Tag Archives: David Xi-Ken Astor

April 13, 2014 · 9:41 am

Easter And The Power Of Karma

By: David Xi-Ken Astor, Sensei

This is Palm Sunday and that means that Easter is almost upon us again. As a Buddhist monk pondering the lessons that can be realized in this Christian day of celebration I once again work to find common ground between what the lives of Siddhartha and Jesus can mean to us living in the 21st century. In the Christian narrative the death and resurrection of Christ should become a more urgent intellectual necessity to all Christians who ponder the challenges of life today if they fully believe that Christianity has yet a message to give to the world. Alongside this Christian imperative is the Buddhist challenge to find vitality and meaning in what the Buddha awakened to over 2500 years ago for us struggling to make sense out of a world in crisis.

When we examine our contemporary Western civilization with a critical eye, it is difficult to call it’s ethical and moral fabric Christian anymore. This is an extraordinary statement perhaps coming from a Buddhist, but it is also admitted by a consensus of opinion of many Christian thinkers as well. Buddhism, however, has yet to significantly influence Western culture in any meaningful manner to place it’s mark on human behavior either. It has been over 2000 years that Jesus left us and it seems that Christian values are still struggling to find fertile ground upon which to nourish the human condition. The reason may be that we have only tried to practice only half of Jesus’ message. While he spoke often about the need for us to connect to our original self as is manifested in the creation process, he also spent most of his time speaking about how we should refine our compassionate actions toward others. I am thinking of the Golden Rule, for example, which states that we should treat our neighbors like ourselves.

The problem seems to be that who or what a neighbor is can still be a vague concept for many of us. There should be no doubt that we need to come to a truer concept of what Jesus means by ‘neighbor’. This is where Buddhist thought can provide a significant contribution in how we can consider the reality of our interdependence and interconnectiveness between self and other. From our Western perspective, we have a curious habit of judging our fellows not from the standpoint of a spiritual life but from a material or capitalistic one. By using this kind of perspective we devalue the poor among us as a kind of social disgrace. Poverty has a tendency to create inhibitors, or walls, between those with social advantages and those without. We find in most Western cultures a conception of the poor which is radically wrong. What lessons of Easter can be discovered that might shed light on how we walk the path that both Jesus and Siddhartha did that can change our own and our cultures’ worldview to promote human flourishing for all, not just the chosen few.

During this time of contemplation of the lesson of Jesus’ transformation, we are called to examine how we practice the spiritual path from the reality of the Jesus-experience. Christians would say “He has arisen”. As a Buddhist I would change that expression to “His has arisen”. His what has arisen you might ask? From a Buddhist point of view the answer is “his karma”. The word ‘arisen’ is to convey something that comes into being, as in effective action, not just the simple act of getting up. The causal-chain of how Jesus lived and taught produced a strong chain of effects that when released by his intentional actions for useful and positive good is projected forward through time. His death did not stop the good that he caused to bring into existence, but his legacy actions resonates throughout time as long as it is encountered and acted on by others. The same is true with the life and death of the Buddha. The dynamic energy of their life and death was so strong that it continues to influence how we can choose to live our life for the nourishment of what is good and pure in all of us, when we use their good works as examples.

There is nothing so adequate in any religion or spiritual practice that can unconditionally drive the reconstruction of a world in crisis alone. It can only be accomplished by individual and community effort. There is nothing in our science, philosophy, or political models to bring about the great change that can equalize the world state of injustice. But with the karmic energy inherent in the legacy teachings and way of life as Jesus and Siddhartha exemplified we can move forward with a renewed sense of purpose when we awaken to the arising wisdom driven forward on the wave of their own karma that is with us still.

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March 30, 2014 · 9:19 am

Confidence Trumps Knowledge In Our Practice

By: David Xi-Ken Astor, Sensei

The Zen master Shunryu Suzuki said, “Instead of having a deep understanding of the teaching, we need a strong confidence in our teaching, which says that originally we have Buddha nature. Our practice is based on this faith.” This statement which comes form his book Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind got my attention. I have not thought of my practice in this way before. Not knowledge, but confidence is what we should cultivate is what Suzuki is stressing. This emphases on confidence over knowledge can be a strong agent for change. It asks the question, “Do we really believe what we know?“ I speak often about how Buddhist practice and study can be viewed from a philosophical, psychological, and spiritual perspective. As a philosophy, Buddhism is a very comprehensive and profound system of thought-processing. But traditional Zen practice is not taught or practiced with a great deal of philosophical explanations. Focusing rather on our personal experiences, the exercise of breath control and meditation, are considered more essential for coming to a realized state of body-mind.

