Friday, January 20, 2012

Another weekend of staring at the walls.

Seeing Clearly
Our practice is to meet life exactly as it is and to notice whatever fear, anger, or doubt gets in the way of direct intimate contact with this moment, bringing attention to that as well. Rather than changing something or seeking to get somewhere we imagine we should be, practice is about seeing clearly exactly how things really are and how we relate to them. Practice thus becomes an increasing intimacy with life just as it is, and there is nothing—including the ideas that we should be getting something or somewhere—that is unworthy of the clear, nonjudgmental attention we call mindfulness.
- Douglas Phillips, "Q&A with Douglas Phillips"

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

One piece at a time.

Find One Thing
Find one thing that makes you feel good and put it into practice. It is through this kind of action that we learn to live in harmony. We can also change others in this way. I know that some people question whether the actions of a single individual can really affect others. But do not waste time worrying about that; just do what feels right to you.
- Nikkyo Niwano, "A Cheerful 'Good Morning'" 

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Rebuild continues, my pistons have been demoted to bookmarks.

Get up where you fall down
In Genjokoan, Dogen writes, “Those who have great realization of delusion are buddhas.” The place where you get to be Buddha, so to speak, is in delusion, and there’s plenty of that to go around. You get up where you fall down. You don’t get up somewhere else. It’s where you fall down that you establish your practice.
- Ryokan Steve Weintraub on Sojun Mel Weitsman, "Umbrella Man"

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Holidays are over. Still down for the count for now. Staring at the ceiling at night thinking about building a sporty with a zero engineering frame and an old school Triumph tank.

The Value of Slowing Down
We can afford to drop our defensiveness and listen to our colleagues; we can afford to be imaginative and open. If we slow down and drop our resistance to work’s unpleasantness, we discover that we are resourceful enough to be daring, free from fear and arrogance. Such confidence enables us to know instinctively which situations need to be confronted, which should be nourished, and which can be disregarded. Mahakala reminds us to sharpen up during times of conflict, to be mindful and pay attention. With such alertness we can in fact preserve the sanity of our workplace even during extreme discord.
- Michael Carroll, "Mahakala at Work"