Flow Into Friday - Zen Series

Join Dr. Pete every Friday as he shares the very important practice of Zen Meditation. Let's practice presence together. Every Friday, Dr. Pete will offer sitting practice, instruction, and community for beginners and experienced practitioners seeking mindfulness, compassion, and inner clarity.

Dr. Pete is a Zen teacher in the White Plum Asanga lineage, having studied under Robert Kennedy, Roshi. He brings a unique approach to teaching that integrates traditional Zen practice with contemporary psychology, evidence-based research, and mindfulness training. As a licensed psychologist and academic, Peter bridges the wisdom of centuries-old contemplative traditions with modern scientific understanding of the mind, stress, and resilience. His teachings emphasize the practical application of mindfulness and compassion in daily life, supporting practitioners in cultivating clarity, presence, and inner freedom.

Learn more about Dr. Pete here: 

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Transcript

Athlete’s Tears And Letting Emotions Rise

Mind vs Body And Adolescent Brains

Introducing Hyakujo’s Fox Koan

Don’t Ignore Cause And Effect

Rebirth In Each Present Moment

Good, Bad, And The Mischievous Fox

Aging Bodies And Mental Frustration

Shame, Intensity, And Mind As Superpower

SPEAKER_03 0:16

Great morning. If uh if Roshi was here, uh he would have introduced me, you know, as a Rutgers professor in football, and um he would you know want to ask about how the football season's going and uh it's going. And uh it's it's the end of a sports season, actually, for football. We actually have our last home game uh this weekend, uh Saturday. And and it's such an easy zen metaphor, you know, this idea of beginning and end, uh letting go. Um you know, sport sports have all these metaphors of of Zen. You know, like you miss a shot, uh, you drop a pass, uh, seasons begin, seasons end. And uh, you know, it's it's it it never ceases to amaze me how much I'm becoming like my mother. Um, you know, when you think about like she always say, like, oh, time goes so fast, and you have to make sure you enjoy, you know, because as you get older, time goes even faster. And it starts to make sense as you kind of experience that. And so to me, that's the gift that I love to potentially be giving to some of these young uh athletes of you know, just be where your feet are, just be here now. Uh we are we're always rushing somewhere. So this week um I had an athlete, and I do weekly meditations, that's one of my sanghas. Uh, and you know, as the end of the season's coming, there's less people coming. Um, in the beginning of the season, it's full, it's a room full, and and and that's also okay. You know, I've done enough work and sat in the cushion long enough that it's not about me, it's not my ego about what I'm offering, it's about a space for them. And so one athlete came this week to meditation and he actually started to cry. And there's also an end coming to a career, you know. So even within the end of a season is the end of a career, is the end, you know, it's all these things that kind of pile on top of each other. And the power of just sitting allowed that emotion just to come up. And um, you know, he he was mad at himself for that. Uh, you know, he was mad that that emotion came up. And after we were done with our sit, it came to this conversation of uh, you know, mind and body, which is a really interesting conversation that you know I've had hundreds of times, maybe thousands. Uh, of course, in the Zen world, we think about duality and the absolute. And, you know, um I like to kind of challenge people when they think about the mind. And you know, I know like Plato, Descartes, they always talked about the mind as this abstract construct, and you know, people think the mind is in the brain, and sure, the scientist in me thinks that makes some sense, um, but it could also be in your little toe. It could also be outside your body. You know, who knows what it is. And this athlete just um being mad at his mind from this meditation, you know, um, again, that's like an easy zen teaching in a way, you know, the way that I would see that. Um it's a fun sort of thing to be able to teach to these adolescent athletes, you know, this this idea of duality or absolute, you know, what is it? Um can they exist without each other? And the adolescent brain, you know, for these college students, um, doesn't understand that. You know, I think that's sort of the beauty of my journey, is that when I first started sitting at Morningstar, um, I was young, you know, it was uh 28. And uh boy, I wish I knew now what I knew then. We've all certainly said that. Uh but that's just not how life goes. I mean, it wasn't, and that's I think another gift of this is like I never meditation is great for everybody when they're ready to receive it. It's not always ready for everyone to receive it. So this this this story just reminds me um of Hiyako's Fox the Koan, and you know, we a lot of people have you know talked about that, and and I've been uh sitting on that in the last few weeks. Um and I guess I'll I guess I'll read it. You know, I I was thinking just to maybe just give like the sort of gestalt overview of it. Um but you know, there's a Zen master uh who gives this these talks, and there's always uh this old man will be there to listen. And he usually left after the talk. You know, he would get out very fast, and uh one day he remained, so the Zen master asked him, Who is who's there? And the man said, I'm not totally actually a human being. I lived and taught on this mountain at the time of Kashyapa Buddha. One day a student asked me, Does a person who practices with great devotion still fall