time

Excerpts

What our teachers say on it: excerpts from the talks and texts, lightly edited and shortened; an ellipsis (…) marks a sentence or more left out. The titles above the excerpts are mine, the teacher's words are in the excerpt; a question under a title really was asked at the talk. How they were made →

1. Uji, or existence-time

   Uji is two Chinese characters sitting together, so written in Chinese or Japanese it’s a single image: existence-time. … In Japanese it creates one concept, and the only way we can represent that in English is to put a hyphen between the two words. So the hyphen suggests the identity of existence and time. … In Buddhism we say that although human beings live in time, and we think of time in terms of past, present and future, there is another view which says that time is just the present moment. That is rather difficult to grasp, because we feel time passing; we feel that the past is back there and the future is before us. Master Dogen doesn’t deny that normal view of time, but he says that in Buddhism time is just this moment now. And just this moment now and what is here now are inseparable: what is here now is existence, and now is time. … And he puts the view that reality is always now, always now, always now.

   Mike · Introductions 4: Ordinary Balance Summer 2003 — Introductions to Shobogenzo ChaptersAlso in: Uji 3: The Complete Present, Effort for Its Own Sake, The Empty Trappings of Transmission, Nishijima’s Four Main Points, Introduction to Master Dogen’s Thought, Preface, Shoji

2. Time could not have departed

   Because [real existence] is only this exact moment, all moments of Existence-Time are the whole of Time, and all existent things and all existent phenomena are Time. The whole of Existence, the whole Universe, exists in individual moments of Time. Let us pause to reflect whether or not any of the whole of Existence or any of the whole Universe has leaked away from the present moment of Time. Yet in the time of the common man who does not learn the Buddha-Dharma there are views and opinions: when he hears the words “Existence-Time,” he thinks, “… It was like crossing a river or crossing a mountain. The mountain and the river may still exist, but now that I have crossed them and am living in a jeweled palace with crimson towers, the mountain and the river are [as distant] from me as heaven is from the Earth.” But true reasoning is not limited to this one line [of thought]. When I was climbing a mountain or crossing a river, I was there in that Time. There must have been Time in me. And I actually exist now, [so] Time could not have departed.

   Dogen · Uji ShobogenzoAlso in: Time-Present, Uji 5: Life Moment by Moment

3. Looking for the past

   Dogen is trying to break up our normal view of time as a journey: that the events are somehow still back there, that we have passed them by and that they are still back there. He’s suggesting that the events are all here. In an analytical way, he’s suggesting that the present contains everything. And it’s not such a crazy suggestion, because the past – where is the past? Can you point to it? We think it’s back there, somehow, but where is it? The only place I can find the past is here, now. That doesn’t mean that there wasn’t a past; it doesn’t deny that past events affect the present, it doesn’t negate the cause and effect relationship between things. But he’s suggesting that time-present exists in everything, so if time-present existed when we were crossing the mountain, and time-present exists now, then both are in time-present, and there’s only one time-present.

   Mike · Uji 1: Time Is the Present Winter 2004 — UjiAlso in: Uji 2: A Crack in Our View of Time, Bussho 3: Beyond the Process View, The Buddhist View of Living Itself, What did the Buddha discover?, Bussho 2: Without a Concept of Buddha-Nature

4. Firewood and ash

   asked at the talk Are you saying yesterday’s gone?

   Yes, it’s gone. This is a very difficult point; it seems bizarre. So Master Dogen goes on to explain it in terms of the Buddhist view of time. He says: “Firewood becomes ash; it can never go back to being firewood. Nevertheless, we should not take the view that ash is its future and firewood is its past. … Although it has a past and a future, the past and the future are cut off.” What he wants to say is that of course we have a past and a future, but real firewood is firewood here and now. Yesterday’s firewood becomes tomorrow’s ash, OK, but real firewood is firewood now, real ash is ash now. … And he says its future and past are cut off; that means we can never go into the future. We think that we go into the future, but what actually happens is mysterious: the future actually comes to the present, so it’s not the future any more. And the present goes into the past, and it’s not the present any more.

