Lost Coin – San Francisco Group
Meeting Notes
February 1, 2010

Welcome Greg

It helps your practice to see everything as transient.

Getting older helps practice. Knowing that we’re leaving – and accepting and embracing that we are paper-thin – can really help us let go.

What is your true nature?

You are everything you experience…but no one knows what that is. Elaborate theories about realizations are not realizations. Chickens are realizations. When we get to some depth in our practice, words fail. “Describing enlightenment is like spreading shit on fresh fallen snow.” 

Group Practice

Doen would like us to see how we act toward others, including others in the group. Which type of person are you in the group? Are you shy, the know-it-all, etc? 

Practicing with a Teacher

Engaging the teacher is the hardest thing for Western students – the same goes for teachers. Practicing with a teacher involves a “transfusion”. The dharma transmission ceremony, where one who has been practicing becomes a teacher, is elaborate and secretive. But in essence the ceremony involves a “body to body” transmission and does not involve the intellect. Learning through the body is the most human thing you can do, but people reduce it to academic science. Before you commit to a teacher, check him/her out and make sure you trust him/her. Then, “body learn” from them. Doen does not remember much of what his teachers said, but he does remember who they are. 

The Practice of Not-Knowing

Practicing Zen is about going beyond thought. It’s about knowing how to move forward by not knowing. Being one with your life is not done by figuring it out. It’s a relief not to have to figure it out – to know there’s another way. Do things by not knowing. Intellect is not the tool you use in practice – it’s done with a different kind of energy. Practice starts where concepts stop. You are not required to figure it out. Instead, practice requires that you have the spirit (Qi) to go forward. When Doen was first practicing he hated everything about it. But, something underneath absolutely compelled him to continue. 

Dogen and the Tenzo

Zen Master Dogen was a great teacher in the Soto Lineage in Japan. After years of intense study, Dogen was left unsatisfied. Even though the Japanese and Chinese hated each other, he decided to make a bold move and go to China to study with the masters there. After traveling through the Chinese countryside, one day he came to a monastery and told the Tenzo (the monastery’s cook and teacher) that he would like to learn more about Zen.

“Explain the dharma to me,” the Tenzo said.

Dogen then proceeded to convey everything he knew from his many years of study. After Dogen finished, the Tenzo responded.

“You don’t even understand the letter “A” in the alphabet of practice.” 

Without hesitation Dogen said, “What is the letter “A” of practice?”

Be like Dogen. Always be open to learning the dharma no matter how much you think you know. 

The Four Negative Emotions

Fear
Greed
Clarity 
Anger

Chief Feature

As you continue to sit (30 minutes a day is recommended) you sit deeper and you see more. You start to see that one or two of the four negative emotions define your personality. One of these emotions is what is called your “Chief Feature” and it will grab what you learn and distort it. Your chief feature is the thing that most stops you from getting to the next step. Everyone around you knows what your chief feature is, but they might not tell you because people tend to always have their own agenda.

This week’s practice: See your Chief Feature for yourself. 

Ask yourself: What is the flavor of my particular chief feature? 

(Taking an Enneagram Test can also be a useful tool to help you find your chief feature).









