This is extraordinary. ✨ The way you describe shifting from doing to being makes the abstract feel tangible, and your retreat reflections carry both wisdom and vulnerability. It’s rare to see such a clear bridge between deep contemplative practice, neuroscience, and everyday life—you make the case for stillness in a world obsessed with motion beautifully.
Thanks so much for your wisdom. Resonating totally. I love being on silent retreats. An occasion to connect with something deeper inside. A precious opportunity to experience the mind and beyond. I came back from a week of silence retreat. So precious. Now bringing the wisdom into everyday life🫶🤩
Many thanks to Cort for this illuminating personal description of practice. It fits Zen/Zazen/Shikantaza in the Japanese Soto Zen tradition that I have studied, practiced, and taught in over the last sixty years--introduced to me by Shunryu Suzuki Roshi in the Sixties. It was his inspiration that led a few of us to bring Dainin Katagiri Roshi to Minneapolis in 1973 to found the Minnesota Zen Center (still thriving on the eastern shore of Bde Maka Ska). I like to describe this practice in plain Americanese as "the meditation of no assignment"--nothing to do, as Gautama reportedly said he did during Monsoon in India, but to know each breath, the body, and the mind as all arises. No assigned Koans, no visualizations, no mantras, etc. (all good on their own terms). I've been familiar with Richie's work (especially the early scientific papers with Jon Kabat-Zinn) for some 25 years, starting when I developed and taught credit-bearing meditation and mindfulness courses at the Bakken Center at the U. of Minn--with Jon K-Z's generous cooperation to insure that we mirrored his eight-week MBSR protocol.
Very recently, I have been reading and starting to practice the CHAN Silent Illumination as taught by Guo Go from the Tallahassee Chan Center. It reads similar to what you have described in this posting and if I understand this correctly, there is a similarity with Dogen's continuous practice. Thanks for this and science behind it.
Sometimes I can appreciate also solitude because it stimulates me to become aware of my surroundings. In this situation, I can really enjoy walking in the same path in the forest that I Have been walking for already ten years without feeling the necessity to need a change.
Even in troubled moments, it is nice to know that if I keep walking and observing nature, I can find some peace of mind.
These thoughts of mine reinforce the greatness of having awareness as an innate gift.
I imagine (having never been in that situation) that learning to just be may be more difficult if one doesn't have a) a living example, and b) a trusting relation with yourself and/or an outer teacher to refer questions to, especially in the case of silent retreats. In my case, starting out at age 17 with no spiritual or psychological background, and having tried various forms of hatha and raja yoga on my own, going to India to find and meet an authentic (tibetan) master who was willing to guide me was like transferring from a bicycle to a ferrari. I didn't speak the language but Kangyur Rinpoche's physical or spiritual presence 24/7 kept me on track. Even now, 65 years later, that is the heart of "just being" for me.
Everything we learn as children was based on observing and imitating. Why nowadays in the west do we pride ourselves on "finding it all out or doing it all by ourself", rather than following with trust and curiosity someone who really knows the the route and the car's capacities? Nothing can replace human communication and human examples. Richie and Cort's warm presence and example is so helpful. Ever grateful to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Mingyur Rinpoche and the many friends from Mind and Life for opening up the way.
This piece offers such a rare clarity on what many traditions try to express but few people give themselves the time to truly experience. The reminder that awareness is not something to build, but something to return to, completely shifts the frame. Thank you for naming what so often remains out of reach in a culture obsessed with doing.
Thank you for helping transform my main source of distraction (my phone) into a prompt to acknowledge my distraction and turn toward being present in the moment. I am storing so many pleasant moments rather than saving silly reels.
This is extraordinary. ✨ The way you describe shifting from doing to being makes the abstract feel tangible, and your retreat reflections carry both wisdom and vulnerability. It’s rare to see such a clear bridge between deep contemplative practice, neuroscience, and everyday life—you make the case for stillness in a world obsessed with motion beautifully.
Thanks so much for your wisdom. Resonating totally. I love being on silent retreats. An occasion to connect with something deeper inside. A precious opportunity to experience the mind and beyond. I came back from a week of silence retreat. So precious. Now bringing the wisdom into everyday life🫶🤩
Many thanks to Cort for this illuminating personal description of practice. It fits Zen/Zazen/Shikantaza in the Japanese Soto Zen tradition that I have studied, practiced, and taught in over the last sixty years--introduced to me by Shunryu Suzuki Roshi in the Sixties. It was his inspiration that led a few of us to bring Dainin Katagiri Roshi to Minneapolis in 1973 to found the Minnesota Zen Center (still thriving on the eastern shore of Bde Maka Ska). I like to describe this practice in plain Americanese as "the meditation of no assignment"--nothing to do, as Gautama reportedly said he did during Monsoon in India, but to know each breath, the body, and the mind as all arises. No assigned Koans, no visualizations, no mantras, etc. (all good on their own terms). I've been familiar with Richie's work (especially the early scientific papers with Jon Kabat-Zinn) for some 25 years, starting when I developed and taught credit-bearing meditation and mindfulness courses at the Bakken Center at the U. of Minn--with Jon K-Z's generous cooperation to insure that we mirrored his eight-week MBSR protocol.
Erik F. Storlie, PhD
Very recently, I have been reading and starting to practice the CHAN Silent Illumination as taught by Guo Go from the Tallahassee Chan Center. It reads similar to what you have described in this posting and if I understand this correctly, there is a similarity with Dogen's continuous practice. Thanks for this and science behind it.
Sometimes I can appreciate also solitude because it stimulates me to become aware of my surroundings. In this situation, I can really enjoy walking in the same path in the forest that I Have been walking for already ten years without feeling the necessity to need a change.
Even in troubled moments, it is nice to know that if I keep walking and observing nature, I can find some peace of mind.
These thoughts of mine reinforce the greatness of having awareness as an innate gift.
I imagine (having never been in that situation) that learning to just be may be more difficult if one doesn't have a) a living example, and b) a trusting relation with yourself and/or an outer teacher to refer questions to, especially in the case of silent retreats. In my case, starting out at age 17 with no spiritual or psychological background, and having tried various forms of hatha and raja yoga on my own, going to India to find and meet an authentic (tibetan) master who was willing to guide me was like transferring from a bicycle to a ferrari. I didn't speak the language but Kangyur Rinpoche's physical or spiritual presence 24/7 kept me on track. Even now, 65 years later, that is the heart of "just being" for me.
Everything we learn as children was based on observing and imitating. Why nowadays in the west do we pride ourselves on "finding it all out or doing it all by ourself", rather than following with trust and curiosity someone who really knows the the route and the car's capacities? Nothing can replace human communication and human examples. Richie and Cort's warm presence and example is so helpful. Ever grateful to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Mingyur Rinpoche and the many friends from Mind and Life for opening up the way.
This piece offers such a rare clarity on what many traditions try to express but few people give themselves the time to truly experience. The reminder that awareness is not something to build, but something to return to, completely shifts the frame. Thank you for naming what so often remains out of reach in a culture obsessed with doing.
Thank you for helping transform my main source of distraction (my phone) into a prompt to acknowledge my distraction and turn toward being present in the moment. I am storing so many pleasant moments rather than saving silly reels.
https://substack.com/@collapseofthewavefunction/note/p-170168037?r=5tpv59&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action
Thanks for this.