C.S. Sloan's Integral Strength

 Essays and Thoughts on The Dokkodo Part Nine Never Allow Yourself to be Saddened by a Separation 16th century painting of Musashi (public domain) Another translation that I like of this musing is David K. Groff's that reads, "On whatever the path, do not be sad about parting ways."  If you are following a "way," then you must be prepared for the fact - inevitable some might say - that you will have to separate yourself from others who are not following the same path that you are embarked upon. When one first reads/hears a maxim such as this one or one similar, our initial reaction is to recoil from it.  We - as a human race - love our attachments!  Not only are we saddened by a separation, but we never want to be separated in the first place.  Of course it's natural for us to feel saddened upon separation, right? We are attached to many things other than just people.  Some of these attachments are subtle and we might not even be aware of what it is we are ...

  Essays and Thoughts on  The Dokkodo Part Eight Never Be Jealous Musashi using two swords (courtesy of Wikimedia Commons) O, beware, my lord, of jealousy; It is the green-ey’d monster, which doth mock The meat it feeds on.   -Shakespeare (from Othello) If you have done Zen practice for any lengthy period of time, then you are probably aware of many of the negative emotions that you  struggle with - or ones that you don't.  These emotions can come upon you when you are sitting on the cushion meditating.  They can come upon you when you are in the dojo (or dojang) training.  And, of course, they can even come upon you in the most mundane times, such as when you are in the checkout line at the grocery store, or when you are stuck in heavy traffic, or when you are busy cleaning your home.  In other words, negative emotions seem to always  be there, lurking just beneath the surface no matter the situation.  Of course, you can also have ...