Relax

Clouds in the Sky

Ordinary Mind is the Way

Buddhist Practice, Let Go, Ordinary Mind, Relax

Rest in this Ordinary Mind, rest in the Way.

What is Ordinary Mind?
 
The Third Gyalwa Karmapa said, “In ordinary mind there is no rejecting and accepting, loss and gain.”
 
When the great Zen Teacher Nansen was asked about Ordinary Mind he said to Joshu in return, “Ordinary mind is vast, open, and empty like space, how can it be reduced to thoughts, judgments, activities, and feelings?”
 
Ordinary Mind is this unclouded, everyday mind right now. 

Relax and turn awareness within.

 
“Above all, be at ease, be as natural and spacious as possible. Slip quietly out of the noose of your habitual anxious self, release all grasping, and relax into your true nature. Think of your ordinary emotional, thought-ridden self as a block of ice or a slab of butter left out in the sun. If you are feeling hard and cold, let this aggression melt away in the sunlight of your meditation. Let peace work on you and enable you to gather your scattered mind into the mindfulness of Calm Abiding, and awaken in you the awareness and insight of Clear Seeing. And you will find all your negativity disarmed, your aggression dissolved, and your confusion evaporating slowly like mist into the vast and stainless sky of your absolute nature.”
― Sogyal Rinpoche, The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying

Everyday, Ordinary Mind is the Way

Please visit the homepage at sweepingheartzen.org for an updated, online practice schedule.
You can download the Third Gyalwa Karmapa’s teaching on Ordinary Mind here.
May you and all beings be healthy, free from fear, safe, and at ease!
Very best wishes,
Mark
Free Flowing Life and Death

Be A Buddha: Dogen Zenji On Life and Death

Buddhist Practice, Let Go, Relax

Whenever and wherever I can, I try to let go of, or at least question, my well-worn thoughts and opinions.  I also try to come unglued from my habitual, knee-jerk reactions.  I try to let go because if I’m holding on, if I’m bound by habit and reactivity, I’ll  be sure to miss the breathing, pulsing changes of life happening in every moment.  And if I miss what’s happening now, I’m surely bound to add to the suffering in the world.
Continue reading Be A Buddha: Dogen Zenji On Life and Death →

Relax, Let-Go

Relax! Really, You Can Do It!

Let Go, Relax, Right Intention

The very best teaching my first Zen teacher gave me was: No matter what is happening and, no matter if it’s happening “on the inside” or “on the outside”, first and foremost, be aware of what’s happening and do your best to relax. Fear might be happening, be aware of fear and relax. If joy is happening, know joy and relax. If a flat tire is happening, be aware of that and relax. Another way to say this is: be aware of what’s happening, notice, and let go of any drama. Simply work with what’s happening as calmly as possible.

Continue reading Relax! Really, You Can Do It! →