Day 2: Is this really Zen?

So…day 2, and I am trying to give Big Mind a fair shot. I’ve got to be honest, though—it’s not really feeling like it’s very Zen-ish. In fact, it’s kind of feeling new age pop psychology-ish. References to basic tenets of Buddhism—the four noble truths, the eightfold path, interconnectivity, enlightenment—are almost wholly unmentioned in the methodology, and the long-timers who I ask about these concepts seem to be at best shy about conversing on connections between Big Mind and classical Buddhist teaching. Ironically, I’m not getting the sense that there is much depth of appreciation for…well…for Buddhism.

I’m also getting a bit concerned about the excess of exuberance displayed during the Big Mind sessions—the number of times the same people are saying things like, “I never imagined I could feel like this,” is starting to sound artificial and even a bit corny. I worry about how long lasting the buzz is going to be for some of the folks who claim to be immediately swept up in the shotgun displays of bliss. It’s feeling uncomfortably like this is more a cult of personality than it is about the teachings of Bodhidarma.

Taking Big Mind on its own terms, here are some of my experiences from the process on Day 2:

Day 1: the searching (and the skepticism) begins

After the first full day of Big Mind, my thoughts and impressions are varied. Video 1 below contains my summary of the zazen and oryoki, and my initial take on the Big Mind process. Video 2 gets more into some of my concerns and skepticism about the methodology and context. The experience is definitely challenging me—I’m choosing to stay open and maintain an explorative disposition about it, though.

Here are a couple of photos from today: putting away bowls after oryoki; the front entry to the Zen Center; pin-up article about Genpo Roshi and Big Mind.

Searching for Zen: introduction and orientation

Welcome. This is my cyber-center to record my thoughts, impressions, photos, and video journal from my week-long Zen retreat at the Big Mind Western Zen Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. Tonight was orientation night (Sunday, October 11th). Check out my video journal entry describing my thoughts and feelings about evening #1.

I’m also posting a few photos I snapped tonight during some of the orientation instructional sessions, which mostly included instructions for when and how to bow during meditation sessions, as well as a dry-run of oryoki—a meditative eating style.

Surprise number one came tonight when it was announced that the mornings and the evenings will be completely silent—no verbal communication with anyone else on the retreat before 10:30 AM or after 5:00 PM, as well as avoidance of nonverbal social interaction (smiling, eye-contact, nodding, waving, etc.) except when necessary. The principle reason for the silent mornings and evenings is to facilitate the journey inward to experience one’s self most deeply with minimal outside distractions calling for attention.

Thank you for taking an interest in this exploration—I’m looking forward to this week’s journey.