What is effective leadership?
Here are two remarkable speakers Itay Talgam and Khandro Rinpoche treating the subject of leadership one, in general and second, specifically in a spiritual organization.
Rule number one
Zen Master Dae Kwang once said:
“Every real estate agent knows that in their business only three things are important: location, location, location. In Zen and life there are also only three: direction, direction, direction.”
If this direction is not clear, nothing is clear. Attaining this direction, simply means attaining humans original job.
In Zen we call it “keeping Bodhi Mind”, which has two aspects : inside job and outside job.
Inside job is to keep clear mind to access our inherent wisdom . Outside job means helping others by manifesting that wisdom through compassionate actions .
"Wisdom and compassion are like two wings of the bird. With only one no bird can fly".
For most practitioners keeping a balance between those two is not easy. Either we want attain clarity or we rush to help others. By only meditating for ourselves we achieve limited insight and by helping others without wisdom our help is not complete either.
Sharing food with those who are hungry and drink with those who are thirsty sounds like an easy task, but how many of us can even do that ?
What about more complicated issue ? What about basic human problem , death ? Most people believe, that giving and protecting our physical existence is probably the highest gift anyone can offer .
Jesus raised Lazarus from dead, giving him that highest gift , but what happened to Lazarus afterwords is not clear. Did he become Jesus' disciple, did he spread Gospel? We don't know. One thing we know for sure is, that he had to die again. Even giving someones physical life back is a temporary fix.
From the Buddhist point of view there is one gift that is higher, the gift that goes beyond life and death, the gift of Enlightenment . To be able to deliver such a gift we need to meditate and help others with the correct attitude. An attitude, that all our inside and outside efforts are for the sole reason; to establish all sentient beings in state of Enlightenment.
Without that attitude, trying to succeed in our practice is like trying to squeeze an oil out of the stone. It won't work.
That is why first Temple Rule , On keeping the Bodhi Mind says :
"You must first make a firm decision to attain Enlightenment and help others".
“Every real estate agent knows that in their business only three things are important: location, location, location. In Zen and life there are also only three: direction, direction, direction.”
If this direction is not clear, nothing is clear. Attaining this direction, simply means attaining humans original job.
In Zen we call it “keeping Bodhi Mind”, which has two aspects : inside job and outside job.
Inside job is to keep clear mind to access our inherent wisdom . Outside job means helping others by manifesting that wisdom through compassionate actions .
"Wisdom and compassion are like two wings of the bird. With only one no bird can fly".
For most practitioners keeping a balance between those two is not easy. Either we want attain clarity or we rush to help others. By only meditating for ourselves we achieve limited insight and by helping others without wisdom our help is not complete either.
Sharing food with those who are hungry and drink with those who are thirsty sounds like an easy task, but how many of us can even do that ?
What about more complicated issue ? What about basic human problem , death ? Most people believe, that giving and protecting our physical existence is probably the highest gift anyone can offer .
Jesus raised Lazarus from dead, giving him that highest gift , but what happened to Lazarus afterwords is not clear. Did he become Jesus' disciple, did he spread Gospel? We don't know. One thing we know for sure is, that he had to die again. Even giving someones physical life back is a temporary fix.
From the Buddhist point of view there is one gift that is higher, the gift that goes beyond life and death, the gift of Enlightenment . To be able to deliver such a gift we need to meditate and help others with the correct attitude. An attitude, that all our inside and outside efforts are for the sole reason; to establish all sentient beings in state of Enlightenment.
Without that attitude, trying to succeed in our practice is like trying to squeeze an oil out of the stone. It won't work.
That is why first Temple Rule , On keeping the Bodhi Mind says :
"You must first make a firm decision to attain Enlightenment and help others".
Helping Sin Yu
Sin Yu,the wife of one student from Su Bong Zen Monastery became ill with a chronic illness recently, and has been in hospital for about 2 months already. The family, her husband and three children are having difficult times through this period. In the spirit of compassion and solidarity the Zen center sangha very quickly, came together to help Sin Yu and her family.
Photo: Sin Yu's son Jim taking Respect Your Parents Precept
Photo: Sin Yu's son Jim taking Respect Your Parents Precept
On September 25th Grace wrote:
Dear all,
Dear all,
Thanks to all your compassion and generosity, we have raised $13700 for Sin Yu's medical expenses. Last night, Sifu visited Sin Yu and she has first offered a cheque of $10,000 to Sin Yu, the remaining will be offered at a later time. The reason for that is to make it easier for Yu Fu to manage as this money is raised for Sin Yu's medical expenses. Sin Yu had the MRI already and we'll know the result later. On Monday, Amy, May and myself went to visit her, she has infection on her spine in the neck and chest area causing immobility of her lower body and her arms. On cortisone, she was swelling, feeling very weak and tired.
Yesterday, Sin Yu was in better shape. Her puffiness has subsided 'cos the cortisone effect is over. She has more energy and can raise her arms. The doctors are trying to see what more they could do, and one option is to transfer to QE or United hospital where more doctors and facilities are available. Let's all chant for Sin Yu and send our loving and peaceful energy to her.
Yu Fu and the children are fine. Jim is taken care of by a friend during the day and Jason is taking him home after his school. Yu Fu is devoting his full energy on Sin Yu and at the same time keeping his practice everyday. Sin Yu is also trying to do her homework, make repentance. Since she cannot lift the paper, she has the repentance mantra written on her palm. Carmen will make a small laiminated version for her.
