Hello everyone,

Our next Zen Mind discussion will be on Wednesday, May 13th, after evening
meditation. The chapters we’ll be discussing are:  To Polish a Tile, Constancy,
and Communication. Here is a link to the full text of ZMBM, and our chapters
can be found under part 2, “Right Attitude” pp.90-105.
http://www.arvindguptatoys.com/arvindgupta/zenmind.pdf

Here are the questions for discussion:

TO POLISH A TILE: In the koan about Baso the horse master, his teacher Nangaku
asks, “When a cart does not go, which do you whip, the cart or the horse?”
Q.What is the meaning of this for our practice? What’s the cart, what’s the horse?

“When you are you”, and “when a frog becomes a frog, Zen becomes Zen”.
Q.How do you become you, and how do you remain you in the everyday world?

CONSTANCY: “Instead of gathering knowledge, you should clear your mind.”
Q.Is it possible for intellectual knowledge and accepting things as they are,
(or emptiness) to work together harmoniously? What traps are there in trusting
only in intellectual understanding?

“To appreciate something fully, you should forget yourself.”
Q.What obstacles prevent us from self-forgetting? What experiences have
you had of self-forgetting moments?

“The usual translation of the Japanese word “nin” is “patience”, but perhaps
“constancy” is a better word.”
Q.Patience versus constancy: what are your ideas of the distinction between them?

COMMUNICATION:”Your master’s direct statement…”
Q. The way something is communicated is part of the message. Examples in your
experience?

“When you listen to someone..”
Q. How to listen completely, unfettered by your own views? Have you observed your
reactions to an expressed opinion with which you disagree?

Communication between parents and children:
Q. What difficulties have you observed with either your parents’ communication to you
or your communication with your children?

There will be printouts of the chapters available in front of the Zendo, as well as printouts
of the questions, about a week before the discussion. Looking forward to a lively discussion!

Thank you,
Lee