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Confessions of a Householder
Let’s face it. A house is not Zen.
I never really wanted a house. It was my wife’s idea.
My ideal scenario was to live in a van. There are many advantages to a van. Maybe it’s a guy thing.
For one, who ever heard of painting a van? I mean the inside. This just wouldn’t come up. There is something beautiful about steel, whatever color it’s painted.
Second, keeping the van clean would be easy. Cleaning my house is like cleaning the Potala Palace in Lhasa. There are more rooms than I care ... continue reading
Meditation Room
The Zen Novice finished his first meal at the monastery. Anxious to begin his journey to enlightenment he asked his Master “Now What?” The Master replied, “Now wash your bowl.”
—-Zen Parable
Michael, Can We Talk?
Michael, my dear, we have to talk. No, I didn’t say “Tawk” I said “Talk.” Seriously, have you noticed something? It’s getting crowded around here. It’s like you’re running out of room. It almost feels cramped. Why is that? I think you know.
The last time you sat down to practice mindfulness meditation, before ... continue reading
Zafu Limerick
OK, so perhaps this isn’t the finest moment in my career as a booster of meditation. I just happen to have a soft spot for limericks. And as anyone who knows something about limericks will attest, one limerick deserves, nay demands, another.
Dear Reader, the snow is about to fall in Vermont. Potentially stressful holidays loom. The economy is poised on the brink of something, but it’s hard to tell what. In these moments the mind turns to meditation. Ah well, yes very important. This time ... continue reading
The Cool Kids
Recently the New York Times published an op-ed piece on a conference for Social and Affective Neuroscientists (or “Neuros”) which took place in New York this past week. According to David Brooks, the writer, “the leading figures at this conference were in their 30’s, and most of the work was done by people in their 20’s.” And all of them, he pointed out, were “young, hip and attractive.”
Mr. Brooks went on to write, “many of the studies presented here concerned the way we divide people by in-group and out-group categories ... continue reading
Maybe You’d Better Sit Down
Scientists in Germany reported Thursday that the often-described sense of lost-hiker déjà vu, of having inadvertently backtracked while wandering in the woods — is real. “People really do walk in circles,” said Jan L. Souman of the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics in Tubingen. – The New York Times, August 2009
The path of meditation shines a light on habitual patterns that keep us lost, both to ourselves and the world we inhabit. For meditation to move forward, however, orientation is essential. As the article from the Times on lost ... continue reading
Meditation: Your Cup of Tea?
Sometimes, the formal practice of sitting meditation feels like a stretch. What does sitting quietly, upright on our meditation cushion, have to do with, well, anything, we ask ourselves? Life is moving fast. It seems to require speed and efficiency. Meditation practice is about slowing down. Aren’t these two heading in opposite directions? We feel trapped in a choice of our own making — life and living it — and our discipline of meditation, which doesn’t relate.
There is the vague sense that the regular practice of meditation had been important ... continue reading
Coffee to Compost
Last Saturday morning was busy with a long list of errands. First stop was the Farmer’s Market to visit a booth selling compost supplies. We needed a new filter for the compost bucket that sits on the kitchen counter.
As I drove to St. Johnsbury along the empty interstate, I remembered something my friend Mary Anne had mentioned to me recently. “It seems like the farmer’s market has really grown,” she was saying, “there are more booths, new sights and smells, fresh coffee, food cooking…”
The simplicity of Mary Anne’s comment must ... continue reading
It’s About You
Editors Note: A key aspect of a successful meditation practice is a view or orientation. To this end, some study of meditation is important. At Samadhi Cushions, we recommend books and media from fellow practitioners of meditation as an essential companion to the actual practice of sitting on your meditation cushion or kneeling bench.
Chapter 14 in Sakyong Mipham’s book Ruling Your World is called The Confidence of Delight in Helping Others. It is a thoughtful contemplation on the personal transition toward serving others. In any event, without consistently refreshing one’s ... continue reading
In New York With No Mobile
So, partly at Mr. Greenleaf’s urging (”you have to see the show at the Guggenheim”), and partly from Mitsu’s invitation to her performance, and partly from the encouragement and offer of a place to stay from a college friend I’d not seen for … years, and partly from the desperate need for a vacation (having not been outside of Vermont and New Hampshire for I think nearly 3 years), I took a long weekend in New York City. Living as I do in an area of Vermont with limited cell ... continue reading
Our Staff Reads II
Editor’s Note: To look at the breadth of what we might have read to support our meditation practice, we asked staff members to talk about books that inspired them at the beginning of their sitting meditation career, as well as books that freshly inspire them today. These selections reflect our Buddhist heritage, but can be enjoyed by anyone exploring the practice of meditation. We asked Mrs. Greenleaf, who is in France at the moment visiting her family, to share something of her life in France when she was younger.
Then: The ... continue reading
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