“Zen is becoming one with all truths. It is easy to be misled by the word ‘zazen’ and think that it refers to some special practice, but this is not the case. If the goal of all religious practice in the world is to become one with the truth, then this is all Zen.”

-Harada Sekkei Roshi

This Week’s Discussion Topic
Has practice ever made your life seem more stressful than before you started? How so?

“I used to think the point was to pursue happiness and flee misery, and this attitude extended to Zen practice. But now I see a new way of looking at things: What if the point is to start by accepting suffering?”
-Henry Shukman

This Week’s Discussion Topic
What are some of the most persistent thoughts, anxieties, memories, etc. that have distracted you from the present moment in the past few weeks? Do you have any strategies for limiting their ability to steal your attention?

“Even though we’re making our way through an enormous mystery, we often think we do a pretty good job of trying to explain just how things are—until we actually experience the thing we’re trying to explain. Then we realize our words and ideas are like trying to grab a single drop of rain in a thunderstorm.”

-Ed Brickell

This Week’s Discussion Topic
How has your practice affected your personal views on death and dying?

“We come to the Buddhadharma precisely because the suffering we have experienced in the world of relativity forces us to question ‘conventional’ truth and the status quo.”

-Charles Johnson

This Week’s Discussion Topic
Describe a time when you personally experienced a strong sense of the how all things in life are interdependent.

“The pleasure one experiences on achieving a goal or acquiring an object of desire is wrongly ascribed to achievement or acquisition. The joy does not come from fulfilling the desire. Instead, cause-less joy—which is our true nature—shines unobstructed when we are momentarily without desire.”

-Sri Atmananda

This Week’s Discussion Topic
What is the most useful lesson you’ve ever learned from a spiritual teacher, and how has it affected your practice?

“When you no longer seriously entertain the whole conceptual story of a life extended in thought beyond the present content of awareness, conceptual living is seen for what it is and ceases to be the exclusive focus of attention.”

-Nathan Gill

This Week’s Discussion Topic
Given the famous quote by Shunryu Suzuki below, how have you personally experienced “beginner’s mind” and/or “expert’s mind,” and how did that mindset help or hinder your practice?

“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s there are few.”

“If you’re convinced that you are a separate, individual self in charge of your life and thoughts, try any of these experiments: 1) In this moment, decide to feel elation and then actually feel it. 2) Think of your least favorite food and for the next five minutes, really crave that food. 3) Consider your opinion on capital punishment and then change it, so that you fully believe in the opposing viewpoint. 4) Ask yourself what your next three thoughts will be and see if you can know them in advance.”

-Leo Hartong

This Week’s Discussion Topic
How do your thoughts about reality differ from actual reality? Share examples of the difference(s) and how this disparity can lead to delusion/suffering.

“Every experience you’ve ever had—good or bad—plays a role in your awakening. That means you can never say that anything in your life has been totally useless or unnecessary.”

-Adyashanti

This Week’s Discussion Topic
What part(s) of your identity are you most strongly attached to and/or afraid of giving up?

“Nothing is worth the measure we give it, because worth doesn’t really exist. It is a figment of our judging minds—an imaginary yardstick to measure the imaginary value of imaginary distinctions, and one more way we withhold ourselves from the whole enchilada of life that lies before us.”

-Karen Maezen Miller

This Week’s Discussion Topic
What are some your favorite methods for enhancing concentration/focus during meditation?

“Nagarjuna pointed out that there’s absolutely nothing that persists from moment to moment. In fact, there’s nothing that endures even the least bit—to actually be impermanent. He calls this Emptiness. This is the true meaning of impermanence. This observation—based solely on immediate, direct experience—is simply incompatible with any notion of reincarnation, since reincarnation assumes the persistence of some kind of embodied entity. There is no way to hold a view of reincarnation without holding a view of permanence. Thus, any view is reincarnation is antithetical to what the Buddha taught.”

-Steve Hagen

 
This Week’s Discussion Topic
If there is no such thing as a permanent, independent self, then how does rebirth work? What gets reborn?