I have not considered the term confidence before when expressing how one should consider their practice, I use other words. Although without confidence the student/teacher relationship is in jeopardy. What I like about exchanging the word ‘understanding’ to ‘confidence’ is that it places focus on the importance of acceptance of what we are learning as we practice. Not just on knowing by analysis something about Buddhist thought. It is more about acceptance, assurance, and certainty that the path we are on can achieve insight. That insight may also awaken the body-mind to the bigger picture of how we are in this world. We can be aware, but the subject of this awareness must transition into acceptance. When that happens we have gained confidence of its value, and our practice is strengthened as a result. Continue reading →

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March 28, 2014 · 12:21 pm

Master Dogen: A Pragmatic Mind

By: David Xi-Ken Astor, Sensei

It doesn’t take long for anyone new to Buddhist inquiry to encounter the name and lessons of the thirteenth century Japanese Zen Master Dogen. He is referenced all the time in Zen/Ch’an publications today. He is a Zen superstar, and is credited for establishing the Soto Zen school. His work is referenced by both Chinese, Japanese, and contemporary Western Zen Buddhist teachers today as representing how important mindful meditation (zazen) and a common sense approach for a serious practice is. He is very pragmatic in his approach to Buddhist thought. “Useful and productive” seems to be an underling theme throughout his teaching. He, of course, had no notion of the term ‘pragmatic’. While the term has been around for quite a few decades, it is also a modern philosophical construction arising from the American pragmatic movement in the nineteenth and twenty centuries. But Dogen’s path to development of a pragmatic perspective to life, and his subsequent worldview, was one that he cultivated over a period of years, especially in his travels and study in China.

Dogen was one of the major leaders in the Kamakura period’s revitalization of Buddhism in Japan. It was not an immediate consequence of his influence on the cultural changes that took place during this dynamic period in Japanese history, but one that required decades to accomplish. These changes, and the new Buddhist schools that emerged, had either direct or indirect roots in China. These new schools, including what was to become know as Soto Zen, emphasized the practical actions to be undertaken by both lay and monastic students stressing individual practice that was supported by a Sangha open to all. It was no longer just a monastic practice that was required for coming to a realized state of body-mind. What was more important was establishing a strong student/teacher relationship. In order to do this, authenticated teachers were encouraged to make themselves open to those outside the walls of a temple. This was a revolutionary change. In the past, only the best educated and aristocratic families contributed to the monastic communities. In the type of militaristic culture Japan had at the time, it was only possible for the samurai class to participate in the traditional style of education like offered in monastic communities. There were exception, but they were rare. Dogen himself came from an aristocratic family, but early life circumstances provided him a chance to move away from what was expected of him and instead followed his developing awareness that was calling him to step on the spiritual path.

Dogen was driven to find answers to one nagging question, “If we are all enlightened beings, why is it so difficult to achieve this understand?” To get answers that could be useful and productive to his own practice, he decided to travel to China where he thought he would find a teacher that could work with him on this question. He was taking the bull by the horns, and his life would never be the same again. On this first trip to China he stayed for four years and worked on his meditation technique that was stressed in Chinese Ch’an practice over what was emphasized in traditional Japanese Buddhism in the thirteenth century. He experienced a breakthrough that was authenticated by his teacher. When he returned to Japan it was with a new pragmatic approach to practice that was outside conventional structures of his day, and placed emphases on personal experience that acted as the basis for self-realization when combined with a strong zazen practice. Continue reading →

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March 17, 2014 · 10:19 am

Solitude And The Socially Engaged Monk

By:  David Xi-Ken Astor, Sensei

I speak often about the importance of awakening to how the Four Noble Truths articulate the importance for us to develop the individual as well as social elements of this noble practice we call Buddhism.  We learn how we are, both as persons and as partners, in this web of connections we call life.  As a Buddhist monk that has taken vows to engage others beyond the walls of a temple, it is important for me to confront the realities of the social-self component of my practice.  Without it I do not have much of a Buddhist ministry.  The Buddha emphasized, however, the importance for us to balance our social responsibility with the individual need for our own spiritual renewal.  Siddhartha often removed himself from the everyday activities of the Sangha, and retreated into solitude in order to “recharge” his spiritual energy.  The Ch’an and Zen tradition has a long history of supporting an extended period of retreating into solitude away from all distractions.  This is true in both the East as it is now in the West.

