In this episode Zen Buddhist monk Claude AnShin Thomas works with following questions. This episode was recorded during a zoom questions&response session with a German-speaking audience.

For more interesting information: https://zaltho.org/ If you want to ask a question: [email protected] Want to read up on this topic? Book recommendations:

• Bringing Meditation to Life - 108 Teachings on the Path of Zen Practice
• AT HELL'S GATE - A Soldier's Journey from War to Peace (Shambhala Publications 2003)

https://zaltho.org/en/media/books.html

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1) Q: I notice when in meditation that I come in contact with strong emotions. like Hatred and Discuss.

 R: Good.

Q: What do I do?

R: There is nothing to do. just be present to them.  When we slow down, like we do here. feelings and thoughts that we avoid through activity begin to show themselves. it is those thoughts and feelings that we attempt to avoid that really run our lives.  ***

2) Q: I suddenly feel old. I feel like I’ve seen it before and heard it before. life seems to become more and more boring.

 R: I guess you need to learn how to be bored. Seriously, because we all are grasping after stimulation. to avoid this sense of boredom. and never get to experience what is under neath the boredom. just be bored.  Because in truth… existence is ANYTHING but boring if I am present to it. This who idea of boredom is really a product of over stimulation. from escaping endlessly.  ***

3) Q.  What is the sense of a homeless retreat?

The sense of a retreat like this, you would gather through attendance.…I lived homeless for 2 year. I lived in an abandoned car in an ally way.. I lived outside 24 hours a day. from '70-'72. ***

4) Q.  Today when you meet a “junkie” or a beggar how do you respond?

1. It depends… I do not have a fix response to this. Its about the interaction….AnShin goes into different senecios in which he has experienced and how he response.

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5) Q:Is There a more concrete way that you work with the drug addicted like you do with war veterans?

 R: Yes.  It is really up to the individual and if they want their lives to be different… (AnShin goes on to talk about a personal example and his own experience with drug addiction and recovery)

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