Good morning!
After a long spell of hot and dry weather we had a brief thunderstorm yesterday, giving life to all. Sesshin (摂・接心) means embracing and touching the heart, which gives life to all. We live the long night of nescience of our life like heartless karma-automatons, unless we sit, still karma, and embrace and touch the heart of ourselves and all, the awakened heart, not a karmic one.
The Buddha advised us to protect our senses (dvāra-gutta: doors guarded, from karma consequences) and strive in the Awakened Way. The Awakened Way consists of awakening (bodhi)-nirvana or prognosis (prajňā)-cultivation (bhāvanā). Bhāvanā (cultivation, wakeful life, cf. Fourfold Efforts, etc.) is the causative form of bhava (becoming, blind karma-conditioned ordinary life).
The Eightfold Holy Way is to cultivate right view (sammā-dițțhi, seeing as it is), etc. Right (sammā) relates with the prefix sam (syn), the Holy Way, which leads to the cessation of suffering (nirvana) in the Four Holy Truths. Buddhist faith (pasāda, prasāda, from sad: sit, settle in truth, sacca, sat-ya, being-ness) is in contrast to belief (credo: saddhā, fervent devotion to personal doctrines).
Our karma creates the Triple Poisons of delusion, divisiveness, and desire, resulting in suffering. The constant cultivation or practice of sitting, stilling karma (conception, emotion, volition), perfects prognosis in peace (nirvana), making an awakened life in holy harmony, health, and happiness for anyone here and now. Let’s cultivate our karma living “a good day, every day,” for all.
8/28/16
Note: 1. Our ordinary life is karma-conditioned leading to the Triple Poisons, resulting in sin (=separated sickness: selfishness, self-righteousness, etc.) in suffering. Thus, we need to cultivate our karma led by the Triple Learning (sīla, samādhi, prajňā: morality, concentration, prognosis), resulting in holiness (=wholly wholesomeness: harmony, health, etc.) in happiness of all.
- Cultivation-prognosis or nirvana-awakening is intertwined combination like two wings or wheels to function free and full, mutually enabling and enhancing.
- Please refer to the further details: https://www.zenbuddhism.info/wiki/Main_Page
