class notes 10/17/2010
Doen spoke of returning to the fundamentals of LCZ.
Practice in order to 1) discover who you really are, the age old practices that will reveal that all is one and I am that one and no one knows what that one thing is and 2) practice excellence in pursuits and performance.
 
I am responsible.  I am not a victim.  I will reclaim my own power.  Practice means practice with the self.  LCZ works works with Zen Buddhism and 4th way.  Zen is can be worked with apart from the religious structure of Buddhism.  Buddhist practice starts by looking into the self in order to transcend reality of life---realize this by sitting.  The Buddha was interested in forming a culture, not a religion.  Over time his discovery became a religion with interpretations and scholarship.  Zen returns to the experience.  Deep Wisdom=Sitting Meditation.  Put that realization into your life.
 
LCZ is a unique melding of enlightenment practices and human development.  A practice takes time to develop.  Work with Doen, work fellow students.  Sit, draw yourself into the present and contribute what you experience to the world.  Doen asked us to look at a situation in which we desire growth, exclude all possibility that anyone else is to blame and own it completely.  Doen trained in a monastery and chooses to teach in the world.  Be an example in the world.  Balance inner consideration and outer consideration.  All practice comes from commitment to being self-empowered in the act of surrendering to the teachings of the dharma.  Do not feed a victim mentality with victim thoughts.  Recognize patterns of thought that you reinforce, allow mood/physical sensation to simply be. Be aware of old patterns in relationships, make a conscious choice to step back.
 
 
