Author Archives: Blanket Theory

Have you had the noodle dream?

Noodles made with reverence. Proper respect paid to them. These are your lives and each is perfectly defined by a single noodle. Everyday Zen practice with a fair helping of nudges and winks.More

Running on Emptiness

What is less than nothing, but more than everything? Why is this Emptiness the most important no-thing you’ll never meet, but is as close as your breath? Zen Buddhism teaches a life grounded in Emptiness, a full life in this very moment. Believing in nothingness readied for fullness, that is the art.More

Café One Bright Pearl

Compassion for coffee machines runs deep at the Café One Bright Pearl. Zen’s message here is simple, enlightenment is everyday mind. There are a myriad beings with you, and you are one of them. And together … You, in the greater sense, the one bright pearl. Are you open for waffles?More

Case Review #1: Dusty blankets, deer paths and Pale beyond

We review the first posts on Blanket Theory and reprise the wild ride including questionable practice, the Blanket Truth, the Dharma Police, deer paths, a mirror graced with dust, a guide to just sitting, and some guy talking to all the animals at a forest pool. Where will the existential detective’s case lead him next? Everywhere, and nowhere. Which is exactly where we need to be.More

Do little

A forest pool where many strange and wonderful creatures come to drink. A Zen practitioner with a head in the clouds, full of noise. Where do we find rest? Come on an interfaith journey connecting Christian and Zen Buddhist imagery of our need for a respite from a chaotic and painful world. This journey takes us through scorching desert and bitter tundra. We find the outstretched hand of God rescuing us, or compassion waiting in our very being. Because of this compassionate outstretched hand, we can let go and be guided home, like one of the strange creatures drinking their fill at the pool. We acknowledge the suffering of many for many reasons, including depression. But, we see that, even if our practice falters, faith and no-faith can also be beautiful creatures guiding us home. Clinging to neither, treating them with a light hand the possibility is there to be the pool. Join me for a swim?More

Only just sitting: The very basics of Zen meditation

Zen meditation is your life in a deep sense, and this is its beginner’s manual, all you need is a wall and a chair. We discuss a minimalist version of zazen, Zen Meditation, intended specifically for beginners looking to quieten their mind. This is Zen Buddhist meditation, but people from other faith (or no faith) backgrounds can adopt the techniques without difficulty. We discuss finding a location, posture adjustments, quieting the mind by watching the breath and return for a reflection on meditation’s importance in our lives. Be welcome, I hope you meet yourself laughing together, and that you return sharing this with all people.More

Zen Beyond Disco Elysium’s Pale

Zen and Disco Elysium meet in the Whirling-in-Rags and Zen meditation gets a thorough exploration. This essay takes an apt but somewhat ill-advised metaphor and runs with it to the heart of Zen Buddhist practice. We discuss how the effects of the Pale (from the game) are reminiscent of stages of zazen, Zen meditation. And while the Pale’s effects are forced and coercive, zazen’s effects are gentle and accommodating, a welcome oasis to the Pale’s consuming mist. We try to trace the journey of practitioners who have gone before us, as far as we can go. Perhaps even beyond? We will return as we were, but we will be changed, and the world alive.More

Grace and the mirror

What is perhaps the deepest connection between Buddhism and Christianity? Compassion in Buddhism, grace in Christianity are two sides of a coin we will explore in this post. This interfaith dialogue explores how these grace and compassion are available to all of us. While being free, they still call us to deepen our practice, in ourselves but also amongst our communities and those beyond.More

Compassion in action: from ethics to Zen returning changed

If normative ethics builds cathedrals, is Zen’s approach like a journey along a deer path? We shine a light on ethical behaviour in Zen Buddhism. How can these be compared with each other, or even joined? We consider great compassion as the engine of action and perhaps a bridge to normative ethics. Can Zen ethics skillfully use these approaches as tools or scaffolding? Though Zen ethics can employ rules, it also knows when the situation demands they be put aside. More adaptable than normative ethics, and yet Zen demands serious discipline. Pull the coffee and cake closer, we are going hiking.More