In the Zen Inner Balance retreat in August, we were reminded by our beloved Master to bring meditation into everything we do.
The beginning of Zen
In the ashrams in ancient China, meditation was the main focus. They brought meditation into everything that was needed to be done; growing food, cooking, building, taking care of the animals. The mind always wants to go to the opposite, to think that meditation is something opposite to ordinary life. But they brought meditation into ordinary life, it was not just about sitting. This was the beginning of Zen.
True meditation, as far as I’m concerned, is in everything you do because it has to do with your state of awareness, your consciousness. It cannot be separated from life.
– Vasant Swaha
Meditation in Dharma Mountain
by Deva Dasha
A Zen story
A disciple had come to see his master. The disciple had been practicing for some time. It was raining and as he went in, he left his shoes and umbrella outside.
After he paid his respects, the master asked him on which side of his shoes he had left his umbrella. The disciple could not remember. The master said, “Then go and meditate for seven years more.”
“Seven years?” the disciple said, “just for this small fault?”
The master said, “This is not a small fault. Faults are neither small nor big – you are just not yet living meditatively, that’s all. Go back, meditate for seven years more and come again.”
Zen and the art of…
…photography:
When I was taking pictures before, I was just looking for a beautiful image.
Now being more involved in taking photos in the retreat, it is more a tool to watch myself. What are my ideas, what is between me and this work, between me and Babaji.
The work is sacred, and out of that comes this wanting to be emtpy. To be nothing.
Lahima
…dishwashing:
The work with dishwashing is for me a way to reconnect; with myself and with what is happening here. It is a religious experience.
Life is so simple! Dishwashing, driving, chopping wood, eating and sleeping when I am tired.
Dorje
“It is a good practice to be aware of how you put your shoes. How do you put your shoes when you are here? Are you one of those who finds one shoe here and the other there? Be aware, in everything you do. The habit of unconsciousness is very deep. Take this practice with you and incorporate it into your life.”
– Vasant Swaha
