Teachings
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Given to a Zen Person
January 27, 20181 min read
Mind itself is buddha. Practice is difficult. Explanation is not difficult. Not-mind. Not-buddha. Explanation is difficult. Practice is not difficult. ~ Dogen From Chinese-style poems, translated by Philip Whalen and Kazuaki Tanahashi Text from Moon in a Dewdrop, Writings of Zen Master Dogen, edited by Kazuaki Tanahashi, North Point Press, 1985. Image: Natural by shell_ghostcage, CC0 Public Domain from Pixabay.com
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Teisho: Case 62, Book of Equanimity: Beiko’s “Enlightenment”
January 25, 20182 min read
"... even satori disappears. There is no more consciousness of being enlightened. When you stand, there is just standing; when you sit, there is just sitting.” Enlightenment is gone—just this ..." Description: This talk explores the koan, “Beiko’s “Enlightenment,” from the Book of Equanimity. Beiko sends a monk to ask Kyôzan, “Do people these days really need enlightenment or not?” This can be seen as a reference to that which is expressed in Hakuin Zenji’s Song of Zazen in...
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Teisho: Case 68, Book of Equanimity: Kempô’s “One Line”
January 18, 20182 min read
"... the core message of Zen—it is all right here, just this, right now ..." Description: The focus of this talk is the koan, “Kempô’s “One Line,” from the Book of Equanimity. It also appears in The Gateless Gate. A monk says to Master Kempô, “I wonder where the Way is.” Kempô lifts up his stick, draws a line and says, “Here it is.” This koan expresses the core message of Zen—it is all right here, just this, right...
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Stephen Batchelor: The Practice of Speech
January 11, 20182 min read
Description: Stephen Batchelor is a contemporary Buddhist teacher and writer and a self-described scholar practitioner. Stephen considers Buddhism to be a constantly evolving culture of awakening rather than a religious system based on immutable dogmas and beliefs. The central topic of this talk is the practice of speech. The meaning of the word practice is “to bring something into being.” When we practice something, we bring it into being. The Buddha symbolizes an integrated way...
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Dogen: Colors of Mountains
January 7, 20181 min read
Colors of the mountains, Streams in the valleys; One in all, all in one, The voice and body of Our Sakyamuni Buddha. ~ Dogen Text from The Zen Poetry of Dogen: Verses from the Mountain of Eternal Peace, by Steve Heine Image: Mountains by Skeeze from Pixabay.com, CC0 Public Domain
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Teisho: Case 68, Book of Equanimity: “Kassan Brandishes the Sword”
January 5, 20182 min read
"... It is all makyô, or deceptive phenomena. The dust is swept away, and we see “Buddha,” and the dust reveals itself to be none other than Buddha all along ..." Description: In exploring the koan, “Kassan Brandishes the Sword,” Case 68 from the Book of Equanimity, Henry begins by giving us a taste of the teaching of Master Kassan, who points to the fact that the “Way” cannot be taught because it is precisely who we are—it...
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From Dogen’s Echizen
December 30, 20171 min read
For so long here without worldly attachments, I have renounced literature and writing; I may be a monk in a mountain temple, Yet still moved in seeing gorgeous blossoms Scattered by the spring breeze, And hearing the warbler's lovely song— Let others judge my meager efforts. ~ Dogen This kanshi, one of a series of fifteen verses on Dōgen's Echizen "mountain retreat," expresses his creative ambivalence toward the tension between spiritual discipline and aesthetic feeling. Text from The Zen Poetry of Dogen: Verses from...
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Teisho: Introductory Talk #6: Three Essentials of Zen Practice
December 28, 20172 min read
"... three elements that are essential to serious Zen practice: great faith, great doubt and great determination ..." Description: This talk covers three elements that the 11th century master Tahui and the 18th century master Hakuin developed as “essential” to serious Zen practice. (The first and third equate to the 3rd and 4th paramitas - patience and resolve or vigor; the second equates to the quest or search that set Shakyamuni on his journey.) These are: great faith,...
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