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Yun Men’s Within There Is A Jewel

Yun Men (Ummon) was successor to Hsueh Feng (Seppo) and was founder of the Ummon School of Zen Buddhism.  This school of Zen is described as a Bright Red Flag upon a Distant Mountain (easy to see, difficult to approach).  Ummon’s school is deep and difficult to understand since its mode of expression is indirect; while it talks about the south, it is looking at the north.

Ummon said to the community, “Within heaven and earth, through space and time, there is a jewel, hidden inside the mountain of form.”

We all know that we are intrinsically Buddha.  But through our delusions and preconceived modes of behavior, we fail to realize this fundamental fact.  Ummon, in his unwavering compassion, gives us a glimpse into this dilemma.  Like a grandmother chewing our food for us he gives us, “there is a jewel, hidden inside the mountain of form.”  Tell me, how is it hidden when it is in plain sight?

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Dana Paramita

I am so grateful to the Sangha for the generosity and compassion you have shown each other during this difficult time.  The daily zazen periods and our Sunday gathering have been excellent examples of giving, not only by the presiders, but also by the participants.  By practicing together, we thank each other for sharing our practice.

In this spirit of generosity, I would like us to explore the first Paramita together: Dana Paramita. Dana is a beautiful word, it means generosity, generosity of mind and generosity of spirit. But how can we practice generosity of mind and spirit just by sitting together? What are we giving?

The teaching, the Dharma, tells us that there are four gifts we can give. We can give material support, we can give protection, we can give the Dharma as teachings, and, most importantly and most subtly, we can give the gift of non-fear. The wisdom of no hindrance.

Dana, the mind and spirit of generosity, is linked to the qualities of lovingkindness and compassion. There is a wonderful gift which arises when we practice lovingkindness and compassion. At first, there is separation. We are the giver, and we are giving to someone. But, in the actual giving, the separation falls away. This is non-duality. Dana, lovingkindness and compassion, are present. But there is no longer a giver and a receiver.

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Dissolving Planning into Doing into Flow

When you set up a plan and a schedule, your life can flourish and when you don’t set up a plan, all of your good intentions can come to naught.  This is basic logic and why many of us are creating schedules and organizing our lives.  But is all this planning and organizing really productive or is it merely an elaborate devised displacement activity that keeps us from directly experiencing.

The planning is framework to help us get from point A to point B but is there really anywhere to get.  It is in the doing and in the scheduling that our lives manifest.  It is in the scheduling that the doing is born and it is in the doing that the scheduling is remembered.  The scheduling and the doing are not separate, they are one and merged in each other in the doing.

It is important to understand that we must merge our entire being with the doing and thus remove the separation between the external organizing principles and the direct experience of the activities those principles represent.  When the scheduling and the doing are truly merged, we flow with the direction of our lives.  That is why we must view our planning activities as the unborn manifestation of an unknown, unexperienced doing.  Where the scheduling and the doing are a merged activity despite any temporal dislocations.

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Slow is Smooth, Smooth is Fast

The “slow is smooth, smooth is fast” concept likely has its origins in the Military.  Practicing at reduced speeds will make you faster when you go full speed. Full speed is often slower than you think, and there is a difference between going full speed and being rushed. When you are rushed you stumble, fumble, and are generally all thumbs (or have two left feet). When you go full speed, you are going as fast as you can comfortably go.  Martial artists do this, Soldiers do this, in fact, anyone trying to master a technique would do well to practice slowly and increase speed only when it’s comfortable. 

The exact origins of the term are disputed.  Doc Holiday said, “Take your time in a hurry” to describe how to win a gunfight.   Some also attribute the quote to Sergeant Alvin York (Medal of Honor recipient), others to Wyatt Earp.  One thing is for sure, all three were accomplished gunfighters, so the origin of the quote is less important than the truth of it.

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Dry Fire – Training like a Martial Artist for Competition

Jessie Duff – Speed Shooting

In Martial Arts Training, part of the curriculum is learning Forms or Kata.  These forms are a physical library of the techniques associated with the rank (belt) the student has achieved.  Each new form builds on the previous form and together they represent the training/academic side of the art.  This side of the art is stress free training and is meant to be learned through slow perfect practice and then brought up to the desired tempo. 

These form techniques are meant to be further refined, and once mastered, brought into the real world through self-defense training and sparring which represent the functional/improvisational side of the art.  This is where training is brought to bear on real life situations.

