Jundo
01-03-2018, 05:57 PM
Dear All,
Well, I am about done with my first, full length book ...
LETTERS FROM DOGEN
A 13th Century Zen Master's Wisdom for People Today
I am content with the result so far, but it needs the hand of a book editor with professional experience. It is not a small book. I have taken several sections of Shobogenzo, turned them into letters, added commentary and tried to make them relevant for modern people. A sample (from Fukanzazengi):
Next, Dogen explains the mental attitude of Zazen, which is to not judge, to not get mentally tangled thinking about things, people and events in life or in one’s surroundings. Just let them be, leave them alone, during the time of sitting Zazen.
Forsake all delusive relationships, put aside all involvements. Set everything aside, think of neither good nor bad, right or wrong. Do not get tangled in inner images, thoughts and reflections.
This is very important. We human beings, from morning until night, are constantly judging things in life and thinking about people and events, real and imagined. We think about what happened yesterday with joy or regret, we worry about what might happen tomorrow, we plan our busy today with so many places to go and people to see. We judge the people in our life as friend or enemy or in between, and we judge the things in our life as acceptable or unacceptable to us, as things we like or things we detest or things we don’t care much about.
Zazen is just a break from all that!
First, when sitting, stop judging things, and just let them be what they are. I like to tell new students about rainy days and sunny days Usually in life, we have opinions about so many things, even rainy days and sunny days. For example, if you are a farmer, you might welcome a rainy day to water your fields, but if you are planning a picnic then a rainy day might ruin your plans. We have opinions and feelings about so many things in life. However, when sitting Zazen we keep a different attitude When sitting Zazen, we sit with the attitude “rain is just rain, sun is just sun,” each just what it is. We view each with equanimity. In fact, we welcome each in its own time, putting aside judgments of good or bad.
Why?
Well, all of life is rainy days and sunny days. For example, we like to be healthy, but we don’t like to be sick. We like to be young, resist to get old. We welcome happy times like the birth of a child, we cry at sad times when a loved one dies. We like when things go our way, we resist or detest when we lose. Buddha (the man) called this “Dukkha,” which is “suffering” in its Buddhist meaning. Namely, when we want X, but life gives us some Y that is unwelcome, the gap arising in our disappointed desires creates mental resistance and upset that is suffering. Our Zazen practice closes that gap.
Namely, when sitting Zazen, sick days are just sick days, healthy days are just healthy days. When young, just be young, and when growing old, just be old. When there is birth, let there be birth, and at the time of death, there is the time of death. All is just what it is. In the mindset of Zazen, rainy days are just rainy, sunny days just sunny. Even if there is a terrible flood or drought, the flood is just the flood, the drought is just the drought.
This is the equanimity of Buddha.
Because of the size of this project, and the relevance (I hope) to this Sangha, I believe I might be able to persuade our donations committee that some reasonable compensation should be provided to the editor for their work. However, it will still require an act of love and generosity on the editor's part, as compensation will be limited.
Please email or pm me if you are interested. Many thanks in advance.
Gassho, Jundo
SatTodayLAH
Well, I am about done with my first, full length book ...
LETTERS FROM DOGEN
A 13th Century Zen Master's Wisdom for People Today
I am content with the result so far, but it needs the hand of a book editor with professional experience. It is not a small book. I have taken several sections of Shobogenzo, turned them into letters, added commentary and tried to make them relevant for modern people. A sample (from Fukanzazengi):
Next, Dogen explains the mental attitude of Zazen, which is to not judge, to not get mentally tangled thinking about things, people and events in life or in one’s surroundings. Just let them be, leave them alone, during the time of sitting Zazen.
Forsake all delusive relationships, put aside all involvements. Set everything aside, think of neither good nor bad, right or wrong. Do not get tangled in inner images, thoughts and reflections.
This is very important. We human beings, from morning until night, are constantly judging things in life and thinking about people and events, real and imagined. We think about what happened yesterday with joy or regret, we worry about what might happen tomorrow, we plan our busy today with so many places to go and people to see. We judge the people in our life as friend or enemy or in between, and we judge the things in our life as acceptable or unacceptable to us, as things we like or things we detest or things we don’t care much about.
Zazen is just a break from all that!
First, when sitting, stop judging things, and just let them be what they are. I like to tell new students about rainy days and sunny days Usually in life, we have opinions about so many things, even rainy days and sunny days. For example, if you are a farmer, you might welcome a rainy day to water your fields, but if you are planning a picnic then a rainy day might ruin your plans. We have opinions and feelings about so many things in life. However, when sitting Zazen we keep a different attitude When sitting Zazen, we sit with the attitude “rain is just rain, sun is just sun,” each just what it is. We view each with equanimity. In fact, we welcome each in its own time, putting aside judgments of good or bad.
Why?
Well, all of life is rainy days and sunny days. For example, we like to be healthy, but we don’t like to be sick. We like to be young, resist to get old. We welcome happy times like the birth of a child, we cry at sad times when a loved one dies. We like when things go our way, we resist or detest when we lose. Buddha (the man) called this “Dukkha,” which is “suffering” in its Buddhist meaning. Namely, when we want X, but life gives us some Y that is unwelcome, the gap arising in our disappointed desires creates mental resistance and upset that is suffering. Our Zazen practice closes that gap.
Namely, when sitting Zazen, sick days are just sick days, healthy days are just healthy days. When young, just be young, and when growing old, just be old. When there is birth, let there be birth, and at the time of death, there is the time of death. All is just what it is. In the mindset of Zazen, rainy days are just rainy, sunny days just sunny. Even if there is a terrible flood or drought, the flood is just the flood, the drought is just the drought.
This is the equanimity of Buddha.
Because of the size of this project, and the relevance (I hope) to this Sangha, I believe I might be able to persuade our donations committee that some reasonable compensation should be provided to the editor for their work. However, it will still require an act of love and generosity on the editor's part, as compensation will be limited.
Please email or pm me if you are interested. Many thanks in advance.
Gassho, Jundo
SatTodayLAH