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We all want things to work out "perfectly", exactly as we hope and imagine. Much of our energy and attention goes to trying to control events, changing them, and exerting force to have outcomes meet our demands.  We can become some obsessed with the "right" outcome, that we entirely miss the day. We can go on like this forever, and miss our relationships and lives as well. What we do not see is that every outcome is the "perfect outcome". An outcome lasts a moment, and then the next moment appears. If we do not cling to the former moment. If we allow each moment to arise as it will, another will come that is totally different. Not only is it totally different, but we can begin to see that all moments were needed. All were perfect in their time and way.

We are all so upset at the prospect of making a mistake. We'll do anything to hide it up and pretend it never happened. Or punish ourselves or others for it endlessly. But mistakes are inevitable, the are natural and come to teach us how to live, what's important and what is not. Dogen Zenji goes even further, he says that "life is one continuous mistake".  Rather than seeing what is right before us, most are caught in the grip of illusion, of memories, beliefs and demands that we cannot control. When we allow that to rule our lives, our natural wisdom is gone. We lose our way easily.Zen practice is the simple road back home, to where we started from. It's a way to regain clarity and direction, and also to truly enjoy and relish our precious life.

We all want to know how to live a life that is right  and true. All through the centuries the question comes, "Where the Way is and how do I enter it. This question has been echoed in many forms, including what do I do now? How in the world can I proceed?   Practices of all kinds have been established to answer that question and  point to the way to live. Many of these practices reject life as we know it. Or they seek to transcend  life or alter it radically to match a preconceived idea. But a different answer arises as well. In scripture it is stated to "Enter Through The Days." Enter each day as it comes to you, do not negate it, transcend it, or run away from it. Each day, each person and each experience as it arises, is the way to find true meaning and fulfillment.

It's so easy to get lost in the whirl of confusing messages, thoughts, and beliefs. There's no end to the different ways we get stuck or lost not knowing what is or isn't so. However, Zen practice comes to put an end to this. As we stay with the simple facts of our lives, pay attention to them,  and live them, we leave the ever twirling pitfalls of the thinking mind.  When Buddha was enlightened, he could walk through mud without being disturbed. He realized Mud was Just Mud. He wasn't embedded in ideas, beliefs of fears about it, just experiencing the simple reality under his feet.. 

A great deal of our sorrow and disappointment are due to the false promises of Samsara, how we live for them, grip them, and are so shocked when they don't fulfill our needs. However, a deeper Zen teaching tells us that Samsara IS Nirvana, the joy and fulfillment we constantly seek. This podcast explores how to make every moment beautiful as it is.

There was a man who searched constantly for the perfect dewdrop, feeling that when he found it, his life would be complete. However, no matter how many dewdrops he stared at, there was always something missing. None matched the image he held in his mind. He rejected  so many dewdrops. Like him, we search and search for that which will make our lives complete, rejecting or judging most of what we see. Yet, as we engage in Zen practice, little by little we come to realize, that each dewdrop, each person, each moment is truly perfect as it is. How thrilling.

Uchiyama Roshi has said we are like travelers on a train, who get caught by the scenery again and again. Rather than be able to take the trip in peace and gratitude, we become embroiled by all kinds of scenes that pass by. Often we, even get pulled off the train and forget where we were head. Lost among the passing scenery, it can be hard to move along. This is also a wonderful description of practice. Yet, as we learn a new way to take the journey, to stay rooted on the train  and allow all kinds of scenery to come and go  a whole new vista arises.

Although so many of us feel separated, and disconnected during this holiday season, the practice of Zazen tells us that this is not so. Even when we cannot see those we care for, even when we cannot go to a familiar place, the sense of oneness, connection and deep wholeness is available every moment of the day. As we practice, we discover that when we do not reject any moment or experience that arises, when we become one with it, that sense of wholeness and unity takes us to the reality that we are all, always together. Our lives and worlds are always whole.

The best way to give thanks is to experience and share the Goodness, Value and Beauty of every day that is given to us. But how to do this in the midst of pain, fear and anguish? What makes a day like that Good? Ummon, great Zen Master, tells us that "When there are no unnecessary thoughts in your mind, Everyday Is A Good Day". The thoughts we have about what happens, the anger or catastrophic expectations acts as a filter to what is truly here, moment by moment. As we do not chase after or empower those thoughts, we see beyond them to the Goodness available with every breath we take.

The Wheel of Time is relentless, turning constantly.  It seems that it cannot be stopped as it turns relentlessly. No matter how much we want to do something over, or control what comes next, the wheel of time, laughs at us, just turning without stop. It pushes us from day to day,  era to era, taking over our lives. But there is a way to take back our time, to enter our lives and live differently. Once we discover the Great Pause, the wheel of time becomes powerless to shove us around anymore.

