In news, student talks, interviews and personal reflections, members of the Hazy Moon Sangha share the ways practice has transformed every aspect of their lives—at work, at home, in relationships, and in handling the change, pain, loss, and fear that all of us face at times. The consistent message from any serious Zen student is that practice works.
Losing My Misery
My name is Honmei and my practice is counting my breath. I’ve been practicing at Hazy Moon for 11 years.
When I started practicing, I did it because I felt like I should. Practice is good for you, like exercise, and I felt a connection to Buddhism…
Kinhin
Kinhin is walking meditation. At the Hazy Moon, we perform kinhin in between periods of zazen, or seated meditation. Kinhin is a continuation of practice that also refreshes your legs after sitting and gives you an opportunity to exit and re-enter the zendo if needed. A period of kinhin lasts 10 minutes. It begins with […]
Alive in the Mire: Swampland Flowers
A review of Swampland Flowers: The Letters and Lectures of Zen Master Ta Hui translated by J.C. Cleary.
Vimalakirti said, “It’s like this: the high plateau does not produce lotus flowers; it is the mire of the low swamplands that produces these flowers…”
Inspiring Transformation
In this Dharma talk which he gave shortly after he returned from a hiking adventure to Everest Base Camp in Nepal, Kelly Doman Stevens Sensei recounts the rewards and challenges of his transforming experience. “It was vast, desolate and awe-inspiring,” he says of the landscape around Mount Everest. “But I wouldn’t call it pretty exactly.” […]
Fusatsu (Atonement Ceremony)
Fusatsu is the ceremony of atonement in the Zen tradition. In doing Fusatsu, we acknowledge the suffering caused by our own ignorant view of ourselves as separate from the world we inhabit. In this video, students at the Hazy Moon Zen Center share appreciation for Fusatsu and the role it plays in their practice.
Follow the Monk!
Affirmations Work
“When he began talking about affirmation practice, I told Nyogen, this is so long overdue for me personally. This habit of negative thinking of mine is poison, and I have been poisoning myself with it for years.”
Hey Daddy, Relax
Being a parent is something that has to be experienced to be understood, and the profundity of parenthood can’t possibly be conveyed in words. Nyogen Roshi told me before my daughter was born, “Your joys will be amplified and your pain will be amplified.” This has proven to be an accurate statement!
If I Don’t Do It Now . . .
Lailah Dainin Shima will sit as head trainee during Summer Ango 2019 at the Hazy Moon. In this video statement, Dainin talks about the life-and-death concerns behind her desire to sit as head trainee, as well as her growing appreciation for the Hazy Moon’s lineage of practice…
Shuso Hossen 2019
Shuso Hossen ceremony for Lailah Dainin Shima and the culmination of Summer Ango 2019.
Pain Versus Suffering
In this excerpt, Hogen points to the power we have to reduce our own suffering. When we entertain fantasies of something “other” than what exists right now—no matter how painful or difficult the situation—our desire to escape from who and where we are actually creates more suffering for ourselves.
Kathy Jizo Cummings’ Jukai
A faithful member of the Dewdrop Sangha, Kathy Cummings began her practice in 2013 as she moved toward a time of transition in her life. Since then, she has come together with the sangha in retreats from New Mexico to New York, including multiple visits to the Hazy Moon…
