Hans. Something I have been thinking deeply about due to situations that are occuring in my life right now.

Gassho,

Glow

[Myoku]

Strong stuff, thank you Mongen,
_()_
Myoku

[Myoku]

Hello everyone,
just yesterday I read a bit which fits pretty well here. Its from the book Taigu recommeded "Zen Questions" from Taigen Dan Leighton, chapter Hongzhi, Dogen and the background of Shikan Taza, the "The Trap of Passivity" part, i quote only a tiny fraction of it:

"Just sitting can indeed sometimes degenerate into dull attachment to inner bliss state, with no responsiveness to the suffering to the surrounding world."

and just a few sentences later

"The meditation advocated by both Hongzhi and Dogen is firmly rooted in the bodhisattva path and its liberating purpose of assisting and awakening beings. Mere idle indulgence in peacefulness and bliss is not the point"

Gassho
Myoku

[Kyotai]

Thank you Hans. Very direct, but what I certainly needed to here.

Gassho

Shawn