tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86552740039026318562011-11-27T15:51:23.547-08:00Share in my personal journey through Zen Buddhism as I write my thoughts and reflections, my frustrations and breakthroughs my learning and unlearning. By sharing my experiences I hope to find and give support to others along the same path.Roberto Rodriguezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16926150094561227165noreply@blogger.comBlogger231100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8655274003902631856.post-16054233037185617382011-02-23T11:51:00.001-08:002011-02-23T11:51:37.121-08:00

No road to happiness or sorrow... Find them in yourself. - Chinese Proverb

Roberto Rodriguezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16926150094561227165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8655274003902631856.post-75737211651860784362011-02-16T12:45:00.001-08:002011-02-16T12:45:52.782-08:00

By amending our mistakes, we get wisdom. By defending our faults, we betray an unsound mind. - Hui Neng

Roberto Rodriguezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16926150094561227165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8655274003902631856.post-4094203420425797742011-01-24T10:44:00.001-08:002011-01-24T10:44:29.938-08:00

Mondays after a weekend away are tough. My next two weekends I will be away. I'm dragging today.

Roberto Rodriguezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16926150094561227165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8655274003902631856.post-70474373095536908492011-01-12T15:27:00.001-08:002011-01-12T15:27:59.660-08:00

School day is done. The kids have gone home. Time to jump on the bike. :-)

Roberto Rodriguezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16926150094561227165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8655274003902631856.post-5421718525503598722011-01-06T18:31:00.001-08:002011-01-06T18:31:57.076-08:00

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world...it is the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead

Roberto Rodriguezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16926150094561227165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8655274003902631856.post-75430308610612752692010-12-31T09:13:00.001-08:002010-12-31T09:13:18.676-08:00

Wishing everybody a Happy New Year and some fun and safe celebrations tonight.

Roberto Rodriguezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16926150094561227165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8655274003902631856.post-62598164154787355892010-12-15T20:00:00.001-08:002010-12-15T20:00:28.421-08:00

"You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection." Buddha

Roberto Rodriguezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16926150094561227165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8655274003902631856.post-82830957496396198482010-03-19T08:31:00.001-07:002010-03-19T08:31:35.584-07:00

Zen Quote: "The beauty of life is, while we cannot undo what is done, we can see it, understand it, learn from it and change." J. Edwards

Roberto Rodriguezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16926150094561227165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8655274003902631856.post-75885150371353863552010-03-16T21:44:00.001-07:002010-03-16T21:44:12.087-07:00

"A man wrapped up in himself makes a very small bundle." Benjamin Franklin

Roberto Rodriguezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16926150094561227165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8655274003902631856.post-77963805920705476512010-03-14T00:27:00.001-08:002010-03-14T00:27:28.015-08:00

Zen Quote: "Remembering a wrong is like carrying a burden on the mind." Buddha

Roberto Rodriguezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16926150094561227165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8655274003902631856.post-47371336536216843462010-02-10T20:45:00.001-08:002010-02-10T20:45:56.866-08:00

Zen Quote: "Your Treasure House is in yourself, it contains all you need." Hui Hai

Roberto Rodriguezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16926150094561227165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8655274003902631856.post-46182647917747534492010-02-08T21:56:00.001-08:002010-02-08T21:56:27.017-08:00

Zen Quote: Sit quietly, doing nothing, spring comes, and the grass grows by itself.

Roberto Rodriguezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16926150094561227165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8655274003902631856.post-26389193892065707862010-01-25T22:31:00.001-08:002010-01-25T22:31:24.461-08:00

Zen Quote: "Alas! the world is full of enormous lights and mysteries, and man shuts them from himself with one small hand!" Baal Shem Tov.

Roberto Rodriguezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16926150094561227165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8655274003902631856.post-19752513683904577692009-12-23T12:54:00.000-08:002009-12-23T12:55:17.389-08:00

Kindness should become the natural way of life, not the exception. Buddha

Roberto Rodriguezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16926150094561227165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8655274003902631856.post-8848971400168060222009-12-02T07:56:00.000-08:002009-12-02T07:57:47.363-08:00

Zen Quote:What happens to you does not matter: what you become through those experiences is all that is significant. This is the true meaning of life.

