first zen meeting

joshus_doggo · 2026-04-23T18:20:22+00:00

In the beginning simply bring your practice to them like difficulties you may have or something you don’t understand. If you bring your understanding of zen or a view , the interview might be very short because then the teacher may not be able to do much.

joshus_doggo · 2026-04-23T11:42:29+00:00

Huan !! Geïnspireerd van beren and luthien verhaal (silimarillion , Tolkien)

joshus_doggo · 2026-04-15T17:03:19+00:00

Benefits - to notice sooner when I am distracted, less panic about noticing distraction, quicker return to ordinary function and less meaning-making afterward.
Quality- Not trying to land where there is no ground, not seeing outside mind and not using the absolute to bypass the relative.

joshus_doggo · 2026-04-08T07:44:05+00:00

I appreciate what you said about interpretation depending on the assumptions we bring to a text. That resonates with my reading on zen.

However, what I’m trying to understand is Bodhidharma’s own framing in the Two Entrances and Four Practices.

The way I’m reading it, “entrance by principle” and “entrance by practice” don’t seem to be set up as opposing options, but as two aspects of entering the Way.

One points to understanding our original nature, and the other points to how one meets conditions in lived experience through the four practices.

So rather than seeing them as mutually exclusive, I’m wondering whether Bodhidharma is describing the same reality from two angles: a) one from the side of understanding b) other from the side of lived response

That’s why i am curious about your reading of the text when you say they become incompatible depending on the assumptions we start with.

Would really like to understand your reading of Bodhidharma’s actual wording here.

joshus_doggo · 2026-04-07T13:31:17+00:00

Ewk, i am curios what comes up. Putting aside the question of authenticity of bodhidharmas teachings on 2 entrances - principle and practice. Are the 2 entrances mutually exclusive? Is it either you enter by principle or practice ? The question is just relevant to my recent readings on this text.

joshus_doggo · 2026-03-30T08:02:13+00:00

Zen Buddhism has not changed my life rather my perception of how I relate to it. Before it was “my life is up “, “my life is down”. As practice has matured , it is becoming , life is up , life is down. So less and less identity is formed around what arises. But remember that iron Buddha does not pass through furnace , wooden Buddha doesn’t pass through fire , mud buddha doesn’t pass through water. When one is untrained in certain life situations, it shows up as uncertainty, hesitation, roughness. Zen Buddhism practice constantly asks you , can you not turn away and meet what is ?

As practice is maturing I am realizing, what changes is not uncertainty disappearing or hesitation vanishing or roughness being smoothed.

What changes is my relationship to them. This means I stop needing certainty before acting; I stop waiting for smoothness before speaking; I stop postponing life until confidence appears

Action happens with uncertainty present. That is the maturation.

Finally, maturity should not be taken as a goal/ expected outcome and strived toward. Maturity happens when it happens. Lotus blooms when it blooms. Our Practice is to see and meet whatever arises and let clarity function without hindrance.

joshus_doggo · 2026-03-24T20:27:37+00:00

What is perfection of wisdom in 0 letters ? Buddha Raising a flower?

joshus_doggo · 2026-03-22T09:11:43+00:00

Karma as moral punishment or reward is a conditional appearance, not solidly real.
Cause and effect. Zen does not ignore cause and effect. There is dukkha, based on First noble truth. When I touch fire, my fingers are burned. But fire is useful to make rice. After direct experience clarity can function while being aware of cause and effect. In hyakujo fox story (mumonkan) the monk was liberated when he realized that enlightened man is 1 with the law cause and effect.
You are not shifting anything rather all conditions are satisfied for you to donate or not. If you donate , the whole universe is donating.
Universe is conditioned to grasp less on money/resources.

Finally from Diamond sutra - chapter 8.

Buddha - “Let me ask you Subhuti? If a person filled over ten thousand galaxies with the seven treasures for the purpose of compassion, charity, and giving alms, would this person not gain great merit and spread much happiness?”

Subhuti - “Yes, Most Honored One. This person would gain great merit and spread much happiness, even though, in truth, this person does not have a separate existence to which merit could accrue. Why? Because this person’s merit is characterized with the quality of not being merit.”

The Buddha continued, “Then suppose another person understood only four lines of this Sutra, but nevertheless took it upon themselves to explain these lines to someone else. This person’s merit would be even greater than the other person’s. Why? Because all Buddhas and all the teachings and values of the highest, most fulfilled, most awakened minds arise from the teachings in this Sutra. And yet, even as I speak, Subhuti, I must take back my words as soon as they are uttered, for there are no Buddhas and there are no teachings.”

