How do we define the “self”? The way we define and delimit Self that is you, others and me living beings is very arbitrary and restrictive. This “individual self” is a living biological organism made of around 30 Trillions of cells made of 7 x 10 power 27 molecules. This self is capable of moving, […]
Nelson Mandela spent 27 years and 4 months in jail. A journalist asked him: “How did you survive breaking rocks and doing nothing?” He replies: “ It depends what doing nothing means. Doing nothing is doing something” By the way, Nelson Mandela was an avid reader of with Zen literature. When someone is asking you […]
We know what the brain is but we have no idea what the mind is. Maybe the mind is our consciousness or part of it or has nothing to do with it. For the purpose of discussion we will use the computer as metaphor where the brain is the hardware and the mind the software. […]
Yes! Absolutely! But don’t judge! You may quit. Zen says that meditation can be boring...very boring! This is a tool used by the mind to challenge you and force you to quit. Your mind hates meditation and it will let you know. It is like a wild horse under a lasso; it will jump and […]
Despite our rich Western society and “all you can get“ life style, feeling miserable is a common complain. Of course, there are cases when misery is obvious and our duty is to help others the best we can. For the lucky ones we are privileged and yet, quite often, we do not appreciate or realize it. There […]
Perceptions are input to the mind and emotions are output. Both are instantaneous, non-stoppable and impossible to master. Both control our subsequent behavior before any rational thinking can intervene. Because perceptions are either right or wrong they can play bizarre tricks on us. How often are your perceptions right or wrong? It is impossible to answer […]
“Zen is not some kind of excitement, but concentration on our usual everyday routine.” – Shunryu Suzuki. Mindfulness: simply means to pay attention, moment to moment to what you are doing and where you are without having your mind elsewhere. The word is a poor translation of the Pali word “ Sati” meaning to be […]
The Zen Buddhist literature does not specifically answer this question but rather looks at its attributes and attitudes, which constitute true or genuine love. Here are the love attributes described by the Buddha himself during his 50 years verbal teaching 2500 years ago. “Practicing loving kindness to overcome your anger. Loving-kindness has the capacity to […]
If you contemplate any tree like this one you will discover sooner or later yourself. Your outer self Made of mind and body is like the branches and the leaves and is always, always moving, never resting, coming and going. Your inner self Also called "Genuine self", "True self" made […]
Definition: To mislead or falsely persuade someone that something is true or real. The first thing I have learned over the last 12 years from my Zen teachers and practice is not to trust my mind at all cost. Of course proper thinking is critical in our day-to-day life to make decisions, to plan […]
