Original Self vs Acquired self or The doctrine of “ No-Self” XIII century Zen Master Dogen taught the following: “ The daily practice of Zen and Zen meditation is to discover your true original self To discover your true self is to study your acquired self. To study your acquired […]
The practice of Metta or “loving-kindness” Metta is a Pali word, and like most ancient words, it encompasses multi meanings. Therefore, it cannot be translated into a single word. It can be summarized as an attitude of loving-kindness expressed towards all living beings including self and in all situations w/o seeking anything back for our […]
Being kind with our unkind demons Negative thoughts are our unkind demons popping up all the time out of our subconscious or from nowhere. Hundred of thoughts belong in this category: anxiety, guilt, poor self-image, hatred, regrets, etc.... They disturbed us to the point that we repeatedly tried to get rid of them through […]
Benefits of mindfulness-based meditation 2 In this talk, I will not describe again what mindfulness meditation is all about but look at its beneficial effects. Also, no one should look at mindfulness meditation as the Holy Grail which will fix all our problems. Over the last 25 years or so, science has been able […]
Impermanence: to be mindful to Asked what was the most important message of his 50 years teaching, the Buddha, without hesitation, replied these words. “Everything is transient, work diligently to appreciate and experience your impermanence.” It was his last words a few minutes before dying from mushroom poisoning. As Zen Master Shunryu Suzuki head […]
MINDFULNESS: BACK TO THE BASIS. What, How There is still confusion regarding the definition, meaning, and practice of the word mindfulness. So, let’s go back to the basics: Origin of the word: Come from the Pali word, “Sati”, which means literally “ the active, watching mind on something and in the moment ”. It has […]
How to assess our Body-Mind Energy Level The following is not, per se, a Dharma talk but an interesting exercise that I learned from a Tibetan monk living in Dharamshala with the Dalai Lama and was with us for a year at our temple in Toronto learning English. Before describing this very simple exercise to […]
Applying mind circuit breakers during the day We are doing zillion of things during the day in automatic mode, sort of being on cruise control. This “not being aware” automatism is a critical safety and protective tool because, without it, our mind will be always focusing on these automatic behaviors such as walking or touching […]
Mindfulness on the go: Resting your hands. Over time, I am trying to alternate so-called spiritual/philosophical Dharma topics with more practical ones. The following belong to the latter. How often do you pay attention to your moving hands? Almost never. Paying attention to something that we never do is a wonderful mind circuit breaker […]
Have you woken up yet? This question is the most alien one that you can ask someone not familiar with Oriental spirituality. She/He will look at you wondering if you are OK. In Zen Buddhism, to be awake is just to be, the ultimate goal to achieve permanent serenity. 2500 years ago and after […]
