Category Archives: Uncategorized

  Good morning!   We can now enjoy a lot of flowers – daffodils, magnolias (木蓮: tree lotus), forsythia, cherries, quince, etc. April 8 is celebrated as the Flower Festival, the Buddha’s birthday. Without the Buddha (Awakened), we can’t have … Continue reading →

Garyo’s mail and photos shared below: Yesterday, I was at Bartlett lake near Phoenix hearing that the desert is in exceptional bloom – and it was spectacular! I never have seen the desert so green and colorful! The air was … Continue reading →

  Good morning!   Today is the middle day of O-higan, Yonder Shore or nirvana, in Japan, when we celebrate the equinox, equal day and night, chill and heat, the start of spring, as done in other traditions. We visit … Continue reading →

  Good morning!   We can enjoy the bright spring sunlight, especially after sittings. We have, however, a lot of problems with suffering. The Buddha told the parable of King Mirror (Ᾱdassa) summoning blind people to feel an animal and … Continue reading →

  Good morning!   Expecting the spring equinox soon, we have spring rain giving life to all. Winter rain can kill life. One thing may become either medicine or poison depending on the dosage, how dispensed, etc. Karma can be … Continue reading →

  How much is our life centered on securing ourselves from ever-changing circumstances? We want to be safe and feel in control of our life situations. Quite often, if we are honest with ourselves, we want to control other people … Continue reading →

  Good morning!   Today we have sesshin, embracing (摂心) and touching (接心) the heart/mind. Our hearts/minds are usually turned outward for survival, conditioned by karma that contains the Triple Poisons of desire, divisiveness, and the delusion of self-centeredness. The … Continue reading →

  Good morning!   Even if the temperature is 17 degrees, the sunlight shows spring coming soon. Our most important question is “What is Buddha?” Buddha is the Awakened One of the Dharma in nirvana. Buddha Gotama, when addressed by … Continue reading →

  Good morning!   This morning we had dense fog preventing clear and far sight for driving due to the sudden drastic change in temperature from 4 to 40 degrees, going up to the 50s today and to 60 tomorrow. … Continue reading →