Teachings
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Spring Sesshin Part 1 of 2, Mu Koan
May 28, 20151 min read
Episode Description: This talk, the first during our spring sesshin, introduces the Koan Mu and addresses the challenges that arise during a first sesshin. Henry compares zen practice to musical instrument practice with a lively story about his old trombone teacher, Jack Pinches. He also recounts the difficulties and rewards of his own first sesshin. Henry emphasizes the importance of diligent practice and explains how to sit with Mu while allowing it to absorb our inner...
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Case 9: The Book of Equanimity; Nansen Kills the Cat
May 21, 20151 min read
Episode Description:Henry uses this startling koan about Nansen and a cat to explore questions about life, death and ultimate reality. Does Nansen really kill the cat? If so, what has he actually killed? What is this life we believe we are leading? Listen to how this koan beckons us to wake from the dream of subject and object, life and death. Henry quotes theologians, zen stories, and the Cloud of Unknowing to elucidate how this...
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The Dharma of Alienation: Part 2 of 2
May 17, 20157 min read
In response to the delusion of separation and alienation, Buddhist teachings emphasize interconnectedness. Overcoming Alienation All the above (click to read Dharma of Alienation Part 1) is an effort to understand some of the factors that cause people today, especially young people, to feel isolated and alienated. By emphasizing these issues, I do not mean to justify alienation. Alienation remains a problem, both for those who feel isolated and for the society - especially the family and...
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Shin-Jin-Mei (Verses on the Faith-Mind) by Sosan, Part 2 of 2
May 14, 20151 min read
Episode Description: Henry explicates the first six lines of the Verses on the Faith-Mind by focusing on the question, What is the great way? Henry quotes from the 14th-century Zen master Bassui, who insists we already are the great way, fully and completely. This talk grapples with the essence of Zen training; the three fires of greed, hatred and delusion; the first critical step of accepting our perceived separation from the great way; and finally, the distinction...
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Sanbo Zen Documentary: A Preview {VIDEO}
May 11, 20151 min read
Here's a preview {4:56} of the upcoming documentary feature film about Sanbo Zen. This preview features : Migaku Sato Roshi (Associate Zen Master), Ruben Habito (Roshi at Maria Kannan Zen Center), Brian Chisholm (Ottawa Sangha of Sanbo Zen), Valerie Forstman (Maria Kannan Zen Center), Ryoun Yamada Roshi (Abbot of Sanbo Zen), Pierre Philippon (Zen Association of Isle d'Abeau). Full details about the documentary will be forthcoming, in due time, here on our website. This preview was filmed in Toronto...
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The Dharma of Alienation: Part 1 of 2
May 9, 20157 min read
New media technologies sometimes encourage a kind of "hyper-individualism" because we spend less and less time meeting and interacting with other people - often not even with members of our own families. We are here to awaken from the illusion of our separateness. - Thich Nhat Hanh The English word "alienation" is from a Latin word that means "to be other." To be alienated is to feel separate from. There are three issues involved in this: Who...
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Shin-Jin-Mei (Verses on the Faith-Mind) by Sosan, Part 1 of 2
May 7, 20151 min read
Episode Description: In part 1 of this 2-part series about the Shin-jin-mei (Hsing-Hsign Ming, Verses on the Faith-Mind), Henry provides background details about the second patriarch Sosan (Ch. Seng-T’san). We learn about his serious illness, his desire for release from karmic debt, and his awakening encounter with his teacher, the second Chinese Ancestor Eka (Ch. Huike). Henry begins to explicate the opening verse of this 6th century Zen document by questioning our daily lifelong habit...
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