Zen Meditation Course (Weeks 6-8)
Week 6: Right Action
Speech alone is not enough. Right Action is necessary because actions do speak louder than words. Likewise with meditation it is not enough to see our own place in the world, we also need to take that clarity of Mind out and share it with others. This is not about performing ‘good deeds’ – these are useful but transient. It is about being in harmony with our Self and our environment.
Week 7: Right Living
Zen does not believe in Judgement, there are no ‘sins’ or good & evil acts. Karma exists to expose the meaning of our actions, but this is not ‘punishment’ or ‘reward’ it is just a natural consequence, like an apple falling due to gravity. Morality and ethics exist for those who have lost their way; laws are for those who cannot understand the basics of living in harmony with our Self and others. Right Living is the path of maturity where we take responsibility for our own actions.
Week 8: Right Effort
As our Zazen ripens and matures and we learn to unite the inner clarity with external circumstances we naturally want to provide as much service to others as we can. We also want to continue to explore our meditative experiences. For both of these we need to understand Right Effort. How do we keep going when things are tough? How to meet the world when we don’t feel validated by it?