into cause and effect? I said to him, No, such a person doesn't. Because I said this, I was reborn as a wild fox for 500 lifetimes. Reverend Master, please say a turning word for me and free me from this wild fox body. Then he asked this old man, Does a person who practices with great devotion still fall into cause and effect? And the old man said, Don't ignore cause and effect. So, you know, then he realized it and he kind of gave him this release, you know, because I I think that's where I struggle at times with the intellect of Zen, you know, like like what, you know, cause and effect, you know, no cause, no effect, can't see cause without effect, you know, A and B, A without B, A and B, A or B. You know, it's it's it's sort of this um mind aerobics, and and that's what we do in Zen. And certainly as a budding teacher in Zen, um kind of afraid of this ko on. You know, am I gonna be through give the wrong answer and be thrown into a fox's body for 500 lifetimes? Oh shoot, that would be scary. Uh but there's a lot, there's so much in this ko on, and there's more to it, but I just kind of say in the beginning, but there's so much to unpack. Um, one of the things that I like to think about with say the 500 lives of a fox is you know, each moment is an opportunity to be reborn. It's not this absolute of like birth and death. And I think that we get stuck in that. So, you know, right now, as if you're you know, as you're sitting, is a reborn. It's letting go whatever you brought, you know, here this morning and just returning, you know, to whatever is ahead of you. Uh that's that's a beautiful gift. So it's not like you know the intellect is like, well, 500 lives, that's a long time. And you know, let me think about the math, and if it's 60 years and 80 years, and you know. So each moment is a time for rebirth. And and so that's the way that I see that. And you know, even just the idea of the fox, um, a fox, you know, in in the early you know, sutras is seen as like a mischievous animal, so to be reborn as a fox is is not a good thing, but but then there we are is into the world of good and bad. You know, is it so bad to be mischievous? You know what makes that right or wrong? So recently, an older mentor friend of mine said um, as he was, you know, walking kind of slow and maybe a little wobbly, said, uh, you know, my b my body is not listening to my mind. My body is not listening to my mind. And in that moment, it's like another reminder of you know what is cause and effect. If I'm older, you know, does my body's abilities directly link to my mind's abilities? You know, the frustration of my body's not listening to my mind. You know, this teacher in Yakujo's Fox gave this answer. And it's you know, it's about rebirth, it's about reincarnation, you know, a karma, but also about this this idea of duality. And um I personally don't see how you separate them. I, you know, I think you need to have a space, you know, for cause and effect. And so as this athlete was, you know, as we finished our sitting, and he felt, you know, I could sense that he felt a little shame about some of the emotion he was expressing. And I just uh he said, I just want to rip my mind out. Those were his words. He did this. I just want to rip it out. Why do I feel this? Why am I so it's just so grounding to hear him say that because it's a it I I think everyone's had that thought. I'm sure all of us on the cushion have wanted to rip our mind out in some moment in our in in life, and well, I I can't have experiences without that mind. You know, I I I need to feel that, and so I think of it as like a superpower, you know, being able to be that intense and that emotional about something, it's beautiful. Just function it constructively. You know, how beautiful that he was able to connect that, you know, while sitting. Because that's the gifts that sitting can give us. So that's sort of how I see this. So this athlete, this older friend, I don't I can't separate mind and body. And I don't know that we need to. And whether we're you know giving the right or the wrong answer and born into a fox's life for 500 years or you know, all we can do is just sit and breathe. I don't know that there's one without the other, you know, certainly sitting and breathing. Uh I know that I've heard lots of different stories of you know Bernie Glassman talking about just, you know, just breathe, or like uh Jim said in the beginning, you know, I'm with you when you sit. And so um, you know, we're all in that, and so that there is no separation in that. So think about you know your mind and body today, and that each moment is an opportunity for rebirth. You don't have to wait. Thank you. Great morning. If uh if Roshi was here, uh he would have introduced me you know as a Rutgers professor in football, and um he would you know want to ask about how the football season's going. It's going. And uh it's it's the end of a sports season, actually, for football. We actually have our last home game uh this weekend, Saturday. And and it's such an easy zen metaphor, you know, this idea of beginning and end, uh letting go. Um you know, sport sports have all these metaphors of of Zen, you know, like you miss a shot, uh, you drop a pass, uh, seasons begin, seasons end. And uh, you know, it's it's it it never ceases to amaze me how much I'm becoming like my mother. Um, you know, when you think about like she always say, like, oh, time goes so fast, and you have to make sure you enjoy, you know, because as you get older, time goes even faster. And it starts to make sense as you kind of experience that. And so to me, that's the gift that I love to potentially be giving to some of these young uh athletes of you know, just be where your feet are, just be here now.