   Mike · Genjo-koan 3: Action Only Here and Now Summer 2002 — Genjo-koanAlso in: Genjō-kōan, The Universe Made Real, Reality is the Present Moment, Bussho 4: The Cut Earthworm

5. Process is real, and it is not

   asked at the talk Isn’t the process view like a kind of skewer, with the self going through time?

   It’s very weird, isn’t it? The other problem is that of course language is process. … Unless we get rid of language we can’t get rid of process, even in the way we’re talking now. Process is real, but it’s not real. It’s real because we all agree that it explains the way reality works. It’s not real because only this time, this moment is real; there’s no next moment yet, and the last moment has gone already, so there is no process. So we can say there is process and there isn’t process. And that contradiction is at the heart of the problem of describing reality; it’s actually the same contradiction as freedom and determinism in a different guise.

   Mike · Uji 2: An Alternative to Linear Time Winter 2004 — UjiAlso in: Uji 4: Coming into the Present, Uji 4: Contradictory Explanations, Uji 5: Words and Reality, MMK 4: Constructs and the Present Moment, Shoaku Makusa 5: The Child and the Old Man

6. Time passes in a series of moments

   We should not understand only that Time flies. We should not learn that “flying” is the only ability of Time. If we just left Time to fly away, some gaps in it might appear. Those who fail to experience and to hear the truth of Existence-Time do so because they understand [Time] only as having passed. … Existence-Time has the virtue of passing in a series of moments. That is to say, from today it passes through a series of moments to tomorrow; from today it passes through a series of moments to yesterday; from yesterday it passes through a series of moments to today; from today it passes through a series of moments to today; and from tomorrow it passes through a series of moments to tomorrow. Because passage through separate moments is a virtue of Time, moments of the past and present are neither piled up one on top of another nor lined up in a row.

   Dogen · Uji Shobogenzo

7. Time is us, not flowing through us

   asked at the talk We tend to think of time as a landscape that we pass through, but can’t it also feel as if time passes through us?

   Dogen wants to go even further than that and say, not that time is flowing through you, but that time is you. First we say that we flow through time, and most people agree on that. Then someone says that time is flowing through me, and people are a bit perplexed. But he wants to say that time is us. Without us, there is no time. Which implies a lot of things, one of which is that time is a human construction.

   Mike · Uji 2: An Alternative to Linear Time Winter 2004 — UjiAlso in: Kuge 3: The Whole World in Each Flower

8. Time is a human concept

   What the Buddhist philosophers Dignaga and Dharmakirti, Nagarjuna and T. S. Eliot are talking about is something to do with the fact that although, in our normal lives, we think we know what time is (“It’s about twenty past, it says on my watch.” We all know, don’t we?), in our very real experience we can’t find the nature of time. We can have an object which moves on; every time we look at it, it’s moved on. But the moving-on-ness we invent in our brains and share with each other. So it’s no good me saying to the cat, “Hey, it’s twelve o’clock.” But it is good me saying it to David, because David shares the same concepts as I do, but the cat doesn’t. So time is a human concept. And what they are all saying is: “Well, besides that human concept, what is there? … Throw all that away and what have we got? The only thing we’ve got is the present moment, where we are now.”

   Mike · Uji 1: The Depth of the Present Summer 2007 — UjiAlso in: Action and Result, Living in the Present, MMK 4: Constructs and the Present Moment

9. We never leave the Now

   Our linear concept of time is not sufficient to describe reality. Although time can be seen as continuous or discrete, time is actually inseparable from the Now. The Now is the only reality, and this time and this place are inseparable. Each Now is the Universe created, and we can never escape from this reality. We do not arrive in the Now and we never leave the Now; we are always here. But no matter how hard we try, we cannot grasp this fact intellectually. It does not require an effort to be present, but our action in this moment itself is the Now. … When we are present in the Now, our behaviour is natural. And natural behaviour is complete in itself. The Now is beyond conceptual explanation and complete in itself, unmoved by our inability to express it. But although we cannot express it, we can experience it.

