400 mindful words is a collection of experiential essays that combine several areas of personal interest: writing, Zen practice, Hatha Yoga, Mindfulness meditation, and the outdoors. In 1996, I became increasingly interested in mindfulness meditation, took several online courses, and read many books on the topic. I quickly became excited about sharing these concepts with the world and contributing to the answer to the prevalent isolation of modern life.
Becoming Mindful, my first attempt at blogging, launched around that time. After a few months, my initiative failed due to my inexperience. I persisted in my practice and education and soon joined the NY Zen Center for Contemplative Care, my first meditation community. About a year later, I became a formal Soto Zen student under the guidance of Senseis Chodo and Paley Ellison and with the support of many new Dharma friends.
I signed up for Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield’s Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program in the middle of 2022. These two practices, combined, represent the extent of my current incursion into the world of Buddhism and meditation. Together with my interest in Hatha Yoga and the environment, a theme began to emerge, and I rekindled the desire to share these experiences.
The 400mindfulwords.com blog aims to arouse general interest in the centuries-old techniques of Zen meditation and mindfulness. Honoring a tradition that characterizes my understanding of Zen, I set myself to communicate my experiences with brevity and conciseness. My guiding principle is that I should continue to meditate and practice on a subject until I can convey the essence of a particular teaching in less than 400 words.
My own experiences inform the pieces on this site. They show the evolution of my understanding of the teachings and my still limited comprehension. My writings, like my spiritual path, are a work in progress.
According to Jack Kornfield, attempting to share something is the most significant way to learn it. I find this to be true about me and my writing. As I put my thoughts together, I am both a student and a teacher, a voice in the midst of many that seek to put an end to so much unnecessary suffering in the world, a follower of a tradition started more than 2,500 years ago by a seeker, just like you and me, that ended up turning the wheel of Dharma for the benefit of all sentient beings.