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June 2 - June 6, 2025
If the world is not going the way you want it to, perhaps it is better to change yourself.
Any given day, a mere ten minutes is all you need. Try making time for emptiness, for not thinking about anything.
Discard your attachments. Let go of your assumptions. Reduce your possessions. Living simply is also about discarding your physical and mental burdens.
In Zen Buddhism we have a saying: “Eat and drink with your whole heart.” It means that when you drink a cup of tea, focus only on drinking the tea. When you eat a meal, focus only on eating that meal. As you enjoy a dish, think about the people who cooked it. Visualize the field where the vegetables were grown. Feel a sense of gratitude for the bounty of nature.
The proper way to take Zen meals involves something called “the Five Reflections.” To put it simply: We consider the efforts of those who brought us the food, and are grateful for it. We reflect upon our own actions, and quietly partake. We savor the food, without greed, anger, or obliviousness. We regard the food as medicine to nourish a healthy body and to sustain our spirit. We thankfully receive the food as part of our harmonious path toward enlightenment.
We reflect upon these five things at each meal, expressing gratitude for the food, and we pause after every bite, setting down our chopsticks. The purpose of this pause is to enable us to savor the feelings of gratitude with each bite we take.
When you adopt a vegetable-centric diet, your mind becomes peaceful, untroubled by minor irritations. It shows in the clarity of your skin. In contrast, eating nothing but meat inspires a combative spirit. Before you know it, your skin starts to discolor.
I realize that it may be too much to completely eliminate meat and fish from your diet. My recommendation: Try eating only vegetables one day a week.
Living simply means, for instance, that the mug you use every day for coffee is a mug that you really like—one that you take good care of and that you use for a long time. Acquire only good things that will truly be needed. A lifestyle of simplicity is the fundamental practice that will hone the mind.
To settle your mind, first adjust your posture and your breathing.
So I have a spiritual practice for you. For five minutes during your lunch break, try doing zazen while sitting in your chair. The basis for zazen is to harmonize your posture, breathing, and mind. First, adjust your posture by aligning your head and your tailbone. If you were to see yourself from the side, your spine would create an S-curve, and you could draw a straight line from your head to your tailbone. Next, attend to your breathing. Under the stressful conditions at work, you might take seven or eight breaths per minute. By focusing on your breathing, you can naturally decrease this to
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By joining our hands together, we foster a sense of gratitude. It allows no room for conflict. You cannot attack someone when your hands are joined together, can you? An apology given with joined hands soothes anger or irritation. Herein lies the significance of gassho.
24 MAKE TIME TO BE ALONE. The first step toward simple living, Zen style
25 GET IN TOUCH WITH NATURE. Find the happiness that is right at hand.
Try getting in touch with nature yourself. If you notice a stone lying on the ground, pick it up and hold it. When you see flowers blooming by the side of the road, stop and smell their fragrance. Then, inside your mind, create a miniature garden of your very own. It will relax you.
27 SEEK OUT THE SUNSET. Be grateful for making it through another day.
The important thing is to be able to sit and gaze upon the sun as it sets. When evening falls, take a moment to look up at the sky. Feel gratitude for having made it through another day. This moment will warm your spirit.
DON’T THINK OF UNPLEASANT THINGS RIGHT BEFORE BED. A five-minute “bed zazen” before going to sleep
When you get into bed, let go of whatever happened to you since waking up that morning, and be thankful for having made it through another day.
When you wake up the next morning, you will feel renewed. Do not underestimate the effects of five minutes of zazen before you go to sleep.
What I’m talking about here could apply not only to clouds but also to fate or fortune. There’s no point in envying someone else who has been blessed with a little luck. Nor does it do any good to lament your lack of opportunities. Simply work hard to do today what needs to be done. And fortune will surely come your way.
His fears were intangible, and yet he clung to them. He recognized the futility in this. There is no need to be troubled by things that have not yet happened. Think only about what is happening right now.
Almost all anxieties are intangible. They are the invention of your own mind.
Rather than branching out into this, that, and what-have-you, focus your attention on just one thing. This is the way to gain satisfaction and fulfillment.
48 FEEL INSTEAD OF THINK. To foster a true zest for life
I believe in the importance of honing the five senses in order to experience such satisfaction. It is one of life’s pleasures. Try picking up a stone by the side of the road. Touch it, and notice what it smells like. Stones have a front and a back, each with a different feel. You may think that stones have no scent, but mountain stones smell like the mountains, and sea stones smell like the sea. Details like these are all around you. Take an interest in them, using your senses to notice variations in nature.
If I were to describe a Zen mind in just a few words, I would say it is about making good use of everything. For example, when preparing meals, there is almost nothing we throw away. Take the leaves of a daikon radish: Most people just toss them in the garbage, but if you pickle them, they make a delicious side dish.
In Buddhism, there are what we call the “three poisons.” These are not the kind of poisons that you can ingest; the teachings refer to them as passions or worldly desires. They are the root of human suffering, and they prevent us from attaining enlightenment. The three poisons are greed, anger, and ignorance.
Whenever you notice any of the three poisons begin to show themselves, try to calm your mind by regulating your breathing. This can stop the afflictions from taking hold.
There is a saying that originates in Zen: ichi-go ichi-e, or “once in a lifetime.” It means that we should treasure each and every encounter, because we may meet a person only once in our lifetime.
This is not to suggest that we should increase the number of encounters we have or that we should have more friends. Concentrate on a single encounter, and build a meaningful relationship. What’s important is not the number of your connections but their depth.
GIVE UP THE NEED TO BE LIKED BY EVERYONE. This is true even for Zen monks.
The Japanese concept of honji suijaku holds that Shinto gods are manifestations of Buddhist deities, and together they form an indivisible whole sanctified at local Shinto shrines in what is called gongen. This may seem perfectly noncommittal, but that’s exactly why it’s an excellent example of Japanese wisdom. It’s a way for both sides to coexist, by finding a compromise and avoiding conflict.
Things don’t need to be defined as right or wrong, black or white. Instead of coming down on one side or the other, a compromise may be the best way.
HAVE FAITH. Benefit from the wisdom of your elders.
77 HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH A GARDEN. The things you miss when you are caught up in appearances
Try having a conversation with a Zen garden. Experience the melancholy beauty that the garden designer was trying to convey, and respond to it in your own way.
78 MAKE SOMEONE HAPPY. Something to enhance your meals
BE POSITIVE. Your mind has the power to decide whether or not you are happy.
Like the plum blossoms, I try to give off a pleasant scent but not be showy about it. Living graciously “thanks to this person” or knowing that “without that person’s help” I wouldn’t be where I am today.
91 FREE YOURSELF FROM MONEY. The more you try to accumulate money, the more it gets away.
The strange thing about money is this: The more attached we become to it, the more it eludes our grasp. Instead of thinking about money, we should concern ourselves with our higher purpose.
96 CHERISH BEING ALIVE, EVERY SINGLE DAY. Life really does go by in the blink of an eye.
