Tag Archives: global warming

From Ego to Eco

Good morning!   Did you see the moon? It’s now the half moon. The new moon cannot illuminate the world. When there are clouds, we cannot see the moon nor the moon can illuminate the world. If we are not interested in the moon, we don’t see it and care about its phases. The full moon is compared to the Buddha mind or heart, full free functioning, brightly illuminating the world.   King Âdassa, Mirror, might have had the mirror-like face, mind, or heart – like the full moon, perfectly round and brilliant, illuminating the world and reflecting reality. He summoned blind people, to feel an animal and report it. They reported it is like a snake, a pillar, a wall, etc., and started fighting for their own truths – all only partial views, unlike his seeing all of this.   Decades ago a taxi driver came here to learn Zazen only a few times and said that he got it 95%. We shouldn’t claim that we got Soto tradition by glancing Dogen interpretations, or Zen tradition by learning some sayings of it, or Buddhist teaching by reading hearsays. As Dogen said, the true Buddha Dharma was transmitted by Bodhidharma with the actual attainment.   Bodhidharma taught it and transmitted to the second patriarch Eka (Huike) Daiosho only after having shown his determination by presenting his severed forearm after waiting in the deep snow. Aspirants for attainment at practice places must show their determinations despite dismissals and after long waiting and at least a week long sitting in Tangaryō (旦過寮, Passersby Dorm).   As you know well, we have all kinds of problems in our world – wars, global warming, mass extinction, etc., all coming from ego, I, Ich, aham. Only seeing the small self, we do not see the whole world, eco. Eco, oikos, home, became essentially economy (oikos+nomos, home economy, domestic economy) and evading ecology (oikos+logos, home truth, universal truth).   That is why we have so many problems and sufferings simply saving private economies, externalizing and excluding the public ecology and global ethic. Last week I talked about Soto, Zen, Buddhist teachings and traditions. Dogen said, “To learn the Awakened Way is to learn the self. To learn the self is to forget the self. To forget the self is to be verified by all Dharmas…”   … Continue reading

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Wholly Wholesome White World

Good morning!   Opening the blinds fully, we can see a calm, clean, and clear snow world covering high and low things, all colors, but all white – just one bright white world, calm, clean, and clear, with neither ups … Continue reading

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Global Problems and Solutions

Good evening!   Now we have chilly rain, the temperature not even reaching 50 degrees. So, we have the problems of driving on dangerous highways and catching cold.   When we sit, we witness the Buddha nature, awakening in unconditioned … Continue reading

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Returning to the Origin

Good morning! We saw the full moon early this morning. Today is the Buddha’s birthday called Flower Festival. It is the cherry blossom season in Japan. There they bathe  the baby Buddha with amacha, sweet tea, in the palanquin bedecked … Continue reading

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Human Hubris

Good morning!   We could see the brilliant spring sun light and beautiful blossoming flowers this morning because of high temperatures beyond 90s for some days. Then, these couple of day temperature suddenly fell down to 40s. It went down … Continue reading

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Primary Peace/Prognosis

Good morning!   This morning when I went home from here I saw new green buds of forsythias coming out. In the afternoon I passed by the same place and saw forsythias already blooming.   On the way here I … Continue reading

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Living Limitless Life

Good morning!   We could see the very thin new moon earlier. Now we can see beautiful flowers at the altar – lilies showing spring. We have now passed a half month since spring solstice. Even though we have very … Continue reading

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Human Pollution

 Good evening!   We can see the clear and calm half moon after one cycle of lunar phases since New Year’s Day. Dark and dense clouds are, however, hanging over us in the human world with nuclear war or … Continue reading

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Defiled and Undefiled Goodness

Good morning!   Now we have spring like sunlight and a silent peaceful world especially after sittings. Unfortunately, however, beside this peaceful world we have a lot of problems and sufferings all over the human world.   Last night I … Continue reading

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System or Self?

Good morning!   We had the half moon on New Year’s Day, and then the full moon, and this morning we saw the half moon again. Now we have bright sunlight brightening trees, snow, and the sky. After a few … Continue reading

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