meditation

why wait?

~ jaysen ~ Leave a comment

Sooner or later life catches up with us and we come to the realization that there is no avoiding our problems, there is no running away from our demons, there is no going to war to win over this life or force our way through.  It never lasts.  There is nothing to grasp in desperation.  It only adds to the suffering in the world.

We come to realize, often through experiencing or bearing witness to suffering, that the only true option is to meet life with authenticity in all of its rawness with an open heart, right here in this moment.

Meditation is the practice of not waiting until later, but gently and persistently meeting life as it is and as we are in this moment.  Staying put.  meeting our demons with compassion and gentleness.  Moving beyond winning and losing.  Letting go.  Transforming suffering rather than transmitting suffering.  Then we have no need to go to war with ourselves, with others, with life.  Then we have peace.

~j

hold to the center…

~ jaysen ~ Leave a comment

A monk asked Xinghua Cunjiang, “What should one do when things come from every direction?”

The master said, “Hold to the center.”
The monk bowed.

The master then said, ” Yesterday, as I was on my way to a dinner in the village, I was caught in a sudden storm with heavy rain and violent wind, so I headed for an old shrine and found shelter.”

~ Entangling Vines: A Classic Collection of Zen Koans,
trans. Thomas Yuho Kirchner

I read the above story in the latest edition of Tricycle Buddhist Review, from an essay written by Wendy Egyoku Nakao Roshi.  I was moved by this story and inspired to create the artwork above.

Where do you find your center?  What anchors you as the waves crash around and against you?  Where do you find your ease and calm as turbulent winds swirl around knocking you off balance?  How do you keep awareness focused, when distractions vie for your attention?

For me it is my meditation practice, it is nature, it is the tenderness of an open heart, it is love.   It is staying with all that is and bearing witness, anchored in my breath and them from a place of compassion, moving into some sort of action that feels beneficial, that hopefully serves love and light.

I suppose everyone’s center may be different.  It seems increasingly important to know what it is.  There seem to be some who are intent on knocking us off balance repeatedly, wearing us out.  But what they have forgotten, or may not be aware of, is that there is a place for each of us where we can find our balance, our focus, and a calm resolve to stick with it for the long arc.

~j
05.11.17

offer all of it…

~ jaysen ~ Leave a comment

 

today is Teacher Appreciation Day.  there are so many teachers I am grateful for, so many who have influenced my life in small and large ways.  what a gift!

today, though, I would like to highlight Susan Piver.  I trained to be a Meditation Instructor under her guidance and I continue to learn from her practical, grounded practice and teaching.  she is real, direct, humorous, and generous.

below is a teaching I keep going back to.  so beneficial.

“When I’m at my lowest and have no more ideas about what to do, I think, ‘Offer it,’ and something shifts.  Even if only for a moment, I feel lighter.  It’s not a simple offloading into the ether; I intend my feelings as a devotional gift, a kind of mind-Prasad.  Even though I have no idea how my ‘gift’ could be of any value, I offer it anyway…I know not to what or to whom.”  ~Susan Piver

profound.  just “offer it.”  all of it.  the sadness, the anger, the hurt, the confusion, the broken heart.  the swirling chaos, and the shaking ground beneath your feet.  who you are, where you are at, what you are feeling – offer it.  all of it.

~j
05.09.17