Zen Q&A Is there a way to become less attached to things in my life I really identify with? Barry Magid September 8^th 2017

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Rachael asks:

My entire identity is tied up in being a writer. I've spent 40 of my 45 years wanting and studying to be one. I'm now a full-time professional writer with 18 books out, both novels and non-fiction. I meditate regularly and have little problem accepting the temporality of most things. I know that everything will change, and I'll lose everything at some point. While obviously attached to the people I love, I understand and accept the impermanence of all relationships, and this does help me enjoy the now of the moment I stand in. The one thing that throws me into a panic is the thought that someday I might not be able to write - it's not something I'm able to hold with a loose grasp. If I weren't a writer, I wouldn't know who I was. Is there a way to become less attached to this idea? Or is even something to strive for?

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Barry Magid September 15th 2017 Is Zen practice inevitably connected with the monastic tradition to be recognized as legitimate or can lay practice stand by itself without losing its essence and connection with a Zen tradition?

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Barry Magid September 1st 2017 How important, as American Zen students, is it to orient our practice within Japanese culture?

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Zen Q&A Is there a way to become less attached to things in my life I really identify with? Barry Magid September 8th 2017

Rachael asks:

Barry Magid September 15th 2017 Is Zen practice inevitably connected with the monastic tradition to be recognized as legitimate or can lay practice stand by itself without losing its essence and connection with a Zen tradition?

Barry Magid September 1st 2017 How important, as American Zen students, is it to orient our practice within Japanese culture?

If you found this talk helpful, consider donating to Ordinary Mind

Zen Q&A Is there a way to become less attached to things in my life I really identify with? Barry Magid September 8^th 2017