Roberto Rodriguezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16926150094561227165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8655274003902631856.post-37380081814446340632007-12-17T16:49:00.000-08:002008-12-09T06:04:28.659-08:00

In a world of instant gratification and information at your fingertips, we’ve learned to want what we want and expect it now. I see this attitude in my students. Any project that’s not “cut and pasteable” from the internet takes way too much of an effort. And should I require that they actually look at the most antiquated of information reservoirs, books, that’s just too difficult. That

Roberto Rodriguezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16926150094561227165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8655274003902631856.post-12036345737625634532007-11-29T08:30:00.000-08:002007-11-29T08:32:46.513-08:00

Why do Zazen at all? It’s a question that often comes up. Usually I’m the one asking. If you saw the video clip from my last post the statement is made that most of the time Zazen is boring. I wouldn’t personally describe it as such, but it certainly not the type of “doing” that we are accustomed to. The type of doing that helps us pass the time faster, whether it’s television, or shopping, or

Roberto Rodriguezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16926150094561227165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8655274003902631856.post-37253409315337103622007-11-11T23:37:00.000-08:002007-11-12T12:43:38.766-08:00

Some of my friends often ask me what is Zazen?, or what's the point? Or I'm often asked, how do you do it? I found this video on YouTube. It's a pretty good introduction to Zazen or seated meditation. In some ways there is a lot more to it...and in others, it's this simple. Enjoy the video and if you have questions let me know, I'll answer to the best of my understanding.

Roberto Rodriguezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16926150094561227165noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8655274003902631856.post-75507289849817084792007-11-08T23:01:00.000-08:002007-11-08T23:15:24.668-08:00

The Four Noble Truths are the basis of the teachings of Buddhism. The First Noble Truth as expressed by the Buddha himself was the acknowledgment of suffering in life. This is often expressed as “Life is suffering.” At first glance this seems a very gloomy statement about life. Yet, my sense of this is that the statement isn’t so much a value judgment as it is a statement of fact. Think of how

Roberto Rodriguezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16926150094561227165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8655274003902631856.post-2530601413538261382007-10-26T15:14:00.000-07:002007-10-29T10:20:00.956-07:00

Religion is a universal experience for human beings. It has been around since the dawn of time, when man saw the awesome power of nature over his survival. Even at the dawn of the 21st century, with the growth of science and technology at a time when we want to believe that knowledge, information and reason reign supreme, the major conflicts of the world at best have religious undertones, and at

Roberto Rodriguezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16926150094561227165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8655274003902631856.post-22606571948307002722007-10-22T21:43:00.000-07:002007-10-22T23:24:45.998-07:00

May all my neighbors in San Diego County and throughout the state of California find safety and find refuge in the company of their loved ones.Roberto

Roberto Rodriguezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16926150094561227165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8655274003902631856.post-89855708864630650422007-10-18T22:30:00.000-07:002007-10-18T22:29:38.781-07:00

As a high school teacher of World Religions my students often ask, “so what are you?” As a teacher of students ranging from 16 to 18 years of age, I want to present the information in a way that is factual, historically accurate and untainted by what they might see as my personal biases. I do this when I teach Government. One year about half of my students thought I was a Democrat, the other

Roberto Rodriguezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16926150094561227165noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8655274003902631856.post-54710409723720646802007-10-17T13:37:00.000-07:002007-10-17T14:26:38.855-07:00

Hello! Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Roberto Rodriguez. I'm a political scientist by training, a high school teacher by profession, and a Zen student. My intention for this site is to track my personal journey through Zen. A process I expect will last a lifetime. The motivation behind doing so is threefold. First and foremost, as a writer I find this personal journey fascinating.

Roberto Rodriguezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16926150094561227165noreply@blogger.com0