The Root of Dukkha – Part 1 – Envy

Why do we suffer? Why do we cling to horrible things from our past that should just be left behind like garbage or futures we only imagine? Conversely, we cling to things we hold dear that are pulling away from us or obsessively pursue dreams we are warned to be careful about wishing for because … Continue reading The Root of Dukkha – Part 1 – Envy →

My Zen Art

A principle I try to uphold on this site is that there is no requirement for belief in a supernatural power. No Magic Necessary. By "supernatural", I mean things not of our “normal” experience readily explained by math and science. For example, answered prayers, Angels, psychic powers, or 5-dimensional beings. I certainly believe in something much bigger than us, … Continue reading My Zen Art →

Compound Interest of Enlightenment

Freeing ourselves from dukkha saves us energy, no different than how a well-tuned car engine is more energy efficient. We can use that freed energy to fuel us further through the chaotic Yin and Yang dynamics of our daily lives. We can divert that energy from anger, envy, jealously, etc towards improving our ability to … Continue reading Compound Interest of Enlightenment →

The Four Noble Truths is an SBAR

Miscommunication results in unnecessary and disastrous errors while engaged in "battle". While in the chaos of battle, communication between team members is severely hampered. If communication were consistently structured, succinct, and deeply ingrained in the team's culture, information could be passed with higher fidelity. That structure should identify the problem, provide some background on the … Continue reading The Four Noble Truths is an SBAR →

Obutsudan

Mrs. Hanamoku, His Holiness The Eternal Fishnu, His Holiness The Rubber Ducky Buddha of Joliet, and I attended a very nice Obon Festival last night. We had a (actually more than "a") bento with musubi, nasubi, inari, tomagoyaki, shoyu chicken! Wonderful! The Eternal Fishnu blessed the event with the largest turnout ever in the event's … Continue reading Obutsudan →

Genuine Fearlessness

Last Fall, the Rubber Ducky Buddha of Joliet and I were hiking around Canyonlands. "Is this catcus hiding under this ledge with its weapons deployed fearful?", asked Rubber Ducky. I thought about it for a few minutes. With Rubber Ducky, strange questions never have an obvious answer, so you need to deeply ponder his questions. … Continue reading Genuine Fearlessness →

Everything Forms Every Thing

In annoyingly paradoxical Buddhist style I will now talk about how Everything Forms Every Thing, even though I just got through talking about how No Thing Exists. How can there be things that form when no things exist? No Thing Exists is a statement about the true nature of the Universe. Everything Forms Every Thing states … Continue reading Everything Forms Every Thing →

No Thing Exists

In yesterday's post, See, I discussed the phrases "Nothing exists" versus "No thing exists". Let's recap that discussion from another point of view because this is a fundamental Buddhist/Zen topic. Think of having heard a Buddhist priest saying, "Everything is an illusion. Nothing exists." Does the priest mean there are no stars, no Earth, no chair I'm sitting in … Continue reading No Thing Exists →

See

One of the most frustrating words used in modern Buddhist literature is "see". For example, "If you see the reality of the Universe, you will know that nothing exists and that all is One." That is an important statement because it just about defines enlightenment, even though it sounds like esoteric garbage. So how does … Continue reading See →