"Pleasure and pain are simply opposite poles. Joy is being willing for things to be as they are. With joy, there's no polarity. If the noise starts, it starts. If it stops, it stops. Both are joy." --Joko Beck
Community UU, 468 Rosedale Ave, White Plains, NY.
Practice to be led by Meredith.
Chants for Thu Jan 25 - Wed Jan 31:
- Genjokoan 1, 2, 3, p. 41
BoWZ Westchester Chant Schedule
Reading this week: Charlotte Joko Beck, Nothing Special: Chap. 4, "Responding to Pressure," pp. 24-30.
Questions. (1) "When the pressure's on, one person tends to withdraw; another struggles harder to be perfect, or to be even more of a star. Some respond to pressure by working harder, others by working less. Some evade, others try to dominate. Some get busy and talk a lot; others become quieter than usual" (p. 24). What is your "chief feature" -- the primary way you handle pressure?
(2) "We have to step outside of the little mind and observe it....We have to observe the mind and notice what it's doing....The process of stepping back is not complicated, but if we're not used to it, it seems new and strange, and perhaps scary. With persistence, it becomes easier" (p. 26). How do you understand what Joko is saying?
At Boundless Way Temple, 1030 Pleasant St, Worcester, MA:
- Thu Mar 15, 19:00 - Sun Mar 18, 12:00. Spring Sesshin.
A fox:
Just what it must be,
And a constant surprise.
Every moment a fox --
Every action a turning word.
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