Teachings
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Dharmatalk: Koan Study: Why Bother?
January 10, 20191 min read
"... a glimpse of another order of things, in an experience of awakening from the “dream” of what we have taken our lives to be ..." Description: This talk is about why and how we study koans. Practice often begins with mindfulness training, with the breath as our focus as well as other aspects of present-moment awareness. Koan study is encouraged once we’ve had a glimpse of another order of things, in an experience of awakening from...
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Family Matters: Welcoming the New Year 2019 by Ruben Habito
January 7, 20198 min read
Dear Brothers and Sisters of our Sanbo Zen Community, Let me begin by citing from an inspiring sermon I heard at a Eucharistic celebration on the Feast of the Holy Family, Sunday, 30 December 2018, at St. Johann’s Basilica, in Saarbrücken, Germany. Given the theme of the day, the preacher, as to be expected, spoke about family and its vital role in making (or breaking) us in becoming who we are as human beings. He approached...
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Dharmatalk: A Well That Has Not Been Dug
January 3, 20191 min read
In a well that has not been dug, water is rippling from a spring that does not flow; There, someone with no shadow or form is drawing the water. Description: This talk focuses on one of the first koans in the koan training: In a well that has not been dug, water is rippling from a spring that does not flow; There, someone with no shadow or form is drawing the water. We can find with practice that...
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Dharmatalk: Love is the Teaching
December 27, 20181 min read
It is empty, nameless, all-embracing love Description: The Blue Cliff Record is a classic collection of koans compiled by Setcho (Xuedou) in 1028. Each koan has a corresponding verse composed by Setcho, and the focus of this talk is Setcho’s beautiful verse to Case 2: In one there are many kinds. In two there are not two. Post & Featured image: Rose by Sushuti, CCO Public Domain.
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Dharmatalk: Case 75, Book of Equanimity: Zuigan’s “Everlasting Truth” (Part 2)
December 20, 20181 min read
Description: This talk continues the discussion of Case 75 and the wonder of practice. Zuigan has asked Ganto if there is an unchanging, everlasting reality. This can be taken as the central question of a lifetime. Ganto tells him that “it” -- the unchanging truth -- has already changed. We can never experience the world that Ganto inhabits through our understanding. Yet it is embodied in the koan, and embodied in the great masters. This...
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Dharmatalk: Case 75, Book of Equanimity: Zuigan’s “Everlasting Truth” (Part 1)
December 13, 20181 min read
"... We’re facing, in all its magnitude and wonder, the fact of existing ..." Description: To live in accord with the Dharma offers an alternative to the world of knowing-getting-having. In Case 75, Zuigan has asked Master Ganto, “What is the intrinsic, everlasting truth?” Henry recounts the story of Ganto’s training, and clarifies some of the elements in this case, addressing what a koan is and why we study them. The talk also touches on some thoughts...
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Dharmatalk: Why Practice
December 6, 20181 min read
"... To be aware of breath means to be aware of being alive ..." Description: This talk offers some reflections on a path of practice, and how it can help support not only our awareness of being alive, but also make us more aware that we are not independent from all that surrounds us, wherever we happen to find ourselves. Being on the path is its own reward. There are innumerable ways that stillness can change us,...
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