Nature is a fantastic example of the duality of the permanence and impermanence of all things, the nature of change. No matter how busy our lives are, how built up our cities, we cannot escape the fact that night and day come and go. We cannot fail to notice the sun shines hotly on some … Continue reading Surety
Why do you sit?
This is a question many non-sitting people ask and a question difficult to answer. When sitting, no words are required, no explanation, no thinking, so to have to articulate why makes matters hard. When speaking to people who have never sat zazen, my answer varies, but the core is always the same. When I take … Continue reading Why do you sit?
Beauty
Imagine strolling through a field full of wild flowers. the soft, warm wind is blowing gently through your hair and your senses are taken over with the scents and vivid colours of the flowers around you. Bees and butterflies are everywhere you look and there is no sound but their buzzing, not a cloud in … Continue reading Beauty
Atman
In Zen there is no self. When we sit, we are concentrating on the self that doesn't exist, devoting ourselves instead to the everything. We all exist as part of the whole, as part of the oneness, and in sitting we are letting go of our ego, of our self and realising our part in … Continue reading Atman
Absolute Truth
There is an ancient Indian parable regarding a group of blind men, none of which has ever come across an elephant before. They are each presented with a different aspect of a real elephant to touch and discover. One holds its trunk believing it to be like a snake. Another feels its legs, announcing it … Continue reading Absolute Truth
Harmony
What come to mind when you think of harmony? Everyone working together? World peace? No arguments or strife? A piece of music may come to mind, the harmonious chords resonating with each other to create a stirring sound...but when we think of it in these terms, we realise that with harmony also comes division. A … Continue reading Harmony
Reality
A well known saying states that love is blind. This can be true in the fact that people can fall in love with one another because of who they are inside, despite whether they find each other physically attractive or not. The idea follows that the more we fall for someone, the more attractive their … Continue reading Reality
Stillness
For many Buddhists, the world is seen as a difficult place, full of delusion and attachments, which in turn cause suffering and pain. This whirlwind, however, can be escaped through Nirvana, which is seen as a state of 'no wind', the ultimate attainment. Nirvana ensures no rebirth, a break from the wheel of life into … Continue reading Stillness
Loss
Think of the one most important thing in your life. This thing may be your family, it may be your job, your status, your health, your mind, a keepsake. Now imagine that you lose this thing, which is so important to you. What would happen? Would you feel bereft, lost, grief-stricken, heart-broken? Then imagine you … Continue reading Loss
Switch
If, when talking about a painting, someone were to mention the terms movement, tone, rhythm or texture, our imagination would be taken to a very different place than if we read these same words when reading something related to physics. If they were used for describing a piece of music, they would mean something different … Continue reading Switch
Zen musings 