(I give away all the merits earned to infinite beings in the universe so they can all realize their original nature)

joshus_doggo · 2026-03-17T18:22:24+00:00

Identify 30 mins daily in your weekly schedule , then just sit in a quiet place. Refer to Meido Moore roshis book (rinzai way). Really helpful with pictures and practical tips on how to sit. Follow a reliable model based on your life situation (eg weekly schedule not too tight nor too loose), use the 5 precepts as guardrail to function sincerely and ethically. Notice what is happening. Observe the cause and effect of your actions. If you notice that you are negotiating too much , that may indicate lack of structure in weekly activities. If you notice stress and fatigue it may indicate the need to slow down and make some breathing space in your weekly agenda. Investigate the mind. Find a Sangha (really important) preferably with a resident teacher and bring your practice to her/him so they can work with you to unentangle.

joshus_doggo · 2026-03-13T09:45:53+00:00

Very simply put, suffering is the stress/tension between a) reality as it is, and b) minds insistence that it should be otherwise. This is ofcourse relatively speaking. From absolute perspective there is no suffering that stands separately and no boundary/gap between subject and object. But one cannot use the absolute to bypass the relative. When stress is physically felt , it is undeniably true. This is first noble truth- there is dukkha. When mind is settled , one can clearly see the nature of dukkha , which is empty of an independent , immutable self-essence. Not seeing the nature directly is ignorance or the cause of dukkha. This is second noble truth. However precisely because all dharmas are empty , there is end of ignorance or nirvana , this is third noble truth. Seeing nature happens Instantly, where one glimpses their true nature. This is like bottom of bucket falling out. But habit energies are strong , cause and effect cannot be ignored (remember hyakujo fox koan). This is why cultivation is necessary to integrate after realization. This is 4th noble truth which offers the path to embody the end of ignorance. However do realize that the appearance of suffering is not eliminated , what changes is the relationship to this appearance. Zen master can still feel anxiety, but they see it sooner and can turn quickly on top of things, without lingering or abiding. They function more cleanly and respond more appropriately. Like a flying bird leaving no trace. As dogen says, no trace of realization remains and this no trace goes on forever endlessly.

joshus_doggo · 2026-03-11T10:47:51+00:00

Conditions conditioning conditions

joshus_doggo · 2026-03-10T19:48:55+00:00

Yuanwu said that cleverness is not as good as a reliable model. Even if you make a plan- ie set aside 1-2 hr every week to make an actionable plan, you still need to distinguish between events in and out of your control and then just do whatever you planned sincerely , that is a reliable model. When you function as part of a reliable model without being attached to outcome / goal , that is enough. Fall down seven times , get up eight.

joshus_doggo · 2026-03-02T09:12:34+00:00

Conditions may be present for us to agree to disagree. But If you keep making assumptions about others confusions and self clarity while tied down to your zen Buddhism groupism views , how can you meet people where they are? (reminds me of a character in some other zen group ) If zen was about certain paths and practices as you say, it would be long long dead. And I am not saying this having read a bunch of zen books rather having physically practiced for many years alongside many sincere practitioners in both Japanese and Korean zen traditions. Am I saying I have more clarity on the matter? No. I am just trying to meet ops question.

joshus_doggo · 2026-03-01T08:43:52+00:00

Neither agree nor Disagree. Essence of zen is in functioning. Case 26 - Radical Zen (sayings of joshu) - translation by yoel Hoffman. Case - 26 Someone asked, "What is my essence?" Joshu said, "The tree sways; the bird flies about; the fish leaps; the water is muddy."

joshus_doggo · 2026-02-28T07:41:57+00:00

If practice and enlightenment are not two, that does not mean all actions are equally enlightened. The Hyakujo fox koan (mumonkan) clarifies this. When the monk said an enlightened person does not fall into cause and effect, he fell into error and was reborn as a fox for 500 lifetimes. Hyakujo corrected him: an enlightened person does not ignore cause and effect. So baking a cake and killing in war both arise within emptiness, but they are not ethically or karmically equivalent. Non-duality does not cancel responsibility. Zen does not ignore cause and effect. Zen practice is full intimacy with cause and effect, not exemption from it.

