Lost Coin  -  July 22, 2008

Business:

Daniel (D) away Thursday but back next week Tuesday.

D will be doing shoken for those interested over the next two Thursdays.

Sewing groups are in the works.

D would like to have a pre-jukai meeting.

Discussion?

D says he would ordain any of us who would like to become monks. Asked whether D would have a female monk shave their head, he says likely yes.  Feels importance of holding on to some tradition, and reasons for them.  Zen monk has deep commitment to practice, must first have shoken and jukai.  Monk with Daniel would not be priestly of overly religious.  Monk in this method is different than the western view.  In chinese the word for monk translates as ?clouds plus water?.  Zen monks are wanderers, free, efficient.

Today talking about one of the precepts.  Notes precepts are practice for the benefit of others.

Do not kill.  Original Siddhartha was a hunter, but hunting for sport would not align with the precept.  D notes that killing may be required  situationally.. if being attacked for example, if needed for food?

Precepts help us see how what we do influences others.  Don?t want to damage others.  Don?t want to ?kill? others  by not accepting them and trying to change what they are.  Mentions related precept, do not steal?  Don?t take away what is someone else?s.  Relate to others generously, not murderously.  Do not hurt others.

Thich Nat Hahn quote ? Aware of the consequences of killing, I choose not to kill.?

Sitting discussion?

If you continue to sit you will begin to see the points where you are stuck.  You will notice your patterns earlier.  Just watch, don?t be critical.  You will begin to see the stopping points where you limit yourself.  See where you are mechanical but don?t be hard on yourself.  Notice behavior but don?t try to stop it.  Note the part of you that wants to do these mechanical things.  Keep noticing until you see how ugly it is, how it is not you.  We are still living primitively, mechanically.

We are the field in which all our experience happens ? see this in sitting ? but we are also manifesting, actions are mechanical? the field can see the mechanical patterns.

This week watch negative emotions but also the body at the same time.

While sitting, drop off body and mind.  Drop off concept of self as body and mind? what is left is the field.  At that moment, the return to the one manifests.  Forget the self, do not identify with thoughts.  If you sit long enough, the body will manifest this dropping off.

D mentions that having an ego is not bad, but having an ego that is against others is bad.

D wants to come back, maybe next week, to ?wanting what you have?.

If you are beating up yourself, you are not letting your self  live?

We do a circle and mention the things we feel we need to do next in our development ?  A few were:

   Slow down.
   Not get complacent, be hungry to practice.
   See the fear stopping me from wholeheartedly immersing in the practice.
   Commit to sit / koan.
   Sit more.
   Increase energy, power.
   Push boundaries, focus.
   Dig deeper into creativity.
   Know self more.
   Unclutter.  Focus deeply and not on so many things.
   Stay committed, flexible.  Make life a meditation.
   Deepen.  Know deep, direct experience.
   Keep opening to the new.
   Ok not knowing what?s next.
   Be focused or fluid at right times.

D says to be efficient in life, to create time, money, life, work?  Life is your practice.  Love life.  If you don?t the fear is of living rest of your life mechanically, negatively.  Think about it? spending a day unconscious, the negativity of wasting life!  But in contrast note that you have the right to have joy.  Mechanical patterns prevent us from joy.  In doing this work for yourself you are also doing it for the field.
