The Seven Points of Practice
Offered by Kosho Uchiyama Roshi in the last formal talk he gave at Antaiji, on February 23, 1975.
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.
Lately I feel I need more work on the joyful mind. Backsliding, as I had a hold of it before. I think the hold was the problem though.
Be well and happy.
Jordan
6 comments:
A Joyful mind is something that arises naturally. It is a fruit. It is not the tree.
If you try and create a joyful mind then you are changing what is into what you want it to be and it doesn't work.
Joy arises when you love what is.
I guess ;-)
Mikedoe,
Good point, thanks for the reminder.
Jordan
I was going to jump in and throw my 2 cents on this topic, but my real purpose was to let y'all know that my blog is up and running again.
So I'll spare you the bullshit slinging and just leave it at that.
GNIZ
www.gangstazen.blogspot.com
Good to see you back!
Jordan
Jordon,
Great Points to base practice on, I think I'm going to create a page on my blog to post them. I'd love to have them as a reminder.
Just a bit of news . . . .
I’m back with a new blog. Not much content yet.
I erased Entering the Path, maybe this was a mistake. I fear that I had become a bit too attached. So, in the spirit of “burning myself away” I destroyed it!
It was a bit of a rash decision but I don’t feel bad about it, I like new beginnings.
Hopefully the new title and theme is a good fit for the path I’ve decided to take.
I took the tittle, Meeting it Everywhere from a poem by Tung-Shan (Tozan).
Gassho,
Gregor
Greg,
I have come close to deleting both my blogs in the past. Usually for all of the wrong reasons.
It is just a journal for me and my thought scribbles. I may do this less if I take up sumi-e.
I look forward to seeing what you do with your new blog!
Gassho,
Jordan
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