Pine Wind Zen Community Audio

As the seasons change so do we. Being Present to Life-Changes is Being Present to the Life-Force which renews, rejuvenates, and sustains all life forms. If it feels like life is passing you by - where are you? Being Present is an inherent quality we knew as children and begin to lose as our conditioning redirects us away from life and toward an egocentric experience of life which is not the same, resulting in a fear driven experience of life. We can "re-learn to live fearlessly" as we did as children and with wisdom to meet any challenges change brings our way. Tonight Seijaku Roshi brings insights and inquiry to questions of Opening the Heart to Lifes-Changes and, Mindfulness Practices for the "Super Busy" as a means for laying the groundwork for sustainability and fulfillment.

Imagine that there was nothing lacking in your life? That you had everything you needed and the world was filled with endless possibilities? Real change begins by taking our focus off the Kardashians and iPhones to take a look at what's going on inside. It calls for aiming the light inward. And, although our culture may consider sitting quietly with ourselves as painfully unproductive, "going within" is a long-proven path to inner peace. It is how we learn to align our life choices and way of living with our deepest human values. It is the way we uncover our purpose. Ultimately, it is how we change the World.

What would your life look like if you were enough? If at this very moment you simply declared, "I am enough!" Most of us haven't a clue as to how much of life's opportunities are lost in the pursuit of more, better, and different. When we just give up the pursuit of persons, places, experiences, and things to fulfill us, and love ourselves right where we are, opportunities both imagined and never imagined present themselves. Clarity, Courage, and Vitality naturally surface.

As we approach a new training period at Pine Wind in Shamong NJ (Ango) in September, this evening Seijaku Roshi will talk about the meaning of Living a Zen Inspired Life, the life and offerings of a the Zen community, and the inclusive and diverse nature of Zen spirituality. Cantor Robert Esformes joins Seijaku Roshi in this talk.

Roshi's Teisho held at a half-day sitting.

"The Flower doesn't dream of the bee. It blossoms & the bee comes." Vision is the Mind of God - Buddha-Mind, that infinite moment right before, "Let there be Light." What you have forgotten is, "You are the Light!", and "BEING" is the lamp post. All the flower does is "be the flower", "it blossoms and the bee comes". We live in a culture obsessed with "doing" in order to "have". When we are "doing" to have happiness, peace of mind, self-love, compassion, we are not "being". All of Nature is "Being", not doing anything. Neither the "birds of the air or the lilies of the field", and no where is anything lacking.

So many things seem to demand our time and attention in any given day. However if we never give our fullest attention to our most Elementary Presence - Being Present to Here and Now with Intention, dissatisfaction only compounds. The Buddhist formula for "Happiness" includes "Right View and Right Intention", whenever we are being distracted we are not living "On Purpose", and not living "Intentionally". So much of our dissatisfaction is sourced in distraction. However living Mindfully and with Awareness we become a powerful force both in our lives and in the world.

The Principle of Identity is cause in the matter of one's life. It not only creates the energy and space for possibilities but literally defines what is possible. Having a clearly defined "personal mission" or "vision" for one's life and, being unconditionally true to your "vision" creates the ground for long term well-being and happiness. "My vision for you and me is that we know ourselves and never forget again. That our lives be an expression of that knowledge, rather than an endless and unfulfilling effort to fulfill someone else's vision and arrive at the end of your life knowing that you lived someone else's life. I am convinced that all the world's problems are resolved based on this one principal, "To thine own self be true." - Seijaku Roshi

The definition of love in Buddhism is: wanting others to be happy. This love is unconditional and it requires a lot of courage and acceptance (including self-acceptance). There is no higher or greater purpose, or spiritual practice, than to "Love". 'Even offering three hundred bowls of food three times a day does not match the spiritual merit gained in one moment of love.' - Nagarjuna We will explore what Buddhist call "The Four Immeasurables" or "markings" of true love and the paradigm for true and lasting peace, happiness, and joy.

Compassion is not an ideal to strive for but rather the only ground for "human-being-ness". Until one gives up all ideas of "who you are suppose to be", and start loving who you really are, there are no possibilities for real happiness or well-being or for that matter, the world to ever change. Think of it! Love yourself as you really are - Change the World!