The Big Sit of 2009.

"The Big Sit" challenge from the Buddhist magazine Tricycle will start tomorrow, which I'll be doing. In fact, I've been sitting regularly the last two weeks whereas before my practice had been all too spotty for the last year. Here are some of the specifics:

1). Sit in formal meditation for 20 minutes each day: (I'm sure sitting even for only 5 minutes is in keeping with this challenge because I have found that any amount of meditation is beneficial).

2). Listen to one Dharma talk a week on Tricycle.com: (or elsewhere I would add if you don't have access to Tricycle. I would also think reading a Dharma talk once a week or a few chapters of a Buddhist book would work as well).

3)-Study Dogen’s Genjokoan, the text selected for the period: The Genjokoan is posted here--let me know if the link doesn't work and I'll post the text in its entirity in a post. Plus, if you want to keep in touch with just readers of this blog in the sangha/community that we developed during this sit then just sign up an account on Tribe.net. The Tribe that my friend Paul has setup is called, "Commit to Sit." It's not hard to find via the search bar. Tricycle also has a group setup for, "The Big Sit" which will be beneficial because it will host Dharma talks and advice/guidance from teachers. If you're interested in it then all you have to do is sign up with them (it's free).

4). Commit to the sixteen bodhisattva precepts:
The sixteen Bodhisattva Precepts consist of the taking refuge in the three treasures (Buddha-Nature, Dharma, and Sangha), and:

The Three Pure Precepts

Not to do evil.
To cultivate good.
To help others.

The Ten Grave Precepts

Not to intentionally or maliciously kill, but to cherish all life.
Not to steal, but to respect the possessions and lifetime of others.
Not to misuse sexual energy, but to be honest and respectful in mind and action.
Not to intentionally deceive, but to speak the truth.
Not to misuse drugs or alcohol, but to keep the mind clear.
Not to speak of others’ faults, but to be understanding and sympathetic.
Not to praise oneself by criticizing others, but to overcome one’s own shortcomings.
Not to withhold spiritual or material aid, but to give it freely when needed.
Not to give vent to anger, but to seek its source.
Not to speak ill of the Three Treasures, but to cherish and uphold them.

5). Practice with others at tricycle.com or at a local meditation center (Or with us on Tribe!!).

6). Begin when you like. Tricycle’s staff will begin February 23.

~Peace to all beings~

The Nature of Things.

In order to learn the nature of the myriad things, you must know that although they may look round or square, the other features of oceans and mountains are infinite in variety; whole worlds are there. It is so not only around you, but also directly beneath your feet, or in a drop of water.

-Genjo Koan

James: How often do we gaze out at a mountain or hill and see them as immoveable and symbols of unchanging constants that stand the test of time. Such views are reflections of the limited nature of our minds. We often see time within specific parameters and that if something stands outside those parameters than we tend to ascribe those things with labels that make them seem imprevious to time or of a separate nature.

Mountains are subtly different over the generations but seem to not change because the changes are so small and slow that our faced paced stream of thinking tends to easily over-look their evolution. For all the pride that humans build up about the perceived perfection and superior nature of our minds, they are quite suseptable to trickery and delusion.

For centuries water was seen as just water and only supporting animals. So imagine the surprise when the first humans gazed deeper into the nature of the life giving liquid and saw a whole world thriving within the tiniest drop. A microscopic world of microbes explode into our vision with just one adjustment in sight.

There is so much that we take for granted and so much we still don't know and might not ever know. I don't think that we are necessarly meant to "know it all." I don't think that knowing everything automatically brings us happiness and comfort. At times knowing more only brings us more suffering and stress. So I take comfort in just being another cog in the wheel. That being said I think there is value in being intellectually curious as well. It's all about balance as we know.

PHOTO: Koolau mountains on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. My wife grew up on Oahu underneath the Koolaus in Kahaluu.

---End of Transmission---