Teachings
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Little Champion
September 8, 20142 min read
When I get hopeless about human life, which quite frankly is far too difficult for me, I like to remember that in the desert there is a little butterfly that lives by drinking urine and when I have to drive to work on Saturday, to spend an hour opening the mail, deciding what to keep and throw away, one piece at a time, I think of the butterfly following its animal around, through the morning and the...
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Teisho: What is Zen?
August 20, 20141 min read
Welcome to Mountain Cloud Zen Podcast (MCZP) Series! Episode Description: This talk, the first in our new audio podcast series, offers some brief introductory thoughts by way of an overview of Zen training, then an introduction to Zen's most revered koan collection, the Blue Cliff Record, and finally a look at the first koan in the collection, about the legendary Chinese founder of Zen, Bodhidharma. This talk was given by our resident teacher, Henry Shukman.
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Hokusai says …
August 17, 20142 min read
Hokusai says look carefully. He says pay attention, notice. He says keep looking, stay curious. He says there is no end to seeing. He says look forward to getting old. He says keep changing, you just get more who you really are. He says get stuck, accept it, repeat yourself as long as it is interesting. He says keep doing what you love. He says keep praying. He says every one of us is a child, every one of...
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The fundamental position of Sanbo Zen (formerly the Sanbo Kyodan)
August 17, 20142 min read
YAMADA Kôun Roshi stated as follows: "The fundamental position of Sanbô Zen is to stand at the origin point of Buddhism through the Dharma gate of Dôgen Zenji." The "origin point of Buddhism" means Shakyamuni, especially his great enlightenment experience itself. After a long period of ascetic training Shakyamuni was confident that true enlightenment was not a product of asceticism; therefore, he nourished himself through proper meals and then sat under a tree, which later became known...
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