Zen as Embodiment (6) - All the World's Suffering
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A moment of Zazen, without our doing more, without need for a thought ...
... inhales and embodies all the suffering of the world, not merely our own, but that of all sentient beings everywhere ...
... all the ego and anger, war and violence, divided thinking, grudges, addictions, excess ambitions, rabid needs to dominate, dishonesty, manipulation, stinginess, pessimism, hostility, abuse, degradation, sexual harming, humiliation, jealousy, gluttony, cruelty, unkindness, indifference, rage, hard-heartedness, vindictiveness, prejudice, hypocrisy, mercilessness and all the rest ... the hungry children, the homeless, the oppression and injustice, the warming planet, the disease and wars ...
... and without any doing or need for thought ... from the still still point at the center ...
... embodies and exhales the medicine for all the suffering of the world ...
... exhaling selflessness and calm, peace and friendship, union, agreement, equanimity, satisfaction, cooperation, honesty, harmony, generosity, optimism, fraternity, helpfulness, appreciation, love, respect, honor, healthful consumption, sympathy, kindness, caring, ease, soft-heartedness, forgiveness, fairness, truthfulness, mercy ... feeding the children, providing safe homes, offering freedom and justice, nurturing the planet, treating the disease, ending the war.
Then, getting up from the cushion, it is time to get busy, to think and do again ...
... in every thought, word and act, bringing to life and making real all the selflessness and calm, peace and friendship ... cooperation, honesty and harmony ... healthful consumption, sympathy and kindness, and all the rest ... working hard together to feed the hungry, house the poor, reform social injustices, clean the planet, cure the disease and end all war.
This is our Zazen practice, on and off the cushion.
(An image of a Buddha Statue from a Zen temple in Hiroshima, partially melted during the atomic bombing)
https://www.bu.edu/art/files/2015/07...-web-image.jpg
https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/photography/2020/08/the-elusive-horror-of-hiroshima
Gassho, J
STLah
Zen as Embodiment (6) - All the World's Suffering
I have practiced Tonglen with Kokuu’s group and listened to Perma Chodrin on You Tube many times. I subscribe to her on You Tube. I’ve learned a lot, but I’m far from an authority.
Gassho
st / lah
Tai Shi no
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