Lost Coin Notes – January 4, 2011
 
Doen has been a stock trader for about 30 years.  He read a magazine article about a well-known trader, who talked about the importance of embracing uncertainty, pursuing on-going forms of self- improvement, purifying the mind, and being liberated from all aspects of your life - as well as your trading demons.  The point of sharing this article is that you can integrate practice into anything you do, historically called: “the Mind of the Way.” As Lost Coin moves into contemporary life – the best way is to integrate it deeply into everything you do – don’t think about it separately (koan study and sitting aside). Whatever you do, make it your practice. Either you are a victim and thing are happening to you, or you are not a victim. If anything is screwing up in your life, it is you (this is mostly true, except getting older). In general, you either feel victimized in very subtle ways or you do not. Then to practice your life is nothing special. You impact your life by what you do.
 
In the 8th century, China was first studying Buddhism and thought of the historical Buddha as a deity.  Number one, he wasn’t a deity, he was just a person. Doen doesn’t like it when people take the Buddha as a model because you need to verify for yourself, what the Buddha thought – who cares? The Buddha means the awakened one – who is you. One teacher in the 8th century, to discourage this kind of approach said, “Mind is Buddha” – your own mind, not the contents, you are the awakened one. Your mind itself, is what you are looking for, this the basis of zazen, to experience our mind directly - the organ of perception that holds in it thoughts, feelings, perceptions. He took away the idea of an external thing for which you were looking. So then everyone says, OK, Mind is Buddha. Another teacher then said, “No Mind, No Buddha.” He took away “Mind being Buddha” – he is saying Mind, Buddha they are just words, what do you have when you take away all the words – that is zen practice. Where are you when you don’t know where you are – with no labels – when you don’t call this place earth, SLC.
 
Buddha had great insight, just like we can have. Another teacher said, “Wisdom is not the Way (Tao)” – he is saying, just left with what is right in front of your face, how do you understand what is going on then? This is the deep teaching you have signed-up for – there is nothing to understand. As you go deeper and deeper, and let go of ideas, your state changes, you don’t have to understand it. There is no intellectual conclusion you have to come to – it does it itself.
 
So how to practice - gradual awakening that you have in daily life.  If there is no self-awareness, then you are probably acting out mechanical patterns. The function of our group it to help each other wake-up, not be mechanical. So how to do that? There is no one idea – that once you get the idea that is it. Even after a deep experience there is a need to practice. Jack Kornfield wrote a book entitled: After the Ecstasy, the Laundry. Break it into small pieces, what can we be conscious of: your negativity, being a victim, fear, blame, greed (always being discontent). As a practice, you can notice negative emotion. It has a good effect because the way we progress/change is when we get sick of something. If you watch your negative emotions – it will make you sick, especially to see how much of it is fear-based. 
 
Because we don’t define Lost Coin as a particular religion and we all can have other religious beliefs, there is no conflict. We are committed to learning – there are ways of learning that are not intellectual, learn with emotions. Doen has learned a lot from his chess coach (many traders are chess players). He told Doen he played an artistic game instead of going for the throat. Doen saw that he leaned that way – if he wants to compete he needs to be more aggressive and that has informed his trading and other business dealings. There is no end of learning. He feels each Lost Coin member could teach Doen something. It is important that we are a learning culture – by learning about life. It could be Life is Buddha – like Maezumi said, appreciate your life. When Doen tried LSD, he had an incredible opening experience. But even then he thought that life is going to be even more incredible.
Whatever you do – do it whole-heartedly.
 
Discussion
 
Student: They are conscious of their excuses for not sitting.
Doen: Look at the emotional part, what is the feeling that stops you from sitting? Dread, boredom?
 
Student: Read an article on the 5th precept – no intoxicants. It talked about lots of people that came to Buddhism through drugs; but, also mentioned that intoxicants include getting caught in your story.
Doen: People’s drug experiences were very individual, it depended on whether you were looking for a spiritual experience or entertainment. Doen sees that class of chemicals as influencing humans for 1000s of years.  Jesus and his disciples put “fluids“on their skin, which may have been hemp. Any drug can be misused but these chemicals also have the potential to help people in a clinical setting.
 
Student: They feel they can help employees to get unstuck professionally – but how to influence others to be present?
Doen:  First, someone has to be open to listening. Are you talking in a way they can hear (external considering)?
 
Student: Each moment can be suffering, or pleasure, or both. She has had some negativity in her life; can see that her mother, schooling were geared to finding fault – in order to help others improve. Now she has turned that negativity inward; but, can acknowledge the positive in others – even if still sees the negative. 
Doen: Learned from Mom to complain. Doen admires hip-hop culture – they are very straight about what they want – that is a little more healthy than just complaining. Just observe negative emotion – don’t try to get rid of it – just that will help get rid of it.  
 
Student:  Is finding that her daughter and husband will sit with her – even for 10 minutes.  Talking less.
 
Student: If there is someone in her life that seems stuck – how to approach them.
Doen: You may not be able to do anything. People have a spectrum – get them at their best. Best to think of change in yourself, which may have an effect on others. People don’t have to figure out how to act drunk, same with practice – it will just happen to you.
 
The Buddha talked about dukka, which was interpreted as attachment. Doel feels this is a mis-interpretation: your BMW is not going to ruin our life and getting rid of it is not going to improve your life. What Doen believes the Buddha meant was “thirst.” You are always thirsty, whatever is going on, we are never satisfied. Always looking for something else ruins our life. How we ruin our life is because we think something should be different. Doesn’t mean we can’t do something different.
 
We want meaning. The best things in life are not about meaning. What is the meaning of the rain?