Claude Debussy was a French composer who lived and wrote music around the turn of the 19th century. In addition to the music he created, he is famous for saying, “the music is the space between the notes.” Such a simple phrase but so powerful too. We often think that the value in something, the […]
FOUR SPIRITUAL PATHS Our personality is made of three parts: The Physical Part (The Body), the emotional part, (the Mind), and the Rational part (the Intellect). Running like a thread through these three parts is our true Self: Consciousness, Soul, or Atma in Sanskrit. The Consciousness acts as the battery energizing the inert Body, Mind, […]
STEPS TO SPIRITUALITY Among the essential teachings of Buddha are: • Everything is impermanent, transient, and changing • Suffering or dissatisfaction with the world because we get attached to things we love and because of the earlier two teachings, we have to give them up. Impermanence Impermanence means that life as we know it is […]
The Nature of Consciousness from the perspective of Eastern Philosophy Just as the Bible and the Koran form the basis of Christian and Muslim beliefs, the Vedas ( literally means Books of Knowledge ) written by several saints and sages going back over 10,000 years ago, form the basis of Hinduism. The knowledge contained in […]
The Nature of Consciousness from the perspective of Eastern Philosophy Just as the Bible and the Koran form the basis of Christian and Muslim beliefs, the Vedas ( literally means Books of Knowledge ) written by several saints and sages going back over 10,000 years ago, form the basis of Hinduism. The knowledge contained in […]
Mindfulness meditation: misconception, illusion, and delusion Here is a list of the most common deceptive statements promoted by so-called meditation teachers and by statements coming from students. The list is not exhaustive and not in any specific order. The main purpose of practicing meditation is to relax & to quiet the mind. Not true! The […]
The practice of Don’t know mind “Cultivate a - don’t know mind . It opens the door to serenity and tolerance. It is the foundation of Zen practice Zen loves to challenge us with these enigmatic and counterintuitive teachings. “Don’t know mind “ goes totally against our Western education and culture for the following 4 […]
Breathing properly to anchor our mind: the why and the How Understanding the “WHY” will help you to maximize the “How” The basic purpose of Zen is to achieve and maintain serenity that is a steady emotional balance. It can be achieved only in taming, and better in controlling our non-stop cognitive and emotional mind. […]
Non-acceptance Last week we talk about attachment as a potential source of suffering. This week, we are swinging to the opposite side of attachment that is non-acceptance, which also may induce suffering. Suffering and non-acceptance are the opposite sides of the same coin called the emotional mind. Attachment is desire whereas non-acceptance is disliked. Try […]
Example of questions about Zen from students Here are a few core questions asked by students that I dealt with over the years. This list is not exhaustive and is not in any specific order. Pick a few of them or have your own ones then write them down. Remember: There is no stupid question, […]