I want to share with you today some thoughts on the nature of this transformative body-mind practice know as “session”, or intentional practice into solitude.  Time or space is not imposed.  It is up to the individual to establish the parameters surrounding the need.  It is always an effect of the causal chain of events that drives the situational aspects of making the choice for withdrawing from social interaction.

Solitude or withdrawal is the state of being secluded or separate from others.  An individual can choose to inter a state of practice of being solitary based on circumstances.  It is an example of situational-practice.  When used at the right time and in the right manner it can have an important role in our spiritual development.

Before his enlightenment Siddhartha Gotama, the Buddha, also spent over six years in extended periods alone in the forests of his ancestral home in what we know today as Nepal.  He was seeking first to understand himself before he could have the wisdom to administer the affairs of others.  That was when he thought his destiny was to govern the region after the death of his father, the King.  That we know now did not happen.  The causal nature of the Universe revealed a different path for him, and we are all the richer for that reality.  Reminiscing on this time many years later he said in the Majjhima Nikaya, “Such was my seclusion that I would plunge into some forest and live there.  If I saw a cowherd, shepherd, grass-cutter, wood-gatherer or forester, I would flee so that they would not see me or me them.”  We know from the many references made in the various Pali Canon that after he attained enlightenment he would occasionally go into solitude.  In the Samyutta Nikaya he is reported as saying, “I wish to go into solitude for half a month.  No one is to come to see me except the one who brings my food.”     Even though Siddhartha came to consider that the fabric of all phenomena-form, including our human one, are interconnected and dependent, it was still vital to withdraw from intentional contact in order to reconnect with renewed vigor.  The notion is that I might be in a room by myself, but I am never totally alone, because all the connections I have with others before I stepped into solitude are never severed, unless that too is an intentional act.   Even then, we are only in a body-mind state of being “alone with others” as Stephen Batchelor puts it. Continue reading →

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March 5, 2014 · 11:38 am

Vows and Duty: Guiding Principles For A Buddhist Monk

David Xi-Ken Astor, Sensei

I generally avoid making a distinction between a lay practice and the refined-life-practice of a Buddhist monk in a public discussion.  While the roles within a Buddhist community and the Sangha leadership may have different aspects and responsibilities, the depth and wisdom between a lay and monastic practice can be much the same depending on individual commitment and capacity for understanding.  From a Western point of view, many contemporary Buddhist teachers avoid defining a Sangha as only a community of monks/nuns, but take a pluralistic position that is inclusive.   This is a useful and productive attitude that recognizes the values imbedded in the principles of our interdependence and interconnectedness.

However, there is an aspect to a life dedicated to the Bodhisattva ideal that is undertaken when one takes formal vows and commits themselves to living as monks, either as temple-monks or itinerant-monks.  The intentional action to submit to a monastic life of purpose is unique and enhances an individual practice beyond a specific defined role.   It is this unique motivation and life that I would like to present today.  I address my thoughts to those individuals that have taken, or are in training to take, the step of professing monastic vows.  Although many of the lessons here can be adopted into a lay practice as well.

First and foremost, becoming a monk (I wish to use the term to include both men and women) is not to adopt a different type of practice from a lay one.  A Buddhist practice, is a Buddhist practice.  Wearing monk robes does not change that.  What makes a difference is “how we are” as we live within the monastic tradition.  Of course having the time to devote to a dedicated practice without some of the worldly distractions is an additional element for a monastic life.  So, the question that arises is, “What makes one a monastic?”   The Christian tradition has a nice answer to this question that revolves around a “special calling and religious vocation.”  We Buddhist generally don’t use these phrases to explain why one comes to understand their desire to become a monk.  Make no mistake though, Buddhist monasticism is a vocation, as it is a human experience reflecting the spiritual dimension, answering a deeper self-awareness that even for me is hard to define.  When we are moved to step onto the monastic path, we must understand just what it is we are committing ourselves to.  “Why” is not as critical as “what” in this case.  So the question expands to, “WHAT makes one a monastic, and WHAT is required of us?”   The answers to these questions are critical to one’s understanding of how their life will change, and how the monastic-practice sets priorities and challenges, as we monks engage our everyday Buddhist practice.

