theyllonlycarewhenyourgone asked: How do i make a 'ask me anything' box on my page?
No idea, friend. Not a techie….. Good travels…..
90-day intensive Winter Kyol Che is now concluded. A great schedule, with wake up every day at 1:40 am, 10 hours of formal sitting practice, daily bowing-meditation, a Dharma Hall of chanting Zen monks at the lunch offering ceremony, chanting during meals, no dinner, no break days for three months, absolutely no leaving the temple, no Internet, no speaking. By skipping dinner, I could squeeze in an hour and forty minutes of Ashtanga Vinyasa every single day. In the days of cleanup when I ended silence-practice, someone assisting asked to make a “postcard from the end of retreat.” Here it is, above great Songgwang Sa Temple, one of the Three Jewel Temples of Korean Buddhism, and recognized as having the strictest training regimen in the country.
For the many who have written, to enquire about the Winter Intensive, and returning to Europe: No words, just this partial view, which obscures more than it clarifies. But you ask, and somehow one must sometimes reply.
1 month ago - 
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3 Perhaps the truest piece of “religious” imagery ever installed: the altar in the Zen Hall of ancient Songgwang Sa (송광사), where I participated in the 90-day Winter Intensive. Candles, incense burner, water, and — in the position of the Buddha’s seat — the mirror, pointing always back to the self, to the viewer whoever views it, whether male or female, “sinner” or “saint,” “holy” or “unholy,” gay or straight or vegetarian or meat-eating or progressive or conservative or vegan or sex-crazed or generous or intelligent or stupid or Christian or Buddhist or Muslim or atheist or able-bodied or physically-challenged, whether coarse or refined, “Buddha” means reflect this world as-it-is, moment, before-thinking-mind: When a red ball comes before it, red appears; when a white ball comes, white. “The Great Round Mirror has no likes or dislikes.” Better than religion, this altar, because it only teaches “moment.”
90-day intensive Winter Kyol Che is now concluded. A great schedule, with wake up every day at 1:40 am, 10 hours of formal sitting practice, daily bowing-meditation, a Dharma Hall of chanting Zen monks at the lunch offering ceremony, chanting during meals, no dinner, no break days for three months, absolutely no leaving the temple, no Internet, no speaking. By skipping dinner, I could squeeze in an hour and forty minutes of Ashtanga Vinyasa every single day. In the days of cleanup when I ended silence-practice, someone assisting asked to make a “postcard from the end of retreat.” Here it is, above great Songgwang Sa Temple, one of the Three Jewel Temples of Korean Buddhism, and recognized as having the strictest training regimen in the country.
Meeting with His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, Yokohama, Japan, November 5, 2012…. We had a wonderful conversation on a wide range of issues. The video should be posted soon.
Our Brains Can Be Logical and Compassionate -- Just Not at the Same Time
This is a truly fascinating article: Zen teaching is proven by brain scans. Just keep a don’t-know mind, and compassionate action appears by itself. Too much thinking actually blocks compassion.
6 months ago - 1
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Autumn Zen Retreat in Regensburg (Kallmünz, Bayern), Munich Zen Center 불이선원, October 24-28, 2012.
Two weeks ago, had surgery to remove this much metal from my right ankle. Have been carrying it around for a year, through daily Zen sittings and several intensive Ashtanga retreats. Today, the stitches are finally out. Tomorrow, return to the yoga mat after two weeks’ separation; this week, begin an intensive Zen retreat in the mountains….
Bliss!
This eightfold path of yoga describes the Hatha yoga we practice:
- Yama- non-violence, truth, non-stealing, non-lust, non-possessiveness, honesty
- Niyama- purity, contentment, austerity, study of sacred text, awareness of divine
- Asana- postures, exercise positions
- Pranayama- life force or energy
- Pratyahara- withdrawal of the senses
- Dharana- concentration
- Dhyana- uninterrupted meditation
- Samadhi- absolute bliss, enlightenment