   Mike · The Concept of Now in Dogen’s Philosophy Shobogenzo · UjiAlso in: Uji 3: The Changing State of Zazen, MMK 5: Relinquishing All Views, The Buddha’s Discovery, Bussho 3: Joshu’s Dog and Concepts, Ikka-no-myoju 3: Our Place in the Universe, Koan Stories and Being Here and Now, Three Teachings from Japan, The Life of Master Dogen, MMK 1: The Four Conditions, Shoaku Makusa 2: Not Doing Wrong as a State

10. Freedom in this moment, and cause and effect

    Dogen says that we can be free in the present moment, but he also says that we always receive the results of our actions. … The centre of his teachings is that in this moment our action can be free. Only this moment is real. All our memories of the past and all the effects of the past are now in this moment. The actual events which happened in the past have gone; the results of our actions in the past are here now. The future has not arrived yet, but our thoughts and feelings about the future exist in the present. … However, he also wrote two or three chapters where he says, “We never escape from cause and effect.” … So Dogen is saying that our explanation called cause and effect, which is based on process, describes reality. However, reality itself goes from one moment to the next in an unknown way. So in this moment we have freedom; in the next moment we have freedom.

    Mike · Karma, Cause and Effect July 2009 — BrnoAlso in: Bussho 2: This World, Not Heaven, Genjo-koan 5: Freedom Within Limits, Action as the Center of Buddhism, Three Philosophies and One Reality, Kuge 5: Compassion and Freedom in Action, MMK 2: Non-Separation

11. Carrying ourselves past the moment

    Well, we can never escape reality; but human beings have the ability to carry themselves past the fact. Because we think, we carry ourselves past, we convey ourselves past the moment. And when we do that, we do things like trip over a stone, or forget to do something; or, if it’s a very simple thing, we might be drying up in the kitchen having a conversation, and our thinking carries us somewhere else, and the thing that we’re drying up stays suspended in our hand. This is peculiarly human. Plants and animals don’t seem to do that. But we have the ability to carry ourselves out of reality. We can’t take ourselves out of reality, but we kind of make ourselves not notice where we are by our excellent ability to think.

    Mike · Kuge 2: Coolness in the Centre of Fire Winter 2007 — KugeAlso in: Yunmen’s Lantern Without Mystery, Genjo-koan 1: Four Viewpoints, Shoaku Makusa 1: Not Doing Wrong Here and Now

12. Being present is not an intentional activity

    Dogen wants to say that just at the present moment, there’s somebody acting. To be fully in the present is not an intentional activity. … To be in the present is not to say, “Right, I’m going to be in the present”; it’s to act, to do something. So all of you who have been working in the kitchen have been acting very simply, preparing the food, in the present. Then some of you might have noticed that, while there was a spare moment of no pressure from Ela, you drifted off somewhere and started thinking about something else, soon to be brought back to the task at hand. That kind of action brings us into the present. We can’t sit there and think, “I am mindfully in the present”; the thought is not the present.

    Mike · Bussho 3: Acting in the Present Moment Winter 2005 — BusshoAlso in: Genjo-koan: Being Awake Is Being Here, Bussho 2: Balance in Action, Genjo-koan 4: Realisation as Wholeness, Ikka-no-myoju 5: The Four Views, Morality as Balanced Action, Introductions 3: A Middle Without Intention, Dogen’s Teaching as a Way of Living, Zazen from Four Viewpoints, Zen Is Boring

13. Serving the coffee now

    Well, for instance, and this is not a criticism: when I went to get coffee this morning, you were serving coffee, but you were actually talking about how to practise kinhin with somebody over here. So I said to you, “Coffee, please!”, and then you suddenly realised that now you were supposed to be serving the coffee. That’s the thing you get from realising that reality is here and now. That’s all; there isn’t anything more complicated. It’s very, very simple, but very difficult to keep ourselves in the present. See where your feet are; don’t trip over your shoe laces. Don’t get lost in generalisations, and that’s very difficult, because we go off into generalisations without realising it. We take something real and we abstract it, and immediately we are talking about something else, something that’s not real. … What’s real? Ten past six.