Sin Yu is sick but her heart is opened. She is very grateful to all of your care, and she's practicing not to let her mood follow her sickness going up and down. Sometimes she's joking and still concerned about her beautiful face. If you want to visit Sin Yu plse call May, myself or Amy as we'll go from time to time. Otherwise, we'll keep you updated on her situation.
Hap Jang,
Grace
Zen Master Dae Kwan replied:
Dear Grace,
Thank you for your report. It is very clear. One thing Grace didn't mention is she is also cooking for Yu Fu's family every other day, since all of them has to go to school and work. Anyone of you are welcome to offer your cooking every now and than to Yu Fu's children.
I'm happy to see we help each other when we are in need. That's very wonderful.
Sifu, Hap Jang
Yesterday, Sin Yu was in better shape. Her puffiness has subsided 'cos the cortisone effect is over. She has more energy and can raise her arms. The doctors are trying to see what more they could do, and one option is to transfer to QE or United hospital where more doctors and facilities are available. Let's all chant for Sin Yu and send our loving and peaceful energy to her.
Yu Fu and the children are fine. Jim is taken care of by a friend during the day and Jason is taking him home after his school. Yu Fu is devoting his full energy on Sin Yu and at the same time keeping his practice everyday. Sin Yu is also trying to do her homework, make repentance. Since she cannot lift the paper, she has the repentance mantra written on her palm. Carmen will make a small laiminated version for her.
Sin Yu is sick but her heart is opened. She is very grateful to all of your care, and she's practicing not to let her mood follow her sickness going up and down. Sometimes she's joking and still concerned about her beautiful face. If you want to visit Sin Yu plse call May, myself or Amy as we'll go from time to time. Otherwise, we'll keep you updated on her situation.
Hap Jang,
Grace
Zen Master Dae Kwan replied:
Dear Grace,
Thank you for your report. It is very clear. One thing Grace didn't mention is she is also cooking for Yu Fu's family every other day, since all of them has to go to school and work. Anyone of you are welcome to offer your cooking every now and than to Yu Fu's children.
I'm happy to see we help each other when we are in need. That's very wonderful.
Sifu, Hap Jang
The Secret
Zen Master Dae Kwang WikipediaDae Kwang Sunim replied, “Yes sir!”
As he was putting on his robe, he thought, “Wow, something strange must have happened in our school.” He got really excited and ran to Zen Master Seung Sahn’s room upstairs and knocked on the door.
Zen Master Seung Sahn: “Come in, sit down.”
Dae Kwang Sunim: “Yes, what is it, sir?”
Zen Master Seung Sahn : (Looking deeply into his eyes) he said, “Everybody wants something.”
Commentary: In our Zen School’s teaching we often hear, “Don’t want anything, then you will get everything.” When you want something very badly you might get it after lots of effort but in the end, you won’t be able to keep it since everything is impermanent and the very act of desiring something divides our mind into a subject/object state of duality. It makes us incomplete instantly. When desire disappears our mind has no subject/object duality and is complete. When the mind is complete everything is complete. We and the whole universe become one, so we get the whole universe back.Dae Kwang Sunim: “Yes, what is it, sir?”
Zen Master Seung Sahn : (Looking deeply into his eyes) he said, “Everybody wants something.”
Shortcut
Zen Master Dae Bong WikipediaWhen Zen Master Dae Bong was still a young monk, he once asked Zen Master Seung Sahn, “Is there a more shortcut in Zen, something even shorter?”
Zen Master Seung Sahn answered, “Yes, of course there is!”
Dae Bong Sunim asked, “What is it?”
Zen Master Seung Sahn replied, “Not for me!”
Commentary: Putting aside “short” or “long”, first of all why do you practice? When you really see your true self, what will you do with it? That’s why an old worthy said:” A complete mind becomes Buddha, a complete Buddha becomes a human being.” Not for me!
Slow down
This is an advice from my friend Hyon Mun Sunim, a Zen monk living in the mountains in Korea.Our life pace is getting faster and faster every day.
It's especially obvious in the big cities like Hong Kong and New York.
How to slow down?
The one thing you can try right away is to slow down your breath, since you have to keep breathing all the time.
By slowing down your breath and breathing with your lower belly you can accumulate more energy and balance your thinking, emotions and will power.
Below you can see a video with another monk Myong Haeng Sunim. He is giving instructions for breathing exercises called Soen Yu. Please try it.
Multitasking and Zen
...Zen Master Seung Sahn used to teach his students: "When you are doing something just do it."It's not clear who came first with this slogan, Nike or Zen Master Seung Sahn.Nevertheless, this idea might be interesting not only for athletes or Zen students.There is still a common believe that those who can do several things at a time are more productive and multitasking is still a virtue in the professional world today.On the other hand, various scientific research has been done on the subject proving that our brain can handle only one thing at a time. (see article from NYT)Now what kind of time are we talking about ? One hour, 20 minutes or maybe a second?In Zen, time is a creation of our thinking and it's length is quite subjective.Past is just a memory, future is a fantasy, and even when we say "now" it's already gone, so there is no way we can Just Do It in the past, future or even "now".Moment in Sanskrit is ksana and it lasts 1/60 of the time you need to make one finger-snap.These days in the era of nuclear clocks our moment is even shorter : 1 sec/ time.Since this is the case we might think that in such a short time we can't do anything, not even think. For example one human reflection takes up ninety ksanas.So, in moment, there is no thinking . No thinking means that there is no time, no space, no subject, no object and no action.The point is not to get stuck in the moment. How can you not get stuck in the moment?If we don't get stuck in the moment we can do anything. We can Just Do It moment to moment.
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