Hard to talk after meditating
I was just reminded that sometimes after meditating, I find it hard to talk to people. I can generally understand what they're saying, but my problem is two-fold. First, I have to work to formulate a sentence, and second, I have to get my mouth to work properly.
I don't know if this is a common occurrence among people that meditate, but as I just ran into this again, I wanted to mention it here.
The Heart Sutra (in English)
Here are the words of The Heart Sutra, in English, as translated by the wonderful people at the Kwan Um School of Zen. (If you have been to one of the Kwan Um Zen Centers, you will know this sutra well.)
The Heart Sutra (in English)
The Maha Prajna Paramita Hrdaya Sutra
Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva
when practicing deeply the Prajna Paramita
perceives that all five skandhas are empty
and is saved from all suffering and distress.
Increased meditation time to 45 minutes
As a quick note to self, I increased my meditation time to 45 minutes this morning. I slept in late, then sat in meditation (in a chair) for the usual 12 minutes. When that time ended I didn't feel like stopping, and with nothing else to do today, I just stayed there. My mind is still wandering quite a bit, and the upstairs neighbor was making a ton of noise, but it's good to get my time back up like this.
A nice yoga and meditation rhythm
After getting away from meditating in the mornings, I've finally gotten back into the habit/groove lately. It has taken a little while to get comfortable again, but this morning was the first morning where I had the old feeling that I didn't want to stop. Until today I've been thinking more about things like discomfort, pain, and that I should really get to work, but this morning I finally got back to the peace I'm used to.
Buddha means "aware"
I just read this quote from a terrific book named "The Zen Teachings of Bodhidharma":
"Buddha is Sanskrit for 'aware', or 'miraculously aware'."
I really like that, because it refers to something I've talked about with several other people about in regards to Zen meditation.
Life in Relation to Death (book)
Geez, if you're ever interested in Buddhist thought on life and death, the super-small book "Life In Relation To Death
Here are a couple of sample lines from this wonderful little book:
Consciousness endures
Ah, a nice morning of pleasant dreams, a terrific way to start any day. I was glad I could reach over, turn off the alarm clock, and go back to sleep until the dreams were over. I may not be incredibly wealthy, but many times I do think I am a fortunate person.
That being said ... the real reason for writing today's post is this quote from Iyengar's book, "Light on Life":
"What mind is and does dies with us. But consciousness is that aspect of mind, the envelope of continual awareness, which endures ..."
Leo Tolstoy's "The Three Hermits"
While on my retreat last week I finished a book titled Autobiography of a Yogi, and in that book the author shares a summary of the story The Three Hermits by Leo Tolstoy, and I'd like to share an even more abridged version of that story here:
On an island there lived three old hermits. They were very simple people, and didn't know complicated prayers. In fact they knew only one: "We are three, Thou art Thee, have mercy on us." In spite of this one and only prayer, the hermits were said to have created many great miracles.
A Zen Master walks into a casino ...
Back to reading the book "Wanting Enlightenment is a Big Mistake", and it contains a great short story where Zen Master Seung Sahn (ZMSS) and his hippy students are traveling the country in the early 1970s, and they spend one night in Las Vegas. In the wee hours of the morning ZMSS wakes up all his students, drags them into a casino, and says:
"Do you see these people? They are all trapped in hell ... the hell of their own desires."
"This body is not me"
I read these great lines in a Buddhist chanting book today:
This body is not me.
I am not limited by this body.
I am life without boundaries.
I have never been born,
and I have never died.
I wonder how many people read those lines and really believe them? I don't know why most people become Buddhists, but I consider myself very fortunate to have had many experiences where I can read these lines and at least feel like I know what they mean.