    Mike · MMK 4: Constructs and the Present Moment Summer 2008 — Nagarjuna’s Mulamadhyamakakarika

• in Buddhism we say that time is just this moment now, so it’s instantaneous or immediate

  Introductions 4: Ordinary Balance Summer 2003 — Introductions to Shobogenzo Chapters

The most important texts

1. Uji ●●● Shobogenzo

   In this word “sometimes,” Time is already just Existence, and all Existence is Time

   crossing the mountain pass · donkey and horse · doubt as time · heedless blundering · individual moments of time · momentary continuance of effort · momentary passing of time · momentary spring · raising an eyebrow and winking · restriction restricts restriction · three heads and eight arms · time as flowing away · time-present · half existence-time · will and words
2. The Concept of Now in Dogen’s Philosophy ●●● Shobogenzo · Uji

   I much prefer the translation “Time-Present”, since this really does focus us on the immediate

   Burnt Norton · linear view of time · raising an eyebrow and winking · reality is the present moment · the now beyond conceptual explanation · theory of instantaneous being · thousands of peaks · three-layered theory of time · time as a journey · time dependent on things · time-present · time as concrete events · time relative to the observer · wholehearted effort creating the now
3. Time-Present ●●● Shobogenzo · Uji

   Time-present means that time is the present and the present is time.

   continuous and separate time · crossing the mountain pass · heedless blundering · momentary continuance of effort · momentary spring · presence and absence · raising an eyebrow and winking · thousands of peaks · time as flowing away · time-present · self put together in time-present · realization amid hindrances and delusions · whole of existence in each moment
4. Uji 2: An Alternative to Linear Time ●●● Winter 2004 — Uji

   He means that the present is the only real existing time

   crossing the mountain pass · infinitely thin pulse · linear view of time · present contains past and future · process and no process · the present grasps us · thousands of peaks · time is us · time-present · pine tree is time-present
5. Uji 1: Time Is the Present ●●● Winter 2004 — Uji

   Time-present means that time is the present, and that the present is time.

   Burnt Norton · here and now · light of the present · subjective and objective time · the past is now · time as a journey · time-present · independent time-presents · Uji
6. Uji 1: The Depth of the Present ●●● Summer 2007 — Uji

   ‘time-present’ suggests a oneness of time and our existence in time

   Burnt Norton · constructed time · depth of the present moment · gap between moments · interdependence of the three times · world as a cinema · theory of instantaneous being · time as a human concept · time-present · time as concrete events
7. Uji 2: A Crack in Our View of Time ●●● Summer 2007 — Uji

   Time present means that time is the present, and the present is time

   astronomers' panorama of time · crack in linear time · light of the present · putting the present right · shared belief in time · thousands of peaks · time as a journey · time-present · independent time-presents
8. Kuge 2: Coolness in the Centre of Fire ●●● Winter 2007 — Kuge

   because we think, we carry ourselves past, we convey ourselves past the moment

   still point of a turning world · carrying ourselves past the moment · blue lotus flowers in fire · time and place of fire · we can never escape the present · danger revealing the instant · present moment outside the process · flower and time producing each other · time-present always flowering and fruiting
9. Uji 3: The Complete Present ●●● Summer 2007 — Uji

   he's saying time present is the only reality, and it's indivisible

   complete present moment · continuous and separate time · fractal time · present as its own cause · process view · tennis players returning to the present · time-present · views of time as models · person and sofa inseparable
10. Uji 4: Contradictory Explanations ●●● Winter 2004 — Uji

    to reinforce that time-present is just what’s here and now

    non-separateness of here and now · instantaneous view and change · light of the present · momentary spring · raising an eyebrow and winking · time-present · unchanging entity through time
11. Uji 4: Coming into the Present ●●● Summer 2007 — Uji

    Everything is just time present. Reality is just this moment of the present.

    benevolent forces · gap between cause and effect · momentary spring · presence in body and mind · time never arrives · time passing without external object · time-present · unchanging entity through time
12. Bussho 3: Acting in the Present Moment ●●● Winter 2005 — Bussho

    somebody who is fully in the present, who exists just at the present moment, manifests buddha-nature

    being in the present as action · buddha-nature just at the present moment · instants of body and action · saved from future and past · agreement that the world endures · enduring image

Other texts

13. Uji 5: Words and Reality ●●● Winter 2004 — Uji

    Time-present never disappears; time-present is never not here, so time-present continues for ever.

