On Sunday, May 18 Soshimsa Zen Center held its first ceremony since the long journey of finding and renovating its new location at 1112 North Avenue in Plainfield NJ. It was truly a pleasure seeing familiar faces and the ceremony became one of celebrating new beginnings (for the fish, for all those graduating school and for the new Soshimsa location) as well as the old friendships. Thank you all for attending and thank you all who mailed in their prayers and best wishes.
Do you think that the sages, the spiritual masters are ordinary, or do you think there are extraordinary? Do you think they are special, unique, or do you think they are just normal? If you think the masters are just normal, you will never reach enlightenment. If you think the masters are extraordinary, you will never reach enlightenment. If you think that the masters are normal, you will not pursue the goal of spiritual practice correctly. In Zen tradition, this is illustrated in almost graphic ways. “The one who set their mind on the goal of enlightenment is to practice as if their hair was on fire and they’re looking for a lake into which to dive into”. It is with this urgent energy that one is to pursuit Enlightenment. So, if you think masters are just ordinary, you won't have the necessary energy to pursue it. If you think masters are extraordinary. You won't even start the journey. “Ah, these lofty goals are for a select group of people, some special fantastic spiritual V...
