zenReflections

Reflections of an African-American Practitioner

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Daily Dharma
In Zen, we are invited to see life as a question. We are encouraged to open to the 'don't know' mind and to embrace the insecurity of uncertainty. This does not make us confused; on the contrary it allows us to wonder at life like a child and to find marvels in the most ordinary. This is not an intellectual inquiry, we need to be engaged with the whole of our being. It is said that we have to question with the marrow of our bones and the pores of our body. [...from Thorson's Principles of Zen by Martine Batchelor,...
Let's Talk about Suffering
Gerard and I have been having a conversation about the Four Noble Truths. I don't want it to get buried in comments because I'm enjoying the conversation and I hope others will chime in with their thoughts. Check out the original thread here. Gerard brings up some interesting points:The heart of Buddhist practice is seeing things as they really are. The mind is cunning, and often in the attempt to see things as they really are, we are really just trading one set of unquestioned ideas, notions or beliefs for new ones.Then paraphrases them nicely: We are suffering. We have...