10 Easy Steps to "Zen"

Amber Larson (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly; WikiHow.com

Here are 10 easy steps to a "zen" (jhana) state of mind. Zazen (just sitting) is a type of meditation unique to Zen Buddhism. It functions at the heart of the practice. Zen (Chinese Ch'an, Sanskrit Dhyana, Pali Jhana) is the Japanese word for "meditation," so Zen Buddhists could be called "Meditation-centric Buddhists." This outlines how a beginner can practice zazen, which literally means sitting meditation.

California kids MEDITATE in school (audio)

Ashley Wells, CC Liu, Pfc. Sandoval, Wisdom Quarterly; Katrina Schwartz; Jello Biafra

Children who are nervous about the new school year can relax by practicing “mindfulness” during anxious moments, researchers say. Experts at Duke University, in Durham, N.C., recommend mindfulness, which is a technique borrowed from [Buddhist] meditation... More

  

Meditation is even better than I thought!

The Buddha's original teaching of mindfulness (sati and satipatthana) meditation is being used to help businesses, psychology researchers, therapy patients, prisoners, and now very young school children. The option is wonderful, but force would not be.

Punk rock legend Jello Biafra while leading the Dead Kennedys warned about then Gov. Jerry "Moonbeam" Brown, who by coincidence is again the governor of California. His New Age ideas seem finally to have come true.

Gov. Brown and Linda Ronstadt (latimes.com)

"I am Governor Jerry Brown/ My aura smiles and never frowns/ Soon I will be president/ Carter power will soon go away/ I will be fuhrer one day/ I will command all of you/ Your kids will meditate in school/ California Uber Alles.../ Zen fascists will control you/ One hundred percent natural/ You will jog for the master race/ And always wear the happy face/ Close your eyes, can't happen here/ Big Bro on white horse is near..."

Lynda Jean Carter, the U.S. Wonder Woman

The Dead Kennedys, who are from the Bay Area, were very open to Eastern philosophy and religion in their day. But they were not into having a "nanny state" under Gov. Brown.

At that time Brown seemed to be attempting to legislate happiness, health, and well-intentioned progressive New Age views as he dated Latina-American pop singer Linda Ronstadt. (Interestingly, for those who did not know that Linda Ronstadt was Hispanic, it may come as a surprise that her 1970s contemporary "Wonder Woman" Lynda Carter was, too. Bet You Didn't Know They Were Hispanic).

 

Using mindfulness to teach coping skills

Katrina Schwartz, California Report (Take Two, scpr.org, Feb. 11, 2014)

Richmond, CA children practicing mindfulness in school (Katrina Schwartz/KQED)

 

Finally, I'm a good role model

[The Buddha is not being credited directly but] A group of Nystrom Elementary third graders practice a "mindful minute" with a Mindful Life Project instructor. Every Nystrom class gets 20 minutes of mindfulness training per week.

 

Across California, some schools are experimenting with mindfulness training -- or meditation -- as a way to help students.

Om. Om. Om. Meditating is way cool.

Plenty of school kids deal with a world of emotional problems, but some kids have a whole host of issues greater than usual -- drug abuse in the home, incarcerated parents, or even homelessness.

Reporter Katrina Schwartz visited the Bay Area city of Richmond to find out how the new approach is working. LISTEN: PLAY AUDIO

I can be calm and ADHD-free.

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Peruvian Buddhism, oldest in South America

Ashley Wells, Xochitl, Wisdom Quarterly; Annie Murphy, The World (PRI.org/BBC)

Peru is a land of ancient mysteries and Japanese Zen immigrants (apoturperu.org)

 

Buddhist meditation in Peru (pri.org)

A small group of people from the Japanese community recently gathered at the temple in Lima to chant and make offerings to their deceased relatives.

On the altar were plates of sandwiches and cakes, even a bag of Lay’s potato chips.
 
One of the unintended consequences of Peru’s booming economy is that life in the capital is becoming more stressful. Lima is covered in construction sites, competition for the best jobs, and housing is brutal, and traffic is horrendous. Still, people there are finding creative ways to relax in the midst of all that. Some of them are turning to Buddhist meditation.

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In 1903, Zen Buddhism arrived (SZ)

The oldest Buddhist temple in South America is just outside Lima, in a town called Cañete. It’s one large room with tile floors that feel cool under bare feet. The enormous altar is filled with incense, flowers, and small wooden statues that represent members of Japanese families that started migrating here in the early 1900s. Some families have also chosen to leave actual remains, in urns wrapped in knotted bundles of white cotton.

“Those urns contain remains of the first immigrants who came to Peru,” says Carmen Toledo, the temple caretaker, pointing to a few urns on the highest shelf.

She tells me that after Brazil, Peru has the second largest Japanese population outside of Japan. They hung onto a lot of traditions, Toledo says, building this temple and also incorporating Japanese food into Peruvian cuisine. More

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  There, all along the coast of Peru, all over the Isthmus and North America, in the... as to the splendour of the temples, palaces, and cities of Mexico and Peru,.... modern ruins, and the images of Buddha and of some deities [devas], not to mention our.... existence of the largest and most ancient forests growing on the buried cities.

Buddhism arrived very early