Teachings
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Dharmatalk: Winter Solstice Retreat: Bright Light (Part 4 of 4)
April 12, 20222 min read
Description: Valerie and Henry explore Unmon's Bright Light, Case 84 from the Blue Cliff Record in this final talk from our 2020 winter solstice retreat. Valerie opens with the Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn occurring during this retreat, as a way to describe Zen practice. “Cutting the two into one... Light and darkness are one... your own great conjunction." Valerie asks "what is your own bright light?" Henry concludes with "ordinary mind is the...
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The Eightfold Path: Dharma Talk with Bill Bruce (video)
April 9, 20221 min read
A more beautiful world our heart knows is possible. Bill Bruce is a long term Zen practitioner and sangha member. Bill opens his dharma talks with a simple story from author Charles Eisenstein about how we all need to work together to change the course of our world. Bill then takes us back to basics and gives a teisho about the first four steps on the Noble Eightfold Path. Bill draws on Thich Nhat Hanh's teachings...
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Lotus Blossoms in a World at War: Dharma Talk with Valerie Forstman (video)
April 8, 20221 min read
Four weeks into the invasion of Ukraine, Valerie takes up case 21 of the Blue Cliff Record, “Chimon’s Lotus,” alongside the poem, “Peace,” by the German SanboZen master, Silvia Ostertag. Chimon’s surprising answer in the case becomes an invitation to taste the peace that pervades all boundaries and to offer our sitting for the peace of the whole world. https://youtu.be/y87UtRrg3no Photo by Irakli Kvaratskhelia on Unsplash Recorded in our virtual zendo on March 24, 2022. Photo by Irakli Kvaratskhelia on Unsplash...
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Practice as Pilgrimage
April 7, 20222 min read
The Way is never apart from you, right where you are. Why should we wander here and there to practice? Eihei Dogen Zen has deep roots in the practice of pilgrimage. From the teachings of the Buddha to the ancient tradition of monks “wandering with the wind” to meet masters and deepen their insight, pilgrimage is a way of engaging, exploring, and embodying who we truly are – the native ground that Yamada Koun Roshi called “the...
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Dharmatalk: Winter Solstice Retreat: Beginner’s Mind (Part 3 of 4)
April 5, 20221 min read
"... The knot of self has become untied ..." Description: Henry returns to the basics of practice in this third talk from the 2022 winter solstice retreat picking up on Valerie's theme of trees and photosynthesis. "Pick up your Practice with a lot of hope. Know that your sitting is doing the photosynthesis of the world. Allowing the human to be." Henry quotes from William Shakespeare, physicist David Bohm, writer David Hinton and Bodhidharma "when we...
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This Blue Sky: Zazenkai and Q&A with Valerie Forstman (videos)
April 2, 20221 min read
In this talk from our Women in Zen Zazenkai series, Valerie looks into the life and work of Chiyo-ni, the first renowned woman haiku master, reading these evocative verses alongside a recent quote from a Ukrainian mother: “If you can go outside and look at the blue sky, you should do it.” The beauty of nature and clarity of awakening intermingle in a world that is at once heart-breaking and broken all the way open. https://youtu.be/8-6tB0_uepc Featured...
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Q&A with Henry Shukman and Valerie Forstman (video)
April 1, 20221 min read
In light of many questions coming in, Henry and Valerie have decided to dedicate this Thursday evening event to answer questions the sangha may have. More Q&A sessions will follow in the coming months. Stay tuned. Here is the first session recorded live on March 10, 2022. https://youtu.be/qsRDQruC1OY Featured photo by Mark Paul Petrick Recorded in our virtual zendo on March 10, 2022. Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash
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Substance of Practice
March 31, 20222 min read
Under the shadowless tree all people are in one boat. from Case 18, Blue Cliff Record; case 85, Book of Serenity When National Teacher Nanyang is about to die, his devoted student, Emperor Daizong, asks how to honor him in the years to come. Nanyang responds, “Build a seamless tomb for this old monk.” The emperor has the means to build a magnificent monument. He asks his teacher for a design. The case says, “The national teacher...
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Dharmatalk: Winter Solstice Retreat: The Origin Point (Part 2 of 4)
March 29, 20221 min read
"... the awakening of Shakyamuni Buddha and the simultaneous awakening of all existence, past, present and future ..." Description: To explore the origin point of practice in this second talk of our winter solstice retreat, Valerie revisits the Old Plum Tree, Case Zero, from the Transmission of Light Collection. This case is the the Head Chapter which we read on Rohatsu that narrates the awakening of Shakyamuni Buddha and the simultaneous awakening of all existence, past,...
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Peace
March 24, 20222 min read
Peace Sitting in silence you should simply let yourself fully arrive. Let yourself fully arrivein the peace of this moment. How can you actually do that,let yourself arrive in peace,given there are so many peoplewho tragically have to suffer from the lack of peace in the world?Given there are so many peoplewho, in one way or another, find themselves in overwhelming need and unspeakable suffering? Can it do them good if – with them in mind – others let themselves arrive in the peace of this moment? ~ Silvia Ostertag, SanboZen Master Zazen...
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Dharmatalk: Winter Solstice Retreat: It’s All Empty (Part 1 of 4)
March 22, 20221 min read
"... This moment - just as it is - is our reality. ..." Description: Henry describes how meditation practice exclusively focused on awakening (kensho) can bypass the enormous gains practice offers our ordinary lives. Zen practice directly meets our daily anxieties, joys, losses, and gains. It meets and supports us right where we are. The whole thrust of deep Buddhist teachings is to meet our lives in normal everyday reality. As we develop loving awareness (mindfulness)...
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