…“willingness” than “will”. It is the willingness to let go of things moment-by-moment: ideas, opinions, wants, fears, ideals, judgments, … everything. It is the willingness at all times to learn, to be open to seeing new ways, as Dogen Zenji put it “to be disturbed by the Truth”. And it is the willingness to do whatever comes next. “Doing what comes next” is more a matter of honesty and courage than of will. The honesty is that of looking straight…
…the Order of Buddhist Contemplatives. The OBC is an international monastic order of men and women, who, together with lay ministers of the Order and our congregations and affiliated meditation groups, are dedicated to practicing the Serene Reflection Meditation tradition of Buddhism, also called Soto Zen. Our practice was passed on by the late Reverend Master Jiyu-Kennett, the founder of the OBC. Reverend Master Jiyu left behind her career as a pr…
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…aving a commitment to a master intertwined with a basic commitment to every-minute meditation ups the ante on ourselves since following the master includes following not only their spiritual advice, but more mundane, practical requests about which we may have our clung-to opinions. In other words, interaction with a master can challenge us in more ways than we would challenge ourselves, or than we would figure out from reading. The decision to ent…