Good Life: A Zen Precepts Retreat

A few key points

• Learn what leads towards suffering and what leads away from suffering.
• When I am experience, there is no suffering. When I believe I’m separate from it, there is suffering.
• “When opposites arise, Buddha mind is lost.”
• We do bad behaviours so we can continue to hate ourselves, not the other way around.
• Drinking and using drugs is wanting things to be be different, to leave an experience, which assumes there’s something wrong.
• Learn to let go and relax into the moment. Your interest in being right, safe, under control begins to fall away.
• Where am I, not am I a good or a bad person.
• We can learn what we think is acceptable or not from where we draw the line.
• We sit in meditation to the let the spaces between our conditioning become larger.
• The quickest way to end your spiritual training is to use what you see against yourself.
  • If you beat yourself up every time you see something, you’ll quickly stop seeing things.
• Here, centred in the moment, there are no problems.

Preface

• We can use life’s difficulties to win freedom from suffering.
• From yearning for life to be easy, to dealing skilfully with whatever arise.
• The precepts, like meditation, can help us see what’s stopping us from living this good life.

Introduction: The precepts as a magnifying glass

• The precepts are reference points on the path to awakening.
• Don’t analyse intellectually, but pay attention to your experience.
• Learn what leads towards suffering and what leads away from suffering.
  • What our condition is, and how it causes us to suffer.
• The precepts are about opening up to life.
• They can help train ourselves away from what’s harmful to us.
• When I am experience, there is no suffering. When I believe I’m separate from it, there is suffering.
• The point is not to punish yourself. It’s to help you be more kind.

1. Not to lead a harmful life not encourage others to do so

• Key: Gratitude
• Prohibition: Not killing
• Aspiration: To live in harmony with all life and the environment that sustains it
• Inspiration: There is not separate self
  
  
• A retreat can end with you having more questions that answers.
• Do whatever you do, but pay full attention to it, see its effects.
• Scrutinise everything, don’t assume you know what is so.

2. Not to take what is not given

• Key: Generosity
• Prohibition: Not stealing
• Aspiration: To freely give, ask for, and accept what is needed
• Inspiration: There is not scarcity of resources
  
  
• We want to establish rules so that we don’t have to be present in a situation.
• “When opposites arise, Buddha mind is lost.”
• Wanting is what maintains egocentricity.

3. Not to commit or participate in unchaste conduct

• Key: Love
• Prohibition: Not lusting
• Aspiration: To give and accept affection and friendship without clinging
• Inspiration: There is no scarcity of love
  
  
• What comes from a centred place feels pure.
• We project judgement onto others, but it’s really within ourselves.
• We do bad behaviours so we can continue to hate ourselves, not the other way around.
• Paying attention is letting go of beliefs and assumptions.

4. Not to tell lies nor practice believing the fantasies of authority

• Key: Honesty
• Prohibition: Not lying
• Aspiration: To see and act in accordance with what is
• Inspiration: There is no need to hide the truth
  
  
• Behaviours intended to protect us in childhood can only serve to keep us fearful now.
• The precepts are koans.

5. Not to use intoxicating drinks or narcotics or assist other to do so

• Key: Awareness
• Prohibition: Not clouding
• Aspiration: To embrace all experience directly
• Inspiration: There no need to hide from the truth
  
  
• Drinking and using drugs is wanting things to be be different, to leave an experience, which assumes there’s something wrong.
• It’s not the intoxicant itself but our process of addiction that keeps us out of the present moment.
• If we have attitudes and beliefs about someone, we have them about ourselves.
• Learn to let go and relax into the moment. Your interest in being right, safe, under control begins to fall away.
• Where am I, not am I a good or a bad person.
• We can learn what we think is acceptable or not from where we draw the line.
• Your purpose is to get to know yourself.
• What if the other person’s role is to help you awaken?
• We can’t remove other people’s obstacles. But we can avoid putting things in the way.

6. Not to publish other people’s faults

• Key: Kindness
• Prohibition: Not blaming or criticising
• Aspiration: To acknowledge responsibility for everything in my life
• Inspiration: There are no victims or perpetrators
  
  
• There’s more to it that a right way and a wrong way to be.
• Conditioned behaviour is who you are not.

7. Not to extol oneself and slander others

• Key: Humility
• Prohibition: Not competing or coveting
• Aspiration: To give my best effort and accept the results
• Inspiration: There are no winners or losers
  
  
• The precept is a description of how we stay separate.
• When you do something wrong, stay with the hurt, rather than looking for a way out.
• We sit in meditate to the let the spaces between our conditioning become larger.

8. Not to be avaricious in bestowal of the teachings

• Key: Piety
• Prohibition: Not apostatising or denying spiritual responsibility
• Aspiration: To live an openly spiritual life
• Inspiration: There is nothing in my life that is not part of my spiritual training
  
  
• The quickest way to end your spiritual training is to use what you see against yourself.
  • If you beat yourself up every time you see something, you’ll quickly stop seeing things.
• Underneath it all, there’s a feeling that everything is in some way fine.

9. Not to be angry

• Key: Acceptance
• Prohibition: Not to rage, resent, or seek revenge
• Aspiration: To see everything as an opportunity
• Inspiration: There are not mistakes
  
  
• The precepts help us pay attention.
• Here, centred in the moment, there are no problems.
• You can care without having something be wrong.

10. Not to speak ill of this religion or any other

• Key: Tolerance
• Prohibition: Not persecuting others or assuming spiritual authority
• Aspiration: To encourage others to lead a spiritual life, in their own way
• Inspiration: There is nothing in anyone else’s life that is not appropriate to their spiritual training
  
  
• When we look for example of people doing it wrong, we find them.

Notes from Good Life: A Zen Precepts Retreat with Cheri Huber by Sara Jenkins (Editor)

Added 2024-05-11.