    beginning of the Universe · donkey and horse · we can never escape the present · process view · time-present · will and words
14. Uji 5: Life Moment by Moment ●●● Summer 2007 — Uji

    time present, or the present moment, the here and now, is the only thing that's real

    life created moment by moment · raising an eyebrow and winking · time-present · half existence-time · world created at this moment · will and words
15. Uji 3: The Changing State of Zazen ●●● Winter 2004 — Uji

    In Master Dogen’s thinking, what is here and now and time are the same thing.

    we can never escape the present · thousands of peaks · time never arrives · time-present · existence-time and Einstein’s space-time · realization amid hindrances and delusions
16. MMK 4: Constructs and the Present Moment ●●● Summer 2008 — Nagarjuna’s Mulamadhyamakakarika

    this moment, here and now, is all there is. That’s concrete

    denial of process · catching a book in the present · arrow and target as one thing · reality is the present moment · serving the coffee now · time as a human concept
17. Reality is the Present Moment ●●●

    All Buddhist masters have affirmed that reality is the present moment - here and now.

    Bohm's heresy about time · firewood and ash · linear view of time · past and future cut off · reality is the present moment · time as a human concept
18. Introductions 4: Ordinary Balance ●●● Summer 2003 — Introductions to Shobogenzo Chapters

    the hyphen between existence and time suggests something which is both put together; the identity of existence and time

    freedom in present action · monk, tiger and berries · time as this moment now · time-present
19. Bussho 4: Real Present Time ●●● Summer 2004 — Bussho

    we have to wait until some time in the future for the buddha-nature to manifest itself

    area separate from the present · learning to ski · real present time · waiting for future buddha-nature
20. Bussho 4: The Cut Earthworm ●●● Summer 2005 — Bussho

    All Buddhist concepts refer to real things, and real things only exist here and now.

    firewood and ash · process as a mental construction · reality is the present moment · sound teaching reality
21. MMK 5: Relinquishing All Views ●●● Summer 2008 — Nagarjuna’s Mulamadhyamakakarika

    His statement there is that reality is just here, just at this moment

    buddha-nature just at the present moment · throwing a book at the teacher · moments like frames of a film · reality is the present moment
22. Karma, Cause and Effect ●●● July 2009 — Brno

    The centre of his teachings is that in this moment our action can be free. Only this moment is real

    freedom in the present moment · gap between moments · process view
23. MMK 2: Non-Separation ●●● Summer 2008 — Nagarjuna’s Mulamadhyamakakarika

    However, Buddhism believes that this world is just this instant; the future doesn’t actually exist

    real Big Bang at this moment · viewpoint of the present moment · cause and effect in one instant · world without beginning or end
24. Genjo-koan 3: Action Only Here and Now ●●● Summer 2002 — Genjo-koan

    real firewood is firewood now, real ash is ash now

    firewood and ash · action in the present moment
25. Bussho 3: Beyond the Process View ●●● Summer 2004 — Bussho

    we see movement as some process but viewed from the present moment, there is no process

    beyond movement through time · buddha-nature is Uji
26. Bussho 2: This World, Not Heaven ●●● Summer 2005 — Bussho

    is not that kind, but the freedom and transcendence of the present moment

    freedom in the present moment · twenty-four hours as now · universe as interwoven container
27. The Empty Trappings of Transmission ●●● September 2009 — Earth Spirit

    what they are talking about is something very simple, that is: reality is just here, now, not somewhere else

    state here and now · reality is the present moment
28. Bussho ●●● Shobogenzo

    In summary, there has never been any time which was not time having come

    non-enduring buddha-nature · when the time has come
29. Buddha-nature ●●● Shobogenzo · Bussho

    the time that is here and now is the only time there is

    non-enduring buddha-nature · real present time
30. Bussho 2: Balance in Action ●●● Summer 2004 — Bussho

    it’s the basis of our life, because these instants of action are our ground, our balance

    action in the present moment · instant of action
31. Effort for Its Own Sake ●●● July 2009 — Dibbavana

    our actual experience is now, in which time is existence, or existence is time

    shared belief in time · thousands of peaks · time-present
32. Action as the Center of Buddhism ●●●

