ZAZEN

The foundation of zen practice is zazen, the Japanese word means ´sitting meditation’, it is the practice of being here now, of sitting in this present moment. We sit together in the dojo, also called a zendo, and we practice zazen together in a structured and supportive environment. Here at Earth+Sky we have a daily, a weekly and a yearly cycle of events, all centered around the practice of zazen but including other connected activities.

EARTH+SKY

Each day, we chant the Heart Sutra as it is chanted throughout the Buddhist world. In this ancient verse, sitting meditation is called the ´perfection of wisdom practice´ because it allows us to realize that only this fleeting present moment is real, all else is empty of substance, is delusion. We can neither undo the past nor control the future, but we can bring our whole hearted attention to the present. In this present moment we realize that we exist only in interconnection with all beings and all things. And that interconnection includes everything: our cultural and spiritual background; our location today, the weather, the amount of daylight, our position relative to the sun, everything……..

From a Buddhist perspective, a human being is subject to the three poisons: Greed; Hatred; and Ignorance, which cause us to chase what we want and run from what we don’t want. When we look outwards towards the world we see the three poisons writ large across the globe. These are pushing us towards environmental catastrophe, and involving us in constant and terrible war, both indicate an absence of wisdom on a vast scale. How to roll back this shocking reality is the preoccupation of people of conscience, everywhere. Many are gathered in small groups like ours.