As Buddhism moved West and encountered a culture familiar with monastic traditions (Christian), some assumptions on what a Buddhist monk was were taken for granted.  We Westerners saw robes, ritual, temple buildings, chanting, and deep spiritual characteristics of the few Buddhist monks we came in connect with, that reinforced the idea of “monkness”.   But the difference between Christian and Buddhist monastic practices were not obvious to the casual observer.  It has taken a few decades for the Buddhist monastic structure to find roots in the West, and attract Western men and women to the Buddhist monastic life. Continue reading →

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February 27, 2014 · 6:01 pm

Karma Is Empty Until It Is Given Value

By: David Xi-Ken Astor, Sensei

I have been thinking a lot recently about karma and how we can learn through our Buddhist practice if it is possible to drive our own karma, or at least, what are we going to do about it.  There is no point in pretending that karma has now become problematic for Western contemporary Buddhism.  If we are honest with ourselves, most of us are not sure how to understand it.  This is something I have become aware of in my own teaching and through group discussions.  Karma has always been an essential element of the core Buddhist principle of mutual-causality, but we may not know how literally it should be understood using today’s language .  Karma is often taken as an impersonal “moral law” of the universe, with a precise calculus of cause and effect comparable I suppose to Newton’s laws of physics.  This understanding, however, can lead to a server case of “cognitive dissonance” for modern Buddhists, since the physical causality that modern science has discovered about the world seems to allow for no such mechanism.

Then again, some important Buddhist teachings make more sense to us today than they did to people living at the time of the Buddha.  What Buddhism has to say about “no-self”, for example, is consistent with what modern psychology has discovered about how the ego and self-nature is constructed.   In some aspects Buddhism can fit quite nicely into contemporary ways of understanding.  But not traditional views of karma.  Of course, this by itself does not disprove anything.  It does, however, encourage us to think more deeply about karma.

There are at least two other problems with the ways that karma has traditionally been understood.  One of them is its unfortunate implications for many Eastern-centric traditional Buddhist cultures, where a split has developed between how the Sangha is defined.  In most of the East, and in many Western Centers as well, the Sangha is considered divided between the monastic community and the laity.  Although the Pali Canon makes it quite clear that laypeople too can achieve an awakening, the main spiritual responsibility of lay Buddhists as popularly understood in the East,  is not to follow a life of purposeful isolation behind walls themselves but to support the monastic’s that do, and by doing so gain merit.  By accumulating merit they hope to attain a favorable rebirth, which for some offers the opportunity to become monks next time around.   From my way of thinking, this approach makes Buddhism into a form of spiritual materialism, because Buddhist teachings are being used to gain material rewards.  The result is that many Sangha’s and their supporters are locked into a co-dependent relationship where it is difficult for either partner to change. Continue reading →

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February 25, 2014 · 11:15 am

Spirituality In The Modern Age: A Buddhist Perspective

By: David Xi-Ken Astor, Sensei

Buddhism is one of the oldest spiritual traditions who’s foundational teaching stresses the importance of experiencing aspects of man’s behavior that promotes human flourishing.  Yet, a large portion of Buddhist thought encompasses the philosophical and psychological nature of man and may be lacking in direct and useful language of what “spiritual” means when we strip it of the mystical and metaphysical.  It is way to easy to find Buddhist practices that touch on the mystical, or even magical components in the legacy teachings as they have been handed down from the medieval mindset.  This is to be expected, but does not make it any easier to find contemporary language that expresses the “spiritual” in agnostic existential terms.  There are aspects to Buddhism that many find attractive, especially those that promote harmony in how we live our life among others in engaged activities, and the importance placed on meditation practice.  Buddhism also fits nicely in our modern age that promotes the pragmatic and pluralistic view that supports the notion that we never accept anything on the authority of others alone, but on what we can eventually understand from our own verifiable experiences.  Without this direct experience our practice is one of blind faith.