    And action is always in the present moment. It is impossible to act in the past.

    freedom in the present moment · action in the present moment
33. Genjō-kōan ●●● Shobogenzo

    we should not take the view that ash is its future and firewood is its past

    firewood and ash · instantaneousness of life and death
34. Kuge 3: The Whole World in Each Flower ●●● Winter 2007 — Kuge

    each flower and the time that it happens are the same, “they sustain each other.”

    measured dots and the drawn line · flower and time producing each other
35. The Buddhist View of Living Itself ●●● February 2009 — Cholín

    The past is in the present, and the future is in the present. Our whole image of our life is in the present.

    present contains past and future · tennis players returning to the present
36. Action and Result, Living in the Present ●●● May 2014 — Banská Štiavnica

    So we can call it the shared belief, and we believe it's true.

    being in the zone · shared belief in time
37. Preface ●●● Shobogenzo

    the present moment and this place – the here and now – are very important concepts in Master Dogen's philosophy of action

    here and now
38. Genjo-koan 4: Realisation as Wholeness ●●● Summer 2002 — Genjo-koan

    When we act, in the present moment, there is a state where we and the world become something which is one

    action in the present moment
39. Genjo-koan 5: Freedom Within Limits ●●● Summer 2002 — Genjo-koan

    we can be free in this moment to be in this moment, but we can’t be in another moment

    freedom in the present moment
40. The Buddha’s Discovery ●●● June 2005 — Lotus Centre

    But reality does not exist in the higher levels of spiritual consciousness. It exists here in this place, now, at this time

    reality is the present moment
41. Bussho 3: Joshu’s Dog and Concepts ●●● Summer 2005 — Bussho

    reality or existence is only at the moment of the present

    reality is the present moment
42. Ikka-no-myoju 3: Our Place in the Universe ●●● Summer 2006 — Ikka-no-myoju

    we can’t escape from reality, we can’t escape the perfection of reality, because we’re always in it

    we can never escape the present
43. Ikka-no-myoju 5: The Four Views ●●● Summer 2006 — Ikka-no-myoju

    immediacy, or doing something now, acting in the present. And we can say that this acting in the present saves us

    action in the present moment
44. Shoaku Makusa 5: The Child and the Old Man ●●● Winter 2006 — Shoaku Makusa

    the view of the instantaneous reality, and in that view cause-and-effect doesn’t have its normal role

    gap between cause and effect · instantaneous view and change
45. Koan Stories and Being Here and Now ●●● June 2007 — Padmafarma

    So Buddhism says we can never escape from being here and now

    we can never escape the present
46. Morality as Balanced Action ●●● February 2009 — Cholín

    And just our action at this moment creates our future

    action in the present moment
47. The Map in Our Head ●●● May 2012 — Nová Dedinka

    It's a very strange way to talk. Underneath the picture, our life is only now.

    life underneath the picture
48. Three Teachings from Japan ●●● September 2013 — Banský Studenec

    a Buddhist teaching which says reality is only here and now

    reality is the present moment
49. Genjo-koan: Being Awake Is Being Here ●●● May 2014 — Banský Studenec

    if we make a very strong effort to be present here, "I'm here," it doesn't work. It's a delusion.

    effort to be present as delusion
50. Nishijima’s Four Main Points ●●● September 2015 — Banský Studenec

    Instantaneousness of this world. Only now. We can only act now.

    instantaneousness
51. Three Philosophies and One Reality ●●●

    This moment has no length; and in the present moment with its zero length, we can find our freedom.

    freedom in the present moment · pea balanced on a razor blade
52. Introduction to the Shobogenzo ●●●

    If we sit zazen, we may notice that the only reality that exists is the present translated from Czech

    reality is the present moment · trying to catch the present
53. The Universe Made Real ●●● Shobogenzo · Genjō-kōan

    Firewood becomes ash; it cannot become firewood again

    firewood and ash
54. Shoji ●●● Shobogenzo

    Birth is a state at one moment; it already has a past and will have a future

    instantaneousness
55. Introduction to Master Dogen’s Thought ●●● May 1987 — Gudo Wafu Nishijima

    action is a fact at the moment of the present, and action is a fact at this place

    here and now
56. Genjo-koan 2: Delusion and Self-Image ●●● Summer 2002 — Genjo-koan

    we can think of eternity in the present moment, and we can experience eternity in the present moment

    eternity in the present moment
57. Introductions 3: A Middle Without Intention ●●● Summer 2003 — Introductions to Shobogenzo Chapters

