How to Mind Your Problems

This talk was given as part of a One-Day Intensive at Boulder Zen Center's new Mountain Zendo. It takes the following quote from Suzuki Roshi as its jumping-off point: "When you're sitting in the middle of your own problem, what is more real: your problem or you yourself? That you are here, right now, is the ultimate fact." Usually, the contents of our minds seem more real—objects of sense perceptions, emotions, problems. What does it take to shift into experiencing the medium of mind, in which these contents make their appearance, as more real? An important part of that shift is to realize that NOW isn't just a moment in clock time but that it is a HERE that isn't opposed to a there, a space that extends indefinitely to include everything all at once. Our small self disappears. This wide inclusive sense of space and self allows us to form a different relationship with our everyday practical and psychological problems. They don't disappear; we still need to deal with them. Finally, the talk explores what it takes to develop a genuinely "American Buddhist practice" and whether ritual monastic Zen forms (that were practiced during the weekend) are important for that development. The importance lies in generating the experience of a dharmic pulse that let's us notice and enter into a gentle mind that holds the simultaneity of "you yourself being more real" and "working on your everyday problems.”Welcome to Zen Mind!Zenki Roshi's upcoming course, "Transforming Habits" will explore how we can discontinue dysfunctional habits, and instead, form habits that create a wholesome, nourishing life. The course will be live October 4-November 9, 2024. Learn more here: https://www.boulderzen.org/transforminghabitsBecome a Boulder Zen Center Member and gain access to sliding scale pricing to get up to 60% off on all our courses and events, PLUS you'll support the continuation of the Boulder Zen Center and Zenki Roshi’s teachings! Learn more about membership here: https://www.boulderzen.org/becomeamemberLove the dharma talks and want to hear more? Become a Premium Podcast subscriber. Dive deeper into the topics through Q&A sessions related to each of the talks and gain access to previously unpublished talks from intensives. Learn more here: https://zenmind.supercast.com/Zenki Roshi's book, THE PATH OF ALIVENESS is now available in both hardcopy and audiobook formats! We appreciate you leaving a rating on Amazon, and if you have time, a review is even better!Join us live for our Saturday Dharma talks, in person or online.See all events and join our mailing list at www.boulderzen.org. Email us at [email protected] or give us a call: (303) 442–3007.If you're enjoying these talks, please subscribe and leave us a rating or review!Zenki Christian Dillo Roshi is the the guiding teacher at the Boulder Zen Center in Colorado, USA. This podcast shares the regular dharma talks given at the center. Zenki Roshi approaches Zen practice as a craft of transformation, liberation, wisdom and compassionate action. His interest is to bring Buddhism alive within the Western cultural context, while staying committed to the traditional emphasis on embodiment.