I believe in God, only I spell it Nature.

Tolerance is a form of generosity and it is a form of wisdom. There is nothing anywhere in the Dharma that should ever lead anyone to become intolerant.-Hsing Yun

Finding Comfort in Being Uncomfortable

Living a life of moderation to me means living in a constant stage of being slightly uncomfortable.  I think there is a danger in being to comfortable.  Expectations grow from being comfortable. The more you expect, the less you are able to accept.  Accepting the impermanency of life makes it easy to live moderately.
We become irritate when we get attached on our view on the way things "should be." Be the flow, do not command the flow. Feel the feelings, drop the story. What you feel only matters to the self. What really counts is how we behave in the world. Our "feelings" or "beliefs" do not make us better people, but there is no doubt that our behavior does. So we can not be upset by results we did not receive from work we did not do.

The greatest truths are perceived on a level beyond logic.

I believe the mind is the origin of peace and happiness. My tranquility can not be disturbed by outward circumstances, but only if I choose it to be so. I believe in the saying "Huna Kupua" meaning "The world is what you think it is." I read in a Zen book "Zen is the discipline in enlightenment." Enlightenment = Emancipation. Emancipation = Freedom. If this is true, then discipline thought is freedom of the mind, and freedom of the mind is enlightenment. I think we fear freedom, we fear discipline.  Fear is not real. Fear is a product of thoughts we create. Danger is real, but fear is a choice. The only difference between fear and excitement is your attitude about it.  Zen goes beyond optimism or pessimism both of which presume to make judgements about the future. In Zen you are already who you are, and you are already everything you need to be.

Why is shakespere a better writer than God

A good friend of mine wrote this piece. His name is Jim but I refer to him a Splinter.  This has been occupying my thoughts, so I would like to share it. 


My best guess would be that whoever wrote in the name of Shakespeare was from upper class society and so they were very familiar with the sophisticated poetic style of literature whereas whoever wrote in the name of God (as far as the bible goes) was a member of the lower classes and not familiar with sophisticated poetic language. The "God" writers mistook poetic oral tradition for historical truth. (It was like a really bad game of telephone.) Your guess?

Inner Peace begins the moment you choose not to allow another person or event control your emotions.

People who study Buddhism should seek real, true perception and understanding. If you attain real, true perception, birth and death don't affect you; you are free to go or stay. You needn't seek wonders, for wonders come of themselves. Just put thoughts to rest and don't seek outwardly anymore. When things come up, then give them your attention; just trust what is functional in you at present, and you have nothing to be concerned about.                                              -Sokei-an Sasaki

Mira Day One

January 13th

Is Buddha your God? What is the Buddhist bible called?

The Buddhist is not a God. He is just a man. A man with a name (Siddhartha Guatama). A man with a human mother and father. A man with a wife and child. A man with a heart.  A man who reached the highest happiness (Nirvana) through human effort. There is no Buddhist bible. There are Sutras which are aphorisms written either by the Buddha or masters of Buddhism. But these Sutras are not to be revered. They are simply meant to inspire or provoke thought, and nothing more. You are not a bad buddhist if you do not read them. Mr. Guatama said that no one should simply believe what he said, but we should all think for ourselves and discover the truth through analytical meditation. There are Buddhist temples that have revolving bookcases full of Sutras. But it is said that you gain as much merit from spinning the bookcase once as you do from reading all the sutras. My religion is simple. My mind and body are my temple, and my philosophy is kindness.