The Will

Portland Buddhist Priory Posted on by

(To view the May 2018 newsletter where this was first published click here.)

I have been thinking a fair bit about how we use the will in practice and keep coming up to two points. The first point, which I can’t get over, under or around, is in an old story of a student who comes to a Zen teacher and says something like “there is a stone in my garden and I would like to carve it into a Buddha, can I do that?” and the teacher says, “yes, you can!” Having second thoughts, the student says “carving that stone into a Buddha would be hard, are you sure I can carve it?” And the teacher says “no, you can’t carve it.” Continue reading →

If Only

Portland Buddhist Priory Posted on by

(To view the April 2018 newsletter where this was first published click here.)

One of the last direct personal teachings my teacher gave to me was to let go of the mind of “If Only”. At the time, it was becoming abundantly clear to me and the sangha around me that, because of my health situation, it really wouldn’t be good for me to live at Shasta Abbey any longer. (I have a wonderfully varied array of allergies, chemical sensitivities and intolerances.) While it was becoming clear, it was difficult for me to accept. Continue reading →

On Trusting Ourselves

Portland Buddhist Priory Posted on by

(To view the March 2018 newsletter where this was first published click here.)

A little while ago a student at my former college called on behalf of the alumni association to solicit donations. In the course of the conversation she asked me if I had any advice for her and after talking with her a little about some ideas I have about how to benefit from education, it occurred to me to say, since she didn’t seem like a self-absorbed psychopath, “trust yourself.” Later, as I reflected on the conversation, it occurred to me that it might have been more helpful to say “trust yourself even after you blow it.” Continue reading →