SWORD MEDITATION

The weather today was perfect—76º Fahrenheit and finally a departure from the gray and gloom. It was a good day to get barefoot in the backyard dojo and do some sword meditation and suburi (drills).

It's been five months since I broke my humerus and my arm is starting to feel "normal" again more often than not. It's good to have a sword in my hand again!

BIBLIOMANCY: WHEN THINGS FALL APART

When I purchased the June 2025 selection for the Buddhism Today Reading Group, When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chödrön, I randomly inserted a King's Books bookmark into the book.

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"When I was a child, I had a picture book called Lives of the Saints. It was filled with stories of men and women who had never had an angry or mean thought and had never hurt a fly. I found the book totally useless as a guide for how we humans were supposed to live a good life. For me, The Life of Milarepa is a lot more instructive. Over the years, as I read and reread Milarepa's story, I find myself getting advice for where I am stuck and can't seem to move forward. To begin with, Milarepa was a murderer, and like most of us when we blow it, he wanted to atone for his errors. And like most of us, in the process of seeking liberation, he frequently fell flat on his face. He lied and stole to get what he wanted, he got so depressed he was suicidal, and he experienced nostalgia for the good old days. Like most of us, he had one person in his life who continually tested him and blew his saintly cover. Even when almost everyone regarded him as one of Tibet's most holy men, his vindictive old aunt continued to beat him with sticks and call him names, and he continued to have to figure out what to do with that kind of humiliating squeeze."

—page 117

TEMPLE BETH EL

Shabbat shalom! My small group worshipped with our Jewish neighbors in Tacoma this evening.

This is a detail of one of the two glass burning bush menorot in the sanctuary of Temple Beth El.

PIG at the CROSSING

Pig at the Crossing (2024) directed by Khyentse Norbu. This two-hour-long movie was slow, weird, existential, and exactly what I needed right now. I'm sure I missed many cultural cues and touchpoints in this Bhutanese film, but there was plenty for me to grasp.

The story follows a young man who is killed in an accident, but doesn't realize such for a while. Scenes linger for some time and then shift suddenly. Sounds drops off into silence or echoes after a long absence. Characters sometimes change appearance. A few scenes try to convey nonlinear, nonsequential time. Will the modern distractions and attachments of cellphones, Instagram, Tik Tok, pregnancy tests, Viagra, and the smell of gasoline ("the scent of civilization") keep one from rebirth and/or enlightenment? Yes. No. Perhaps.

Viewed as the May selection of the Tricycle Film Club.



"Whatever we do we leave footprints. But... some footprints destroy you. Some footprints destroy others. So you have to be careful my dear friend."

BEING-TIME

Let's get existential!

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I'm not going to pretend that I completely understand everything I'm reading from Dogen's masterwork the Shobogenzo. I don't! But I have Shinshu Roberts to help guide me through one of its ninety-five fascicles/essay, "Uji."

I first encountered her initial thoughts on "Uji" in Receiving the Marrow: Teachings on Dogen by Soto Zen Women Priests, edited by Eido Frances Carney. I found her teaching compelling enough that I wanted more. And here it is.

Shinshu Roberts breaks down "Uji" into manageable parts and comments upon them. She defines terms. She explores what Dogen is doing in this essay and how it connects to other essays in the Shobogenzo, which I find extremely helpful to my current "cutting in" project.

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It was interesting to learn that Dogen took a term consisting of two kanji, 有時, and transformed it. When they are combined, they read as aru-toki, "for the time being." When they stand alone, they read as u, "being," and ji, "time." So he takes the characters, figuratively breaks them apart, and then stitches them back together.

So the notion of uji, "being-time," is not only philosophically dense, but also linguistically rich. And bent like a reed by Dogen.

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"When we realize the nondual nature of a dharma position or particular being-time, we can include everything and avoid getting caught in a constricting story about our current situation. Making up a defining story line takes us further away from the true state of our experience." 

—page 45

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"When Dogen equates time and being, he shifts our erroneous notions of time from time outside the person to time as the person. The dharma position "person" is time. This being-time also includes everything at this time."

—page 50

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"The fact that we are buddha-nature does not mean we will act according to that nature. Expressing buddha-nature (realization) is dependent upon practice, which is the enactment of our true nature."

—page 69

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Did I mention notions of nonduality, nonsequential time, suchness, and the like? No? And I'm only a third of the way through this commentary.

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This is a wild ride and I am glad to have a teacher that is able to dissect Dogen's phrases and wordplay and philosophy and serve up (mostly) digestible nibbles and bites.

NINE PERFECT STRANGERS

Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty is not my normal reading material. I needed a brief respite from Buddhist philosophy and I've seen the first season of the Netflix series based on the novel, so I entered the novel's pages. While the book and series share bones, they are fleshed quite differently. The book is mostly interior, in ways the series cannot be. Moriarty keeps things moving along and interesting for me as a reader. I appreciated the characters that she fleshes out, although she only really does that with Masha (the owner of the health resort that is the setting of the novel) and four of the nine strangers. The other five participants of the health retreat are a bit stiff because we don't know enough about them. The series actually does a better job of focusing on each of the nine strangers and Masha than the book, so this is one of the cases where the "movie" was better than the book.

GRAMPA'S WEEDER

The Wife gave me Grampa's Weeder and Grampa's Garden Apron as gifts. I'm not quite sure what she's trying to tell me, but maybe she just wants me out of the house.

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Grampa's Weeder is an excellent tool. It allows me to stand upright and easily pull weeds. Unlike many similar weeders on the market, it has no plastic parts! It's a solid wood handle and metal forks and step/pedal. The pedal moves one fork on a thick metal rod. You poke the forks into the center of a weed, step on the pedal, move the weeder in the direction of the pedal which closes the forks together, and pull the weed out. Easy! Plus it allows me to weed for longer periods of time with less back strain and pain.

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I wasn't sure about Grampa's Garden Apron, but it is actually quite useful. It has a large pocket on the front so you can place your pulled weeds in it. Once full, you release two clips and empty the pocket at the bottom into a bucket, garbage can, or yard waste bin. It means I can move around faster than having to stay in close proximity to my bucket or bin. Win!

FREE THROW

I recently discovered that shooting free throws, either in real life at the gym or virtually via Wii Resort, is the best physical therapy for my arm. Progress on healing had mostly stopped and I realized I wasn't really using my left arm. But playing with a basketball a couple times per day has reduced pain and increased mobility. Plus it mimics sword work (right = control hand; left = power hand) but in an exaggerated and helpful way! Plus I make sure I dribble with my left hand, which is awkward and challenging, but some bonus PT.

MOKUGYO

Tonight, I had the honor of being invited to strike the mokugyo (temple drum) while we chanted the Heart Sutra after zazen. I was a bit nervous, having never had to keep the beat and chant at the same time, but the mokugyo found its own rhythm. The mokugyo fell into a beat that felt as natural as my breath or my pulse. 

This invitation was also a lesson in paying attention. I've heard the drum beat every time I've sat with the Zen group I'm part of, and we've chanted the Heart Sutra, but I never paid close attention. When he arrived at the final line, the mantra Gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha, I had to "decide" whether to slow the beat with the chant or drop off drumming completely at some earlier point. I let the drum follow the slowing of the chant and ended with the final syllable. It felt right. If it wasn't no one said anything to me!