One way to think about Zen practice is: A total, non-judgmental awareness (mindfulness) which incorporates together body and mind in the present reality of the moment, that is in the same current space-time & doing the same thing. To do this: Dropping all illusions and experiencing things and people as they currently are without […]
Don’t fight your thoughts during meditation Can you stop your heart from beating or your kidneys for making urine? No While keeping your eyes open, can you stop seeing? No Can you stop thinking? No, even while meditating. This is a fake news. Our brain-mind that is hardware and software has 4 main duties: […]
“Awakening inventory” using a scoring system www.mindfulnesszenmeditation.ca Are you “awake” or close to “awakening”? Please note: this is a very rough, non-scientific and limited inventory that may help you or not to assess your journey. The highest score the closest to “awakening”. Score the following statements as: Strongly disagree=1 Disagree=2 Neutral =3 Agree=4 Strongly […]
When, where and how do you have "fun" Arnaud? D, a very good friend of mine leaving in San Francisco told me the following over the phone: “Practicing Zen Buddhism for many years at the San Francisco Zen center and reading your blogs, I found that Zen philosophy and its Zen Masters teachers are […]
Are you blind? About our emotional outbursts Few months ago, I was walking downtown Oakville, with my arms full of stuff when someone roughly bumps into me so hard that my groceries went all over the ground. As I picked up the puddle of broken eggs and tomato juice, I was ready to […]
Zen serenity as taught by a little dog Our 10-year-old wonderful Shih Tzu named Zap is a perfect example of calmness & serenity except when he is asking to go out for a pee or when time for food […]
Mind-Made 6 poisons The main roadblock against inner peace and serenity is our ego-driven mind Our “I, ME, MYSELF and MINE” are critical for identification, survival, protection, enhancement, pleasure, procreation and many more other functions. This is wonderful but..... Zen Buddhism considers our little self that is “I” is also the main cause […]
Meditation: its 2 most common obstacles As long you have been meditating, for 80 years or 2 weeks, all of us are encountering the extremes of drowsiness and agitation during the practice. Drowsy or agitated mind are the 2 most frequent obstacles in meditation. From time to time, it is impossible to escape […]
Meditation: an update from Neuroscience studies Mindfulness is paying attention moment- to- moment to ourselves and our environment w/o analytic and decisional purpose. During the past 25 years or so neurosciences have been very productive in trying to understand how mindfulness works. But, like for any scientific research, some studies regarding mindfulness […]
Time can be a dread Once a while, I observe animals and pets and envy their pragmatism, calm and, maybe, their wisdom. Their life is not fun, mostly routine. They suffer like all of us and yet they do not seem to make a “big deal of their dull and non-exciting life ”. […]