This attitude toward reality is inherent in modern thinking.  Buddhism does not require anyone to believe anything that they can not rationally understand.  Buddhism is not a faith-based religion for those with a serious study practice.  Individuals should only hold as reliable what they can confirm through experience.  Siddhartha spoke often about the danger of holding opinions with such strong and unyielding force that they could not be subject to change, as this can become another form of attachment.  Buddhism is not an otherworldly practice but remains grounded in universal realities.  Thus the importance Buddhists places on living in the moment and not expecting the future to be neatly defined, as things never happen the same way twice.  All this we know after just a short time in Buddhist study and practice, especially if you are guided by a teacher.  Buddhism is very practical and provides a discipline for the body-mind that has the potential to awaken us to how we are, and how the universe is wonderfully mutually interconnected.  It does not just say “have compassion for others”, but shows us how living a life aware of our place in our world is a path away from unsatisfactoriness.  This is because it is practical and not ideal.  A Buddhist practice is found at the intersection where the ideal meets the real.

None of this, however, effectively defines what the “spiritual” component is unless you want to define all Buddhism to be a spiritual practice.   One can do this of course, but that does not work for me.  Buddhism has three basic dimension: the philosophical, the psychological, and the spiritual.  We take this approach as it helps in breaking up the teaching characteristics associated in Buddhist literature.  But it is proved difficult when we are left with trying to achieve what could be considered a comprehensive definition of the spiritual.   It is both a dilemma and a paradox, especially when most of us can come up with a definition of some sort.  When we really try to nail it down, however, we come to realize the complexity of the task.

The term spirituality has had a long and diverse history, especially in the Christian traditions.  In many ways, this is a part of the problem as many try to associate the Christian spiritual thought and struggle to bring them into their Buddhist practice.  From a Buddhist point of view, spirituality can be  defined as the “human quest for personal meaning and mutually understanding of the relationships we have with others, the environment, and the universal.”  As Buddhists we avoid language suggesting mention of a god, or concerns associated with the non-mutual causal nature of creation.  This leads us away from the Christian notion of the spiritual, but does not act as a clear understanding either.  It is just a definition that sounds good.  It is also interesting that the core existential phrase “existence before essence” can be used to support either a Christian interpretation of creation (Creator), as can an agnostic or atheist universal view.  The challenge is in the interpretation of the word “existence”. Continue reading →

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February 22, 2014 · 9:56 am

Developing The Art Of Questioning

By: David Xi-Ken Astor, Sensei 

I often speak about the pragmatic and existential importance of validating the information we are learning through direct experience.  In that way we come to really “know” something, which is about gaining knowledge.  Now I would like to expand on that by sharing with you some of my thoughts on journeying through the unknown, and using the skill of questioning.  For you see, questioning is an element of the art of practice.  If we do not question our experiences as they unfold though the various situations we find ourselves in, there will be very little change in our worldview, and without change we are just treading water.  And when that happens in the middle of the ocean, given enough time, we will tire and drown, or the sharks will find us.  The same is also true in our practice.  Questioning is mental action that when done skillfully will lead to awakened moments.   All Buddhist teachers encourage questioning, because without questions, we have no idea where you are in your training and understanding of Buddhist thought and doctrine.  Questioning is a sign of an active mind, silence is another form of emptiness.  That can be either good, or not, depending on the wisdom of the act of silence.  In a training situation, silence is always unexpected.

As we progress along our life’s journey, it’s difficult to avoid encountering some of the perplexing challenges we humans have confronted again and again.  Many of these experiences are related to the big questions that have always confounded the human mind for centuries.   This was the driving force that propelled Siddhartha on his quest for universal understanding over 2500 years ago.  The big questions are still the same as they were for the Buddha, Socrates, Plato,  Aristotle, Aquinas, Kant, Mills, and all other philosophers both Western and Eastern.  These are human questions, no matter what side of the world you stand on.