    Instantaneous action is something bizarrely different from the way we view the world, and we experience it sometimes in very simple things

    instant of action
58. The Life of Master Dogen ●●● June 2005 — Lotus Centre

    His third teaching was that reality is just in this moment

    reality is the present moment
59. Zazen from Four Viewpoints ●●● June 2005 — Lotus Centre

    When you're playing tennis or some game, if you think about what you're doing at the critical time, you lose.

    being in the zone
60. Shoaku Makusa 3: Balance and Not Doing Wrong ●●● Winter 2006 — Shoaku Makusa

    I’d like to invent a new word called ‘dyne’. ‘State’ comes from ‘static’ and ‘dyne’ comes from ‘dynamic’.

    dyne instead of state
61. Shoaku Makusa 4: Doing Right Without a Doer ●●● Winter 2006 — Shoaku Makusa

    a balanced dyne. We always think that everything is something that exists that we’ve got to get into.

    dyne instead of state
62. Kuge 5: Compassion and Freedom in Action ●●● Winter 2007 — Kuge

    If we make a rule, ‘I’m going to be compassionate,’ then we’ve already limited our freedom to act

    freedom in present action
63. MMK 1: The Four Conditions ●●● Summer 2008 — Nagarjuna’s Mulamadhyamakakarika

    A third condition he says is immediacy; we actually exist in the present

    immediacy of the present
64. Dogen’s Teaching as a Way of Living ●●● September 2013 — Banský Studenec

    So we have to find for ourselves what the present is. What is being in the present? It's a kind of feeling.

    being present as a feeling
65. Dojo and Home, Sacred and Ordinary ●●● September 2015 — Banský Studenec

    we do it not only with places, things, relationships, but with time

    sacred and ordinary time
66. What did the Buddha discover? ●●●

    Although I often think about the past, or dream about the future, they are not real.

    unreal past and future
67. Zen Is Boring ●●●

    This very moment is Enlightenment. This moment has never come before and once it's gone, it's gone forever.

    this very moment as enlightenment
68. Genjo-koan 1: Four Viewpoints ●●● Summer 2002 — Genjo-koan

    concentrate on the next moment; they're trying again at every moment

    tennis players returning to the present
69. Bussho 2: Without a Concept of Buddha-Nature ●●● Winter 2005 — Bussho

    Nobody has ever been any other place than today, which is quite startling really

    never anywhere but today
70. Bussho 4: Hearing and Understanding ●●● Winter 2005 — Bussho

    Buddhism can’t agree with the Big Bang theory because Gautama Buddha says the world has no beginning and no end

    world without beginning or end
71. Bussho 5: Our Fundamental Nature ●●● Winter 2005 — Bussho

    as the candle burns down the flame dies and is reborn at every moment

    candle flame dying and reborn
72. Shoaku Makusa 1: Not Doing Wrong Here and Now ●●● Winter 2006 — Shoaku Makusa

    the tennis player jogs up and down the baseline trying to get himself or herself fully into the moment

    tennis players returning to the present
73. Shoaku Makusa 2: Not Doing Wrong as a State ●●● Winter 2006 — Shoaku Makusa

    In scientific terms we could say it’s not discrete and it’s not continuous. It’s not digital and it’s not analogue.

    neither discrete nor continuous
74. Yunmen’s Lantern Without Mystery ●●● September 2009 — Earth Spirit

    the common thing with most religions is this ‘hope’ aspect rather than the ‘present moment’

    hope versus the present moment
75. Old Writings and Our Own Life ●●● September 2013 — Banský Studenec

    So it means a busy situation in daily life. The donkey hasn't left yet, but the horse has already arrived

    donkey and horse
76. Introduction to Buddhism and the Practice of Zazen ●●●

    we live in a succession of moments, which we can imagine as progressing rather like the frames of a film

    moments like frames of a film

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