Post by Admin on Feb 26, 2017 13:25:01 GMT -5
Have been enjoying this guy's blog. He's a youngish (compared to me :}) Zen priest named Domyo Burk. The title of his blog is My Journey of Conscience: A Zen Priest Tries to Save the World, which is obviously tongue in cheek. His style is casual and friendly but he has many excellent insights -simply stated- into how to apply mindfulness teachings (Zen perspectives) into the flow of daily life. Here's the opening of a recent blog post:
Calming Your Mind Buddhist-Style – A 30-Second Method for Non-Buddhists and Buddhists Alike
December 1, 2016 by Domyo Burk
In recent weeks, given the political turmoil in the world, I’ve heard from a lot of people who are wondering how to calm their minds. It’s painful and unhelpful to be caught up in anxiety, anger, reactivity, despair, fear, and worry about the future. In addition, these kinds of emotions are what Buddhists call afflictive – that is, they are self-perpetuating and suck up a lot of our energy. Stewing in anxiety, for example, generally leads to more anxiety and exhaustion, not to solutions or relief.
People often assume Buddhists have achieved a kind of magical inner peace, and they want to know what the secret is. Or, if they see Buddhists losing it, they ponder out loud how that can be so. “Aren’t you a Buddhist?” they ask. The truth is, Buddhists get upset too – but we have tools we can use to calm our hearts and minds. In a particular moment we may forget – or neglect – to use our tools, but when we finally recognize (or admit to ourselves) what’s happening, we know what to do....
Read the rest of this Zen priest's blog about ways to calm ourselves by touching | clicking HERE.
December 1, 2016 by Domyo Burk
In recent weeks, given the political turmoil in the world, I’ve heard from a lot of people who are wondering how to calm their minds. It’s painful and unhelpful to be caught up in anxiety, anger, reactivity, despair, fear, and worry about the future. In addition, these kinds of emotions are what Buddhists call afflictive – that is, they are self-perpetuating and suck up a lot of our energy. Stewing in anxiety, for example, generally leads to more anxiety and exhaustion, not to solutions or relief.
People often assume Buddhists have achieved a kind of magical inner peace, and they want to know what the secret is. Or, if they see Buddhists losing it, they ponder out loud how that can be so. “Aren’t you a Buddhist?” they ask. The truth is, Buddhists get upset too – but we have tools we can use to calm our hearts and minds. In a particular moment we may forget – or neglect – to use our tools, but when we finally recognize (or admit to ourselves) what’s happening, we know what to do....
Read the rest of this Zen priest's blog about ways to calm ourselves by touching | clicking HERE.