These big questions our serious ones.  Yet, popular cultural views of some want to focus on cracking the enigmas like the Da Vinci code.  But thank goodness, we also have others that have devoted their lives in bringing into reality the genetic codes that might lead to finding cures for disease.    And what about us?  We can work on breaking through our personal identity codes and develop even stronger characters, with integrity, ethics, and social values.   We can work on breaking through the barriers of other enigmas of our everyday life.  In every moment we work for our own liberation. Continue reading →

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February 14, 2014 · 2:13 pm

Pope Francis and the Dao De Jing

By: David Xi-Ken Astor, Sensei

Over the past few months we have been experiencing the social reaction to the election of the 266th Christian Catholic Pope.  Like many former Catholics, I have been drawn by curiosity to see what this change may be all about.  If what the early days of his pontificate may teach us, it will be quite a change.  Pope Francis is bringing an old message back into the light of day, one that seems to have been muddled over the recent decades in our technological and capitalistic driven age.   This old message was also one that was echoed 2,500 years ago by Siddhartha, the Buddha.  Pope Francis is wasting no time in issuing an appeal that in the limited time he has in Rome we must return to the basics of social justice as it is reflected in responsible economic policies, having compassion for the less fortunate in our communities, in the focus of doing good, and in protecting the world environment.   He said, “We must not be afraid of goodness or even tenderness.”  A statement that is universal to a spiritual path.  He went on to say that, “Let us never forget the authentic power is service.  Only those who serve with love are able to protect.”

As I think about his message I am reminded of the expansive thoughtfulness found in Chapter 60 of the Dao De Jing that speaks to this encompassing ideal.  When I say encompassing, I mean universal.  So lets look at this Chapter, and my commentary on it, to experience the lessons that point directly to the responsibility of social governance.

“Bringing proper order to a great state is like cooking a small fish.
When way-making (dao) is used in overseeing the world,
The ghosts of the departed will not have spiritual potency.
In fact, it is not that the ghosts will not have spiritual potency,
But rather that they will not use this potency to harm people.
Not only will the ghosts not use their potency to harm people
But the sages will not harm people either.
It is because the ghosts and sages do not harm
That their power (de) combine to promote order in the world.”

COMMENTARY:

First remember the historical context and language of this text.  It is Chinese and developed over the period 403-221 BCE, which was also during the time of Alexander the Great.  This period of Buddhist expansion in China paid homage to how ancestors influenced world order in many ways.  Like in the time when Siddhartha lived it was believed that the realm of ghosts existed.  In our 21st century reality some creative re-description is called for in bringing this chapter into contemporary understanding, but in doing so takes nothing away from it’s core message. Continue reading →

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February 11, 2014 · 6:25 pm

Making Zazen Personal

By: David Xi-Ken Astor, Sensei

Anyone can learn to sit and place the mind in a quite place for a few moments or longer depending on “cushion time”.  The desire to meditate can occur anytime, and can be adapted to any religious or spiritual practice.  As Ch’an or Soto Zen Buddhist’s we learn to sit zazen and we do so with very little structure.  I am speaking about the “sitting” part of our meditation practice.  We often incorporate intentional ritual around our zazen, but it is not necessary, it only enriches the experience and perhaps sets the mood.

As we move along in developing a sustained practice, be begin to polish our zazen which is different for each of us.  While engaged Buddhism celebrates the value of working for other’s well being, our zazen practice  is reserved for our personal spiritual development, the fruits of which are taken with us as we work to promote human flourishing off the cushion.  This state of zazen is very formal, and is also powerful when we awaken to it’s transformative nature.  From a personal point of view, a strong zazen experience feels like we have reached an end point.  Of course this is not possible considering the causal nature of any human endeavor, but you begin to feel like there is a completeness to each session.   At this point we don’t look around for any other support we just feel very confident about what we are doing.  When Siddhartha sat on his cushion, conquering negative dispositions, a similar thing must have happened internally in the reality of his mental achievement.   When we experience conflict and destructive thoughts as we sit, we come face to face with how we can choose to confront these thoughts and behaviors that, when allows to dominate the way we live, will result in a cycle of suffering.  These are not attacks that come at us from the outside, but come from within, so we need a strong sense of determination.  We work to seek changes that promotes a life of flourishing for us.  This is why zazen is intensely a personal experience.  We are challenged to apply rigorous self-honest that can melt away delusions so we can awaken to how we really are as expressions of this Universe.  When these personal changes are allowed to take control of our actions, we step on the path to wisdom that symbolizes what can happen in finding the way.  No one can do it for us.  When we sit, it is the most important personal action we can do, although the benefits our extended to all beings.  Without a solid personal practice, there can be no social-self or acts of compassion.

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