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Ocean Buddha

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I was floating in forty feet of water with a mask, fins and snorkel. The cloudy sky cleared and the strong overhead sun felt good on my back. Suddenly the floor below exploded, as the sun shone through the gin clear waters, the waves acting like refraction gratings broke up the suns rays into the colors of light. Looking down at the pure white sand was to see a chain link fence, made of a thousand rainbows, covering the entire sea floor.

The continual motion on the surface made the links dance and undulate. My shadow cast on the pallid sand sent concentric circles radiating from my silhouette. The image was Buddha on the water, my outlines every disturbance radiating from my body.

Every circle was also a rainbow and this was superimposed on the chain-links of dancing colors that rippled around me. I was a dark entity surrounded by brilliant moving light. I was transfixed and mystified. There was nothing I could do but watch. When I do my Zen meditation I will focus on this image.

Satoru

 

 

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Bird Song

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I posted this blog before but I just wanted you to hear this one birds song. Turn up your volume and turn down the base.

I am on a tiny island just off a small archipelago in the Caribbean. I do not listen to music or watch television. The biggest event in the evening is dinner. At night, I reconnect with the sky, seeing thousands of stars because there are no lights. In the evening I read on the terrace overlooking, with a 180-degree view, miles of still ocean and a pink-sanded beach were eons ago the hourglass of time spilled its contents. The view coupled with the isolation is spiritual and I have reverence for the sky, the ocean, and the sun. The only two sounds are the rhythmic waves breaking on the shore and the song of the birds. The birds have an immense medley of thirty or so wobbles, squeak, whistles, beeps and songs. I am transfixed by the sounds of the birds and just listen to their song. In the background, the silver waves are a steady heartbeat. The cool breeze blows silently off the ocean and I breath deeply the fresh air. It is a calm and quiet peace.

Satoru

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Death and Honor

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Memorial Day is a day of remembrance and honoring those who lost their lives in the service of their country. Buddhism is a teaching of the universality of death and peace. Zen Buddhism is also a philosophy of peace and honor but has a history based on the bushido code of the samurai who believed we must, “Pray for peace but prepare for war.” So if we follow a Zen Buddhists philosophy we must also remember those who were murdered in the 911 catastrophe as if they to were soldiers. Never forget that we are in a war against terrorist for their archaic radicalism, their murder of innocence, and their repression of women.

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Bushido Meditation.

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All Samurai practiced meditation as part of their code and philosophy. The code of bushido has seven principles to guide a Samurai, the most outstanding being honor.
Though we often live unconsciously, “on automatic pilot,” every one of us can learn to be awake. It just takes practice.

Meditation is about letting in an eternal life force, becoming more aware of the now, clearing your mind, and heightening your awareness of your body. It is not about cutting you off from the world, but opening yourself up to it. Meditation can be done in any position and can be made a part of your life. How hard can it be to just sit and breathe? This is the start of stress release, total self-awareness, and communication with the universe.

Remember there is no form of contemplation that is without ethical values. When your perception has been cleansed and you perceive the world as a jewel you assert all virtues and positively influence everything around you. Satoru

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Mental Strength

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Strength training for the mind. The most important consideration in the beginning of mental strength building through Zen Buddhism is change and attitude. The tendency to modify too much change too fast causes unnecessary setbacks. You must think in positive terms. It takes a minimum of time and continued practice for the mind to acclimate and internalize good strategies, attitudes and changes even if you are practicing every day and doing everything else right.

Attachment to permanence is illusionary, since all life is change.