No Separation: Just Sit And Breathe

SPEAKER_02 13:05

Uh we are we're always rushing somewhere.

SPEAKER_03 13:12

So this week um I had an athlete, and I do weekly meditations, that's one of my sanghas. Uh, and you know, as the end of the season's coming, there's less people coming. Um, in the beginning of the season, it's full, it's a room full, and and and that's also okay. You know, I've done enough work and sat in the cushion long enough that it's not about me, it's not my ego about what I'm offering, it's about a space for them. And so one athlete came this week to meditation and he actually started to cry. And there's also an end coming to a career, you know. So we even within the end of a season is the end of a career, is the end, you know, it's all these things that kind of pile on top of each other. And the power of just sitting allowed that emotion just to come up. And um, you know, he he was mad at himself for that. Uh you know, he was mad that that emotion came up. And after we were done with our sit, it came to this conversation of uh you know mind and body, which is a really interesting conversation that you know I've had hundreds of times, maybe thousands. Uh, of course, in the Zen world, we think about duality and the absolute. And, you know, um I like to kind of challenge people when they think about the mind. And you know, I know like Plato, Descartes, they always talked about the mind as this abstract construct. And you know, people think the mind is in the brain, and sure, the scientist in me thinks that makes some sense, um, but it could also be in your little toe. It could also be outside your body. You know, who knows what it is. And this athlete just um being mad at his mind from this meditation, you know, um, again, that's like an easy zen teaching in a way, you know, the way that I would see that. Um it's a fun sort of thing to be able to teach to these adolescent athletes, you know, this this idea of duality or absolute, you know, what what is it? Um can they exist without each other? And the adolescent brain, you know, for these college students, um, doesn't understand that. You know, I think that's sort of the beauty of my journey, is that when I first started sitting at Morningstar, um, I was young, you know, it was uh 28.

SPEAKER_02 15:36

And uh Boy, I wish I knew now what I knew then.

