Teachings
-
Teisho: Ruben Habito: All Beings Are Buddha – Guest Episode
March 1, 20183 min read
All beings are by nature Buddha, As ice by nature is water. Apart from water, there is no ice. Apart from beings, no Buddha "... we are, and have always been, immersed in an infinite reality ..." ~ Ruben Habito Description: This talk was given by Ruben Habito Roshi, founding teacher of Maria Kannon Zen Center in Dallas, TX. Its central theme is the first line of Hakuin Zenji’s Song of Zazen, “All beings are by nature Buddha.” Ruben explores what it...
Listen to the talk -
Teisho: Case 64, Book of Equanimity: Shishô’s “Succession”
February 22, 20181 min read
"... no difference between “swept away” and “not swept away,” between form and emptiness, between deluded and awakened ..." Description: The Zen tradition embodies a basic fact or reality of our human experience, and says there are two entries or gates into it, as expressed by Bodhidharma—by “principle” and by “practice.” Henry talks about these two gates and elaborates on a prior discussion about quantitative and qualitative practice. In Case 64, Master Hogen poses the koan’s central question: “‘The...
Listen to the talk -
Teisho: Case 63, Book of Equanimity: Joshu Asks About Death (Part 2 of 2)
February 15, 20181 min read
"... study our experience and ... see how things truly are - this is called kensho ..." Description: This talk begins with a discussion of the Three Refuges: buddha, dharma, sangha. It unfolds into further discussion of Case 63 and how Zen practice views awakening, or enlightenment. When we study our experience and suddenly see how things truly are—this is called kensho. In this koan Jôshû refers to this as a person “who has died a great Death.” It...
Listen to the talk -
Three Fruits of Zen
February 10, 20183 min read
...if we really lived out the reality glimpsed in a moment of realization, and in every instant of our lives were free of all last shreds of clinging or grasping...then we might indeed be something like "perfect." Traditionally there are said to be three fruits of zazen. The first is concentration—meaning in part simply the ability to hold our mind steady on a given task or object, but also more than that... ...a con-centering, a gathering together...
Read more -
Teisho: Case 63, Book of Equanimity: Joshu Asks About Death (Part 1 of 2)
February 8, 20181 min read
"... Zen training involves letting go of anything special, profound or dramatic—it is just this, moment by moment ..." Description: This talk begins with a discussion of two purposes of practice: 1) to calm the reactive nervous system, cultivate present-moment awareness and experience states of deep meditative absorption; 2) deep investigation into the nature of our existence. In Case 63, when Jôshû asks Tôsu, “What if a man who has died a great Death comes back to life?” he...
Listen to the talk -
Three Treasures of Zen
February 3, 20182 min read
Three elements have long been considered integral and indispensable to Zen training – Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. Often referred to as the three treasures, they form the foundation of our practice and correspond, more or less, to our sitting practice, our understanding of the teachings, and our sitting together as a group. Buddha It was Buddha himself who originally used zazen (“sitting meditation”) to resolve the “great matter” of human life, accomplishing the task with his great...
Read more -
Teisho: Losing Our Way, Finding The Way
February 1, 20182 min read
"... Right view is about getting clear about how things actually are ..." Description: Henry relates a story about getting lost on a walk in the Black Forest in Germany, while following a path he thought he knew fairly well. Compared to the clear map in his head, everything seemed to be different than it should be. This experience brought to mind right view. This is the first element of the Eightfold Path, which was relayed by the Buddha...
Listen to the talk -
Sangha Meeting Minutes, January 27, 2018
January 30, 20186 min read
Sangha Meeting Minutes January 27, 2018 Attending: Rachel Belash Nancy O’connor, Chris Wuest, John Braman, MaryAnn Bennett, Christy Hengst, Henry Shukman, David Holt, Michael Waldron, Kathryn Stedham, Paul Cooley, Tony, Melissa Miller, Sondra, Sean, Henny, Bill Bruce, Peg Froelich, Gudrun Hoerig, Jim Norton, Karen K, Lucie Brennan, Will Brennan, Connie H, David Stevens, Ann Maxwell, Johanna The sangha unanimously approved the minutes from the October 2017 Sangha Meeting. The sangha unanimously approved the current Board of Directors. Chris Hebard has...
Read more