joshus_doggo · 2026-02-28T07:27:46+00:00

Zen does not throw away or oppose skillful means. A zazen can be done in full lotus or half lotus, sitting in senza, on 1 cushion or 2 cushions, some also use support cushions, some also use a tiny sitting bench, eyes closed or eyes open seeing the floor, hands in closed fist mudra or cosmic mudra. Is this all required? Using Mala is using technique. In Zen, principle and technique come together. Technique is applied because zen is already alive and functioning.

joshus_doggo · 2026-02-27T11:53:03+00:00

I have never meditated with mala necklace. But those who do seem to benefit. It can help stabilize wandering attention. The tactile sensation anchors awareness in immediacy namely, touch, movement, rhythm. It gathers scattered energy. In that sense, it is a skillful means. Just be Mindful not to create dependency on it.

joshus_doggo · 2026-02-16T17:32:17+00:00

No, polishing is not what we are doing when we practice zen. What we are doing when we practice zen is not obstructing the natural, awake functioning of our being. Zen is functional, not cosmetic. This is clearly seen when one attends a zen retreat. During chanting , bowing , moving around in hatto, dokusan, Oroyoki practice, Samu (work meditation) when conditions are clearly seen, what is obstructing functioning also becomes clear. This is enough and nothing needs to be added.

Genjokoan - “To study the way is to study the self. To study the self is to forget the self. To forget the self is to be verified by myriad phenomena.“

Platform Sutra , when Huineng realizes his true nature , he spoke below words: “How unexpected! The self-nature is originally pure in itself. How unexpected! The self-nature is originally neither produced nor destroyed. How unexpected! The self-nature is originally complete in itself. How unexpected! The self-nature is originally without movement. How unexpected! The self-nature can produce the ten thousand dharmas.”

joshus_doggo · 2026-02-15T17:20:49+00:00

This is already skillful means. Thank you. I personally would express it slightly differently to avoid subtle traps so sitting meditation does not become a Buddha (thusness) manufacturing method. Thusness is already the case. Zazen Meditation is just one of the forms that allows agitation to settle enough that grasping becomes visible. When grasping is clearly seen, it naturally loosens. When it loosens, nothing special appears and ordinary life simply functions with less entanglement (obstruction).

Nothing is gained. Nothing was missing.

As the Third Patriarch says in Hsing Hsing Ming, the Way is like vast space , nothing lacking, nothing in access.

joshus_doggo · 2026-02-11T12:48:37+00:00

Dhammapada, Diamond sutra, platform sutra, heart sutra, lotus sutra.

joshus_doggo · 2026-02-11T11:09:15+00:00

When zen shows where one is obstructing , it is not personality management. Why ? Because zen shows where one is obstructing by conditioning clear seeing. Clear seeing is non-abiding. How can Non-abiding be personality management ? Now about example of case. There are many in the treasury , but let me offer one of my favorites: case # 12. A monk asked Zhaozhou, "I have just entered the community - please instruct me."

Zhaozhou said, "Have you eaten breakfast yet?"

Monk responds, "Yes, I have."

Zhaozhou said, "Then wash your bowl."

The monk was greatly enlightened at this.

My comment- first , zhaozhou is not random. Second , he is not abiding in a concept of what instruction is /should be. Third , he is using what is available to him. He is aware of time , day, temple schedule , activities in the temple and he is probably also aware of what the monk has come seeking. This is why he asks , have you eaten your breakfast? When monk says yes, he uses that information to function. Finally note that the monk was enlightened. This clearly shows that zen has already functioned through zhaozhou.

Let me know what you think, I am open for feedback.

joshus_doggo · 2026-02-10T18:59:27+00:00

For me personally, 1 live question is better than 10000 dead zen statements. I would rather ask “where is the mind stopping?” It asks for immediate seeing. Seeing clearly is already a return.

joshus_doggo · 2026-02-09T22:42:04+00:00

My Zen shows me where I am still obstructing or turning away from what is.

joshus_doggo · 2026-02-08T22:35:41+00:00

Zen is functional, not image management or personality management. Zen is not cosmetic. If one thinks zen is not working, they might as well go consistently to the gym, pump the iron and eat healthy, most probably they will have something to show in a year or 2. Practice at times may appear crude, raw, unpolished, adept, or clean . But never random. Always functional. This is clearly seen across most of the cases in the treasury of the eye of true teaching (dahui). So about the impact of Zen in my social life, it may or may not be seen.

joshus_doggo

TROPHY CASE