"It’s a kind of a cheap shot that we go for constantly. We may not notice the subtle intelligence of the intangible, which is the binding factor that makes creation possible. The easy thing to do is to make the grand gesture that is noticed by everyone. But that is not necessarily where the real energy and wisdom manifests." (Alice Haspray)

Hagen, Chapter 10 Notes: The Warp & Woof of Reality

Once we accept dysfunction, take it in to be "normal," or alright, we live in illusion.

Nature is intentional, equanimous, interrelated. We are often at our most skilled when we choose to do nothing. It often takes great restraint and self-discipline to choose to not interfere with the cycle of life.

In our work places we can begin to notice the waterfall of problems that can be caused when we over-manage. Our discomfort with conflict and progress leads us to develop committees that slow decision-making often times about things that are inevitable. In my own workplace we find ourselves uncomfortable with the natural energy of students. We hurry them to be quiet, then wonder why they're not engaged. We then create committees to explore strategies to increase student engagement.

We grow when we act in accord with nature; the grass doesn't need to be told to grow.

Warm Welcome to You!

Be quiet, look within and enjoy the healing power of silence. Let go of your sorrow and attachments. Your inner core and wisdom heart remain untouched either by insult or by praise. So have faith in your heart and trust yourself.

Sit free from fear and worries. Rely on your true and sincere heart for your meditation. Pay attention and concentrate on your breath. Let peace and happiness prevail and spread through you. Remember that your life is intimately connected with all other life.

May all being benefit from your presence as a living embodiment of peace and happiness.

Venerable Samu Sunim

Looking without Seeing

I often notice my desire for things to be suddenly different is followed by the mental search for a solution, a plan or a program. We desire gyms to make us more fit, therapists to make us mentally well, diets to make us slimmer; the list goes on. But the primary path to anything is awareness.

Awareness of our internal and infinite strength swirls in the mingle of our most vulnerable weaknesses. Buddhism is the middle way; we coexist with everything and nothing. There is no peace, just as there is no chaos. There is only this, and this is now that.

The moment we look FOR something, we've allowed ourselves to look away from what is there. With eyes wide open, we can allow ourselves to see through delusion, to be with all thought, all knowledge, all images, and in pure darkness, knowing that true reality is fleeting. That is enlightenment.

It is useful to let go of the illusory need to see. We most benefit from looking without being held hostage by an expectation that we will see. Looking is enough.

Cultivating Knowledge

A sculpture in Chicago a few years back

Neighborly Strawberry Bread for Old Friends

Strawberry Nut Bread

1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. lemon extract (I use Gran Marnier, instead)
4 eggs
3 cups flour, sifted
1 tsp. cream of tartar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 cup strawberry jam
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350. In mixing bowl, cream butter, sugar, vanilla and lemon extract until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Sift together flour, salt, cream of tartar and baking soda. Combine jam and sour cream. Add jam mixture alternately with dry ingredients to creamed mixture, beating until well combined. Stir in nuts. Divide among five greased and floured 4 1/2 x 2 3/4 x 2 1/4 loaf pans (or just two regular loaf pans). Bake in 350 degree oven for 50-55 minutes. Cool 10 minutes in pans. Remove from pans and cool completely on wire racks. Freezes well.

Staying Still

Better than one hundred years lived
With an unsettled mind,
Devoid of insight,
Is one day lived
With insight and absorbed in meditation.
(from The Dhammapada).