ARROWLEAF BALSAMROOT
(Balsamorhize sagittata)

Don’t grasp at “voidness” and ignore cause and effect;
such reckless confusion leads only to suffering.

Rejection the truth and grasping at entities is also a mistake,
it’s like jumping into a fire to avoid drowning.

My friend, Jordan, is taking a break and I have offered to continue this experiment. Jordan is a lucky man, he has a wonderful family and a developing talent for playing the Shakuhachi. It is my hope that he will still participate when he can and keep me on my toes.

On first reading this section it sounds like classic Buddhist “middle way” stuff. Not too much voidness (absoluteness) and not too much entities (relativeness), just some nebulous middle way thingy.

Maybe, yet there is more here, so much more.

We can not ignore cause and effect and if we let cause and effect push us around, we are lost. We have conditions in our life that are the effects of past conditions. Clearing confusion and seeing this leads to the freedom to “have” conditions and not “be” them or be controlled by them. The times I’ve been free enough not to be caught up in my conditions I have seen how to use my confused states to look closely at their causes and be a bit more present. Being a bit more present is always a bit more skillful and leads to a bit less suffering. Bit by bit here we are.

Grasping, ignoring, reckless confusion, rejection, and more grasping. Sounds like the discription of a tormented life.

In his poem Song of Freedom, Yongjia points out what is helpful and what is not. This lands firmly in what is not helpful, states to be on the lookout for.

My knowledge is less than perfect. I look forward to being straightened out by my friends.
Will

If you are joining us in progress, you can catch up by reviewing the first part of this break down of the Song of Freedom by looking at the discussion over at Jordan’s blog.

Jordan’s Blog
Song of Freedom Posts

Here is where you can get a copy of the Song of Freedom as translated by Yasuda Joshu roshi and Anzan Hoshin roshi.

I’ve found out that Michael, the author of the blog One Foot in Front of the Other has died Jan 15th after a long struggle with cancer. He is an inspiring photographer, poet and human being. Michael, you have opened my eyes to the intimacy of life and death. Thank you.

I’ll reprint his last poem. It his hugely moving to me. I’m swallowed up. Can I feel the life spark? Can I feel the life spark? I’m afraid that I might not.

Zumwalt Prairie

This photo was taken at the Zumwalt Prairie in Wallow County, Northeast Oregon. We were shown this wonderful place by our good friends Bill and Dianne French. Their interest in native prairies is infectious.

During zazen this morning, I saw my arrogance. I’m learning about myself and that is exciting. Sometimes we see things in ourselves that we are surprised by. I don’t know why I’m surprised by my arrogance. Maybe even that is a little arrogant. Funny how I now see it everywhere. How arrogant of me to deny my arrogance! A vicious cycle from which there seems no escape but there is and it is so easy. What do I mean by arrogance.

an attitude of superiority manifested in an overbearing manner or in presumptuous claims or assumptions
Merriam-Webster Online.

I can act this way. I can feel superior although I usually call it confident but there is a subtle difference. Confidence doesn’t have to mean “I’m right” or “I’m better”. It can be more restful. It can be more like the wind. The wind is not superior or inferior to anything else. It is confident in its windness without any sense of right or wrong.

Overbearing is a qualifier here and provides a bit of an out. Does the superiority have to be overbearing to be considered arrogance? Maybe in the classical sense but in my world I don’t fell like I can use any excuse for my arrogance. Overbearing or not arrogance is just arrogance.

I find it interesting that in the definition above there is the antidote to arrogance. Presumptuous assumptions are at or near the root of our arrogance. Presumptuous assumption means that we take mental constructs that are based on other mental constructs and say that that is reality.

I enjoy the opportunity to work with thousands of people to help create opportunity for hard working entrepreneurs in developing countries. You can too, check out KIVA.ORG

Here is encouragement by the Dalai Lama, who tells us: “Everyday, think as you wake up, ‘Today I am fortunate to have woken up, I am alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others, to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings, I am going to have kind thoughts towards others, I am not going to get angry or think badly about others, I am going to benefit others as much as I can.’ ”

The Seven Points of Practice

Offered by Kosho Uchiyama Roshi in the last formal talk he gave at Antaiji, on February 23, 1975.
Found via Jordan Fountain @ Slow Zen: Asura Dharma

1. Study and practice the Buddha-dharma only for the sake of the Buddha-dharma, not for the sake of human emotions and worldly ideas.

2. Zazen is the most venerable and only true teacher.

3. Zazen must work concretely in our daily lives as the two practices (vow and repentance), the three minds (magnanimous mind, parental mind, and joyful mind), and as the realization of the saying, “Gaining is delusion, losing is enlightenment.”

4. Live by vow and root it deeply.

5. Realizing that development and backsliding are your responsibility alone, endeavor to practice and develop.

6. Sit silently for ten years, then for ten more years, and then for another ten years.

7. Cooperate with one another and aim to create a place where sincere practitioners can practice without trouble.

These are great principles to practice with especially #5 “Realizing that development and backsliding are your responsibility alone, endeavor to practice and develop.” This one hits home today. Forward and backward is up to me alone. Make a firm effort. Not for any care of result. No gain in mind. This seems so abstract when written on a blog. How does one endeavor to to practice and develop in this practice? This is a great topic for study.