Absolute Commitment, Radical Acceptance, Willful Surrender.

ByUmi Dan Rotnem

Umi emphasizes that spiritual practice is inseparable from daily life, encouraging practitioners to fully commit to aliveness, accepting both the pleasurable and painful aspects of life without resistance. Radical acceptance involves embracing all of life’s experiences, while willful surrender requires letting go of ego and rigidity. The session concludes by challenging conventional expectations of how to respond to difficulties, advocating for radical accountability while allowing for honest and sometimes intense emotional expression as part of living fully.

Zen and the Tao: Living in Natural Alignment

ByUmi Dan Rotnem

In this talk, Umi uses verse 38 from weaving the way to emphasize that in Zen, real integrity comes from a deeper, continuous process of self-reflection, refinement, and growth. By recognizing and addressing the internal conflicts that arise when we suppress parts of ourselves, we can align more fully with life and the Tao. The practice of Zen ultimately helps us discover universal principles behind all actions, allowing us to embody integrity naturally and live in harmony with the unfolding of life. This process of refinement never ends, as life is an evolving experience that calls for continuous adjustments.

Trusting Buddha Nature

ByUmi Dan Rotnem

So these feelings, generally categorized as over-excitement and anxiety, or under-excitement and depression, are cues that we’re not trusting.

If we feel either of those things, it means that our nervous system is dealing with some level of mistrust.

We haven’t really said, you know what?

I am life itself unfolding.

Radical Acceptance: Loving All Parts of Ourselves in the Journey to Liberation

ByUmi Dan Rotnem

The talk you shared from September 8, 2024, delves into the concept of split personalities and disassociative phenomena within Zen practice. It encourages practitioners to embrace and integrate all aspects of themselves, even the ones that might not align with their ideal self-image. This approach highlights the importance of radical acceptance and love for all parts of oneself, facilitating the journey toward becoming a whole and skillful bodhisattva.

What is Buddha?

ByUmi Dan Rotnem

Buddha is the fundamental aliveness of the universe. To touch divinity is to touch the very quality of our creative, self-sustaining awareness of life, right?

And that’s kind of hard to understand, in the sense that there’s lots of things that we don’t like about life.