To me, Dry Fire Training feels like Kata.  Take the entire Draw to Shot sequence for example.  This sequence can be broken down into many distinct movements or techniques:

  1. Procuring the master grip in the holster
  2. Removing the pistol and pointing the muzzle towards the target
  3. Procuring the two-hand grip
  4. Pressing the pistol out to the target
  5. Obtaining the sight picture and re-aligning the sights
  6. Pressing the trigger

You can probably even break them down further if necessary.  The point is that this sequence really no different than:

  1. Low block
  2. Front kick
  3. Middle block
  4. Punch

If you think about it.  When I practice dry fire training, I view the training as a choreographed sequence of a library of techniques.  For me, it helps to slow me down and it adds a sense of reverence to the practice, a desire to do it perfectly.  Because once I learn the form perfectly and have embodied the techniques, I won’t have to think about them when I need them in a competition.  The techniques will just be there.

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Appreciate Your Life

Here are 4 simple mediditations you can use as part of you daily practice of appreciation and acceptance:

Stay Enthuastic – Remember your WHY today. We don’t get burned out because of what we do. We get burned out because we forget why we do it.  Focus on your purpose and stay flexible and creative.

Be Thankful – When you are grateful for the things in your life, big and small, you always seem to find more things to be grateful about.

Replace “Have to” with “Get To” – Live life as a gift, not an obligation. We GET TO, we don’t HAVE TO. This simple shift can have a dramatic impact.

Be a Blessing to Others – We are blessed to be a blessing. This doesn’t have anything to do with material things (although it can). It’s about loving, serving and caring. It’s about choosing to make a difference in the lives of others each and every day.

I know this is easier said than done during these difficult times, but with the proper training and focus, we can learn to appreciate our lives in all circumstances.

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Navy Seals Inspiration – Is there Zen here?

https://youtu.be/HR_zvFuvkEc

Once a year I watch this video for inspiration.  Not as much for the military aspect as an example of how to overcome obstacles in life.  Look past the agression and you will see young men embracing not-knowing on a moment by moment basis and expressing what arises authentically.  This is the closest any modern military training method has approached the Bushido Code of the Samuari.  There is Zen here, can you find it?

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The Nature of Reality

The correct position…is not to take hold of any opinions or views, but to try to see things objectively as they are without any mental projections, to see that what we call “I” or “BEING”, is only a combination of physical and mental aggregates, which are working together independently in a flux of momentary change within the law of cause and effect, and that there is nothing permanent, everlasting, unchanging and eternal in the whole of existence.

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Tae Kwon Do Training 2

During this difficult time of social distancing due to COVID-19, many of our beloved Martial Arts Schools have closed due to the outbreak.  In an effort to maintain my training, I have developed this short workout routine to keep my skills sharp and body flexible.

Stretching – 4 breaths per each stretch per side 

  • Trunk twisting exercise
  • Neck up/down
  • Neck side/side
  • Neck circles
  • Neck side stretch
  • Shoulders roll back
  • Shoulders roll front
  • Arm swings
  • Arm pull across/back
  • Hip rotations
  • Hip front/back
  • Hip side/side
  • Hip side stretch
  • Knee rotations
  • Standing forward bend
  • Left leg / Right leg to side
  • Left leg / Right all the way down
  • Back practice
  • Standing left/right touching
  • Standing wide angle forward bend
  • Seated left/right touching
  • Seated wide angle forward bend
  • Seated forward bend
  • Left/right spine twist
  • Ankle rotation seated one leg forward bend with side kick stretch
  • Butterfly stretch
  • Fire logs
  • Lying glute stretch
  • Kneeling trunk twist
  • Kneeling back bend
  • Cat/Cow
  • Cat stretch
  • Cobra stretch
  • Downward Dog
  • Standing forward bend

Kicking – 4x each side 

  • Front lifting kick w/turn
  • Front kick & jumping front kick w/turn
  • Roundhouse kick & jumping roundhouse kick w/turn
  • Side kick w/turn
  • Skipping side kick w/turn

Forms

As Tae Kwon Do practitioners studying World Tae Kwon Do administered by the Kukkiwon in South Korea, we have access to all the official Colored Belt and Black Belt forms via You Tube.  Please click the following Tae Kwon Do Forms Link TKDEsra for access.  Happy practice.

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Tae Kwon Do Training

During this difficult time of social distancing due to COVID-19, many of our beloved Martial Arts Schools have closed due to the outbreak.  I an effort to maintain my training, I have committed to myself to practice ALL my forms 3-4 times per week.  This includes all colored belt forms, black belt forms and weapons forms.  Done with focused concentration, these exercises can be both embodiment practice as well as physical training.

 

As a Tae Kwon Do practitioner studying World Tae Kwon Do administered by the Kukkiwon in South Korea, we have access to all the official Colored Belt and Black Belt forms via You Tube.  Please click the following Tae Kwon Do Forms Link TKDEsra for access.  Happy practice.

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