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Posts from the ‘zen mind’ Category

Jun 3 11

Back to the Marketplace

by Tom

The last post in a series of 5. So, did I experience any 見性 kenshō? (awakening experiences) I certainly experienced something. Did I attain 悟り satori ? (enlightenment) What do you think? Did I enjoy the 10-day meditation retreat experience? No, it’s more like work than play and working on yourself is a difficult, tiring and emotional [...]

Jun 2 11

Mountains are high, valleys low

by Tom

Post 4 in series of 5 So, why all of this need to watch the senses? Through direct experience of the transitory nature of all sensory phenomena, we can begin to understand the craziness of craving for positive experiences and aversion from negative experiences. This helps us to stop regretting the past or worrying about [...]

Jun 1 11

The Imperial Destroyer

by Tom

Post 3 in a series of 5. The sensory deprivation of leading a very simple life and the continued meditative focus on watching and witnessing sense experiences proved to be utterly mind-blowing. All of the senses became acutely sensitive and were easily over-loaded by any kind of sensory stimulation. There were countless examples of when [...]

May 31 11

Living Like a Monk

by Tom

Part 2 of a series of 5: For the entire course, we all had to accept a strict moral code: to abstain from killing any being; to abstain from stealing; to abstain from all sexual activity; to abstain from telling lies; to abstain from all intoxicants. ~ Japan Vipassana Association In practice, precept 4. is [...]

May 30 11

My Dhamma Brothers

by Tom

Part 1 of a series of 5: There we all were. In the middle of a field. A bit like Glastonbury with all of the rain, mud, tents, vegetarian hippies and hallucinogenic experiences but none of the music or drugs. I’m sitting on a cushion in the meditation hall, looking around me and I’m starting [...]

May 17 11

Ten Days of Mu

by Tom

                          We all play roles. Whether defined by family, friends, work or play, we all wear masks and use props to help us fulfill these roles. In fact, we spend so much time in these roles that we forget who the actor or [...]

Mar 15 11

The Poetry of Search

by Tom

Time for a moment of light relief. Using Google Analytics, I can see what keywords people searched under to come to my site. Unfortunately, it cannot however tell me what they were thinking or if they found what they were looking for. Here are some of the more interesting: from the age of six i [...]

Mar 12 11

8.9 Tokyo Marathon

by Tom

My 100th post … The building shakes, we hide under the desks. The building stops shaking, we evacuate. The factory is at a standstill. Only the trees seem unaffected by the aftershocks, standing proud and tall. We’re close enough to the sea to hear tsunami warnings about moving to high ground but not close enough [...]

Mar 11 11

Wasaaabi

by Tom

I’m eating a lot of sushi these days. When I leave Japan I’ll have to stop so I figure that I’d best enjoy it while I can. “What’s up?” came up in a textbook I was using the other day. One of the students made the mistake of asking me what it meant. I couldn’t [...]

Mar 10 11

Night Time

by Tom

Once I saw a star, I went outside. I saw lots of stars, I went home. The next night, I saw the star in the same place. I had a very good look, It was very bright. I went to bed. I had a dream about my star. ~ dictated by Henry