SPEAKER_03 15:44

We've all certainly said that. Uh but that's just not how life goes. I mean, it wasn't and that's I I think another gift of this is like I never meditation is great for everybody when they're ready to receive it. It's not always ready for everyone to receive it. So this this this story just reminds me um of Hiakujo's Fox The Koan, and you know, we a lot of people have you know talked about that, and and I've been uh sitting on that in the last few weeks. Um and I guess I'll I guess I'll read it. You know, I I was thinking just to maybe just give like the sort of gestalt overview of it. Um but you know, there's a Zen master uh who gives his these talks, and there's always uh this old man will be there to listen. And he usually left after the talk. You know, he would get out very fast, and uh one day he remained, so the Zen master asked him, Who is who's there? And the man said, I'm not totally actually a human being. I lived and taught on this mountain at the time of Kashyapa Buddha. One day a student asked me, Does a person who practices with great devotion still fall into cause and effect? I said to him, No, such a person doesn't. Because I said this, I was reborn as a wild fox for 500 lifetimes. Reverend Master, please say a turning word for me and free me from this wild fox body. Then he asked this old man, Does a person who practices with great devotion still fall into cause and effect? And the old man said, Don't ignore cause and effect. So, you know, then he realized it and they kind of gave him this release. You know, because I I think that's where I struggle at times um with the intellect of Zen, you know, like like what you know, cause and effect, you know, no cause, no effect, can't see cause without effect, you know, A and B, A without B, A and B, A or B. You know, it's it's it's sort of this um mind aerobics, and and that's what we do in Zen. And certainly as a budding teacher in in Zen, um kind of afraid of this ko on. You know, am I gonna be give the wrong answer and be thrown into a fox's body for 500 lifetimes? Oh shoot, that would be scary. Uh but there's a lot, there's so much in this ko on, and there's more to it, but I just kind of say in the beginning, but there's so much to unpack. Um, one of the things that I like to think about with say the 500 lives of a fox is you know, each moment is an opportunity to be reborn. It's not this absolute of like birth and death. And I think that we get stuck in that. So, you know, right now, as if you're you know, as you're sitting, is a reborn. It's letting go whatever you brought, you know, here this morning and just returning, you know, to to whatever is ahead of you. Uh that's that's a beautiful gift. So it's not like you know the intellect is like, well, 500 lives, that's a long time. And you know, let me think about the math, and if it's 60 years and 80 years, and you know. So each moment is a time for rebirth, and and so that's the way that I see that. And you know, even just the idea of the fox, um a fox, you know, in in the early you know, sutras is is seen as like a mischievous animal, so to be reborn as a fox is is not a good thing, but but then there we are is into the world of good and bad. Is it so bad to be mischievous?

SPEAKER_04 19:35

What makes that right or wrong?

SPEAKER_02 19:42

So recently an older mentor friend of mine said um as he was you know walking kind of slow and maybe a little wobbly, said uh, you know, my body my body is. Is not listening to my mind. Body is not listening to my mind. And in that moment, it's like another reminder of you know what is cause and effect.

SPEAKER_04 20:13

If I'm older, does my body's abilities directly link to my mind's abilities? The frustration of my body's not listening to my mind.

SPEAKER_03 20:36

This teacher in Yakujo's Fox gave this answer, and it's you know, it's about rebirth, it's about reincarnation, you know, karma. But also about this idea of duality. And um I personally don't see how you separate them. I, you know, I think you need to have a space, you know, for cause and effect. And so as this athlete was, you know, as we finished our sitting, and he felt, you know, I could sense that he felt a little shame about some of the emotion he was expressing. I just uh he said, I just want to rip my mind out. Those were his words. He did this. I just want to rip it out.

SPEAKER_02 21:16

I I don't why do I feel this?

SPEAKER_04 21:21

Why am I so emotional right now?

SPEAKER_03 21:30

And it's just so grounding to hear him say that because it's it's a it I I think everyone's had that thought. I'm sure all of us on the cushion have wanted to rip our mind out in some moment in our in life. And well, I I can't have experiences without that mind. You know, I I I need to feel that. And so I think of it as like a superpower. You know, being able to be that intense and that emotional about something, it's beautiful. Just function it constructively. You know, how beautiful that he was able to connect that, you know, while sitting, because that's the gifts that sitting can give us. So that's sort of how I see this. So this athlete, this older friend, I don't, I can't separate mind and body.

SPEAKER_02 22:24

And I don't know that we need to.

SPEAKER_03 22:27

And whether we're you know, giving the right or the wrong answer and born into a fox's life for 500 years, or you know, all we can do is just sit and breathe.

SPEAKER_02 22:41

I don't know that there's one without the other, you know, certainly sitting and breathing.

SPEAKER_03 22:48

I know that I've heard lots of different stories of you know, Bernie Glassman talking about just, you know, just breathe, or like um Jim said in the beginning, you know, I'm with you when you sit. And so um, you know, we're all in that, and so that there is no separation in that. So think about you know, your mind and body today, and that each moment is an opportunity for rebirth. You don't have to wait. Thank you.