LOST COIN NOTES DECEMBER 26, 2007

SITTING

We are sitting on Thursday's at Joan's house.  Daniel will do Daisan (private meeting with student) for about the last 20 minutes of the second sitting period.  It is okay that we will go outside to Joan's house for Daisan because that was the traditional way it was done anyway.

A brief word on sitting:  Daniel was 'guilted' into it by his teachers. Once Daniel was up really late working on an administrative aspect of working at the Zen Mountain Monastery, as Daniel was the administrator of that Zen Center for some time.  John Daido Loori Roshi called Daniel the next morning and asked why Daniel wasn't at morning Zazen and Daniel explained that he was up really late and was tired, etc and Daido said, 'No one does this without pressure.'  Daniel doesn't want to do that to us but really, if you're serious about this, then SIT!  Sit with the group for 1 hour a week on Thursdays, it's not much to ask.

It's like when Daniel was in Kung Fu.  It was three times each week.  When Daniel would miss class, his instructor would not speak to him for exactly two weeks.  Because Kung Fu (and particularly the Fu-Jow Pai sect, which was Daniels' lineage) was a family based system, it was a system of honor.  It dishonored the instructor to not attend class.

This practice is between you and yourself- if you want to be serious, do it for yourself.

WHERE MONEY STANDS

Daniel is interesting in growing the group.  We have some people interested who are from the Zen Center.  We'll also be doing some advertising.  Maybe we'll end up with two groups.  Having more people allows us to do more things like get a building etc.   If anyone wants to help enlarge the group or has ideas about things we can do, let Daniel know.

Daniel reminded us to make sure that we work out our payments with Patricia, new year starts in April.  When he was a teacher, the student and the teacher never talked about money.  The teacher would have a student take care of all of that discussion, but Daniel likes to ask directly because it's more straight-forward.

The Ram Dass Organization has recently written to the White Plum Asanga, which is Maezumi Roshi's Zen Lineage (currently lead by Dennis Genpo Merzel Roshi at the Kanzeon Zen Center in Salt Lake), asking for financial contributions.  Daniel wants us to avoid that type of thing.  The Ram Dass Organization needs contributions not because they were out there helping others (which they did do), but rather because of the lifestyle choices made by the organization and its leaders.

The body is not important but if you don't take care of it, it will BECOME important.  Money is not important but if you do not take care of the financial aspects of your life, those aspects will BECOME important to your life.

WHAT WE REALLY WANT

We've been working on WHAT DO YOU REALLY WANT IN LIFE.   We went around the room and talked about what we really want.

Daniel's assignment for the week was to put your INTENTION where your attention was anyway.  He asked us to talk about how that went.

One student said that her experience was that she realized how critical and judgmental she can be of others.  She thinks of it as similar to the physical problem that has developed because of a bad body mechanic, it's a habit.  Critical mind is a habit.  She's noticed that she's missing joy from her life and is trying to let go of the criticism.

Daniel's response:

Passion is different than interest.  Look for passion.  Our chief feature prevents us from breaking through to the next level.  This particular student's chief feature won't necessarily bother other people but it does affect her.

Another student focused on intention behind attention to seeing the truth. Realized it's easier to do self-observation.

This same student stated that she wasn't sure what she wants out of life. Daniel noted that sometimes deciding what you want feels like a death because it rules out other things.  But, if it's the right thing- freedom results, not a trap.  To be ' in and ' out is the trap.

Another student talked about how she wishes to have a deeply spiritual life and is putting her intention there.

Daniel told the story of a Zen teacher who goes on a trip with one of his students.  They walk for awhile and then camp for the night.  The teacher goes to sleep and then wakes up in the night to see the student up meditating.  The student has been meditating all night.  The teacher says, 'what are you doing?'  The student replies, 'I am going to sit here until I become realized.'  The teacher tells the student, 'you cannot become enlightened in a thousand Kalpas[1].'  Meaning:  You cannot become enlightened.  You need only have the ability to recognize you are enlightened.  You have a deeply spiritual life now, you need only see it.

Another student talked about wishing to die well.  Daniel said in response that all ways of dying are good- all fine.  In your perspective you may have preferences; the understanding that there are better or worse ways to die. But wouldn't it be better to expand the number of ways that are acceptable to you rather than to try to plan on dying in a manner that aligns with your narrow preferences?  Daniel twice almost died- once during a Plasmapheresis procedure, his blood pressure dropped severely and he could feel the life force leaving his body.  It happens so fast, you really don't have much opinion about it at the time.  Not painful and no time to think.

Daniel noted that it is harder and we spend more time actually trying to stop life from being spiritual.  We spend a lot of energy driving out the vastness of really being present and here.  The precepts are a way that you don't drive it out.  We drive out the natural state of spirituality.  It is you.  It is here.  don't drive it out.  What you are looking for is always only in the moment.

In the planning- fine, we need to do that too sometimes, but the DOING is always in the moment.   The moment is the secret.  We went around the room and talked about our experiences with 'the moment.'

Daniel asked us to again pick up Conference of the Birds by Farid un-Din Attar.  The birds are sent out to look for a particular bird.  While looking, the 9 birds passed through the 7 stages of spirituality and that last stage was another name for them- the 9 birds together.    What they were looking for the entire time was themselves.

ENERGY

Practice starts where concepts stop.  You've heard Daniel says this before many times.  Concepts guide us but there is tons going on beyond those concepts.  In Sufi terms, quality of being develops an energy and that kind of energy is called Barakam, which means 'blessing' in Persian.  It is like a psychic energy.  If you practice for a very long time, the thing that is passed is beyond concepts.  It is this.  The last few years that Daniel was with his teachers he did not learn a think intellectually, he just received from them energetically.

There is a good yin/yang energy balance in this group and that is great for the group.  To receive this energy though, you have to go into the yin part of yourself- into the receptive part of you.  Part of what you're learning is to trust someone enough to go 'yin' with them and the more receptive you are, the more you'll get from Daniel that has nothing to do with words.

Daniel has been told that he has a good yin/yang mix which he credits to his father who was good at that.  He has no problem relating to men or women.

Look at balancing your yin/yang in a creative way.  Understand why and choose one at a time, choose another at other times.  Experiment with it.

ASSIGNMENT OF THE WEEK

Remember yourself.  'Come to' in the moement.  Then take another moment to banish fear.  Watch carefully.  As soon as you wake up, something will start up.  That thing is fear- watch it and banish it.  This should help you to extend your moment of awake.