There are so many ideas, memories, beliefs and people who want to live our life. They can take over at any moment, over ride what is true for us, and push us into all kinds of actions and beliefs. They shove us around mercilessly, until it is easy to forget who we really are.  Or, we can cling to something in the past, keep trying to fix it or relive it, and that can live our life now. But each moment is unique, fresh and altogether free and beautiful. As we practice zazen, we become more and more able to greet ourselves and the moment just as it is now, and live it fully and beneficially, no strings attached.

When we are flooded with all kinds of events, news, hopes and fears, it is easy to get lost. Desperate to understand what is happening, and make things right, we jump into the confusion and flail around. Adding confusion t confusion only makes matters worse. However, there is another way. Stop,  sit still in the middle of all appearances, and become a Beholder of whatever arises, within and without. Then true clarity, equanimity, compassion and wisdom appears.  Zazen is the practice of becoming a Beholder... finding a large perspective, and becoming able to see the great beauty and wonder of everything.

"The Whole World Is Medicine, What Is The Illness?" is a Zen Koan for today's world. There is so much suffering, fear, and conflict that can be solved easily. We do not see that the pain we feel is due to the way we are responding to the never ending cycle of change. We do not see we are clinging to suffering, making it stronger, and that this can be easily changed. This Podcast is the basis of my new course, Sacred Psychology Counseling.Come listen to the podcast and find out more.

Everyone wants to be themselves and not have to obey another. There's a sense we must fight, rebel and say No to life as it is. But all the time we are not aware that we are still being obedient. We are automatically obeying our feelings, impulses, thoughts and repetetive patterns. Then we feel stuck and frozen, not knowing why. As we truly explore what it means to be Obedient, we find a strong power within. We find that we can open our hearts and mind to what life as it unfolds, and instead of fighting it, make its acquaintance. Despite our likes and dislikes, and automatic reactions, we then become willing to deeply greet life as it is.

These days we sail in choppy waters. Life changes on a dime and it seems as though there is no place to anchor our lives, or the boat we sail in. Many lose hope and feel out of control, not knowing where they are headed or what to count on. However, there is a way to go through the sea of life, no matter how turbulent and be planted in a boat that is safe and secure. In this voyage, we do not fight the wild ocean, but learn how to stay planted and centered and be befriend whatever comes along.

Whatever comes to us we turn into a problem and have to find the "answer" to it. One question about our situation comes after another. These questions take us away from our lives, tangle us up in conjecture, thinking, doubting predicting, trying to control all outcomes. And, all the while, the true wisdom we seek is right in front of our eyes. We don't pay attention to it, though, caught as we are in  figuring life out. However, as we leave the quagmire of our thoughts and settle in life as it comes to us, all our answers are right here to be lived. True wisdom waits at every turn.

Years ago I had a zendo in my home for those who fell off the cushion and wanted to climb back on again. Let's try it again! Little did I realize then that it's impossible to fall off the cushion. Wherever we go we are practicing, if we look at life that way. Nor did I realize that there is no such thing as failure or success in practice, except what we impose upon it. Nor in life itself. Come listen to this podcast.

All fear, stress and pressure arise from our concern about what is happening next. We must control it, make sure we will be happy and safe. In this process, the past interjects as well, causing us to fear that it will repeat itself again. Or we start to long for  past times to be here, once again. But as we learn the precious teaching of going back to the beginning, and staying there, the fierce thread of time no longer takes over. Each moment is complete unto itself. No longer fearing or searching for the next moment we are not pulled out to sea, over our heads, but planted in our true lives.

It is so easy to get lost in dreams, fantasies and just plain confusion when we allow our attention to scatter and do not stay present to what is right here in front of our eyes. As our attention drifts from one thing to another, we cannot feel full and complete. We also cannot see the truth of what is here right now, right before our eyes. Zen practice guides us to become present to the bare truth of what is, to be available to it completely and call it by its true name. To see, honor and acknowledge the plain truth in front of our eyes.

We all search for deep meaning in our lives, and the answer to endless questions about our true direction and how to live. When a student found a great Zen teacher and put these questions to him, the reply was quick and to the point. Pick up your coat from the floor and put it where it belongs. He was guiding the student to be aware of what was right in front of him that needed attention and care and to take care of it. That's all. Moment by moment. Not only pick up coats, but give the same attention to a person who has fallen down. Pick them up and put them where they belong. This brings joy.