shojiwax
That human beings are the only species (so far as we know) that can know it is a manifestation of the entire cosmos opens up a possibility that may need to be embraced if we are to survive the crises that now confront us. We can choose to work for the well-being of the whole, […]
Chapter 1. Standing up was tricky, but I steadied myself. It felt like someone else’s prosthetic leg had been left propped up under my hip, but otherwise I was good. Along with the others in the group I did a small bow from the hip. A gentle turn to the left. It’s going to be […]
I have noticed lately how each of my days have become inextricably opened and closed by the passage of the sun. Always a morning person I guess, apart from a couple of years spent vigorously exploring a more nocturnal emphasis to my day that (strange as it may seem) coincided pretty much exactly with moving […]
In performing a ritual one has a role. Different people may perform the same ritual and each will do it slightly differently according to differences of body and mind, but the important thing is the rite itself. In order to give a competent performance of the rite one has to let body and mind fall […]
Thomas Merton (1915-1968) was an American Trappist monk. He was also a writer, a traveller, a social activist, a poet and a seeker of the contemplative life.He was intent on exploring interfaith dialogues and developed deep friendships with the Dalai Lama, and Zen monk Thích Nhất Hạnh. As well as writing on his own faith […]
For me, the biggest problem trying to live my life in the momentis that I always seem to turn up for it 20 minutes early.
I have been meditating regularly for quite a few years now. I usually sit Zazen (Zen meditation) for 1 hour most mornings. Dawn is the best time for me. There is something about the stillness and the quality of the light first thing that I find very conducive to quieting down and settling into a […]
As you may or may not know, I am a practitioner of Zen Buddhism. As part of an online course I am participating in, I am slowly working my way through a study of the Heart Sutra (sutra is Sanskrit for “thread”). This sutra is chanted daily by buddhist practitioners all over the world.
