![Practicing the Edge]()
by Daniel Doen Silberberg | Oct 26, 2011 | Retreat, Zen
Here we are Practicing the Edge at Asilomar, October 2011
Arriving by air and road from as far away as Germany and England and as near as San Francisco, and many places in between, more than 30 Lost Coin clan members and their families gathered for another outstanding retreat/intensive.
Asilomar Conference Center perches on a particularly beautiful section of the Monterey Peninsula. We practiced together there for 5 days of zazen, dharma talks by Doen on how to really throw ourselves wholeheartedly into our lives/our practice, daisan, meetings on Lost Coin future plans, jukai ceremonies and a shukke ceremony.
We gathered both informally and formally in the zendo and the dining room, in nearby cottages and the beach, experiencing together the very edge of the enormous Pacific and our internal edge of practice.
We also learned to sit zazen through joyous and spirited gospel choir practice from the next building!
Hallelujah!
Caryn Shudo Silberberg
@photo credit Guila Greer
by Daniel Doen Silberberg | Oct 23, 2011 | Uncategorized, Zen
Do not practice thinking that realization must become
the object of one’s knowledge and vision and be grasped conceptually.
Eihei Dogen
Genjokoan
This is the practice that is beyond Buddhism, Dharmas, time and space. It is the roar of truth. Only those with great determination and courage can loosen themselves from the shackles of reason and knowing and gain entrance here.
phot
o credit: on1stsite.
by Daniel Doen Silberberg | Oct 3, 2011 | Uncategorized, Zen
Reality is more benevolent, interesting and workable than our thoughts about it. It is also unknowable and magical.
photo credit: visualpanic
by Daniel Doen Silberberg | Oct 1, 2011 | Uncategorized, Zen
We find ourselves in a difficult situation. We think we are awake, but we are mechanical/asleep. Our behaviors are manipulated easily: to sell us things, convince us of things.
Our three ways of processing – intellectual, emotional and kinesthetic are mechanical. Input x and the output is y.
The code for our mechanical behaviors and perceptions was written a long time ago. This is so both in our personal lives and in the history of humanty. The interaction of the intellectual, emotional and kinesthetic perceptions is also mechanical. When we think we are being logical we have usually been hijacked by our negative emotions or our fantasies. Thoughts proceed by themselves as do emotions.
We don’t make conscious choices.
Yes, we are living our life in a Skinner Box.(Or in the Matrix – if you are more familiar with that.)
What’s a poor boy or girl to do?
There is nothing to do when you are in a box or pod dreaming you are awake – except to wake up. To develop consciousness. So first that needs to be understood.
Only then does the hard work begin – and you need a method.
photo